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a nun's habit. 14 Memucan Hunt remained in Washington and, early in August 1837, sent U.S. Secretary of State John Forsyth a formal proposal for the annexation. While Texas was successful as an independent nation, its people felt "fil- ial reverence for the constitution and the people of the United States." In addition, he said, bringing Texas into the union would give the United States control of the Gulf of Mexico and protect its western frontier. How- ever, if Texas remained independent its interests would conflict with the United States and there raise issues that would be "difficult and painful." If Texas did not become part of the United States, he warned, it would become a formidable rival. 15 Hunt was stunned to learn only days later that Forsyth, a Georgian, was "violently opposed" to Texas annexa- tion. He was, Hunt proclaimed, a "traitor" to the South. Forsyth made clear that the Van Buren administration had no interest in making Texas part of the union. Annexation, he said, would violate a treaty of friend- ship with Mexico and probably lead to a war. Besides, he questioned whether it was even constitutional for the United States to annex another country. Going further, Forsyth suggested it had been a mistake for the United States even to have recognized Texas independence. 16 In September 1837, Houston sent Peter W. Grayson, the Texas Attorney General, to Washington as a special agent to join Hunt. Their efforts were fruitless. Grayson informed his government that annexation was "exceed- ingly doubtful" because the Van Buren administra- tion was deferring to the "prejudices" of the northern states. Convinced that the mission was hopeless, Hunt resigned as minister to the United States and returned to Texas in June 1838. Houston ordered Hunt's replace- ment, Dr. Anson Jones, to "unconditionally" withdraw the proposal for annexation, which he did on 12 October 1838. The election of Mirabeau B. Lamar (fig. 7) to the presidency in 1838 seemed to close the matter for good. 42 Fig. 7. Mirabeau Lamar Fig. 8. Engraving of Isaac Van Zandt by G. Bather and Son THE CAPITOL DOME