[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 2, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H1004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         INDIANA HELPS ACHIEVE STATEHOOD FOR TEXAS BY ONE VOTE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, one of the Members that I admire 
the most is my good friend from Texas, Mr. Poe. He is a real patriotic 
guy, and tonight he made a great speech on the independence of Texas. 
One of the things I would like to talk about real briefly is how 
Indiana had a hand in Texas becoming a free State, a free country.
  Back when Texas was debating whether or not they should become an 
independent country and ultimately a State of the Union, we had a real 
contested election in Scott County, Indiana. The guy that was running 
for State representative of Scott County went around door-to-door, and 
he knocked on this one door and a man was in bed, he was very ill and 
about to die.
  When he asked for this man's vote, the man said, ``How do you feel 
about Texas being admitted to the Union?'' The fellow running for State 
representative said, ``I am for Texas being admitted to the Union.'' 
And the guy said, ``I am going to vote for you.''
  On election day, the man was on his deathbed, and he was literally 
carried to the polls and he voted for the gentleman who said he was 
going to vote for admission of Texas to the Union, and he was elected 
by one vote.
  He went to the State legislature and there was a great debate over 
who was going to be the State senator from Indiana. In those days, the 
State legislature decided who was going to be the Senator. The debate 
raged on for a long time, and it was decided that the man who was 
running for senator who wanted to admit Texas to the Union was elected 
by the State legislature by one vote.
  He went to the United States Senate and they debated the issue of 
Texas being admitted to the Union for a long time, and, as my colleague 
just said, Texas was admitted to the Union by one vote.
  So when people tell you one vote doesn't matter, I hope they will 
remember that Texas was admitted to the Union by one vote, as Mr. Poe 
just talked about a few minutes ago, and the man from Indiana who was 
the United States senator who was for Texas being admitted to the 
Union, he was elected to the U.S. Senate by the Indiana legislature by 
one vote, and the man who was a State representative who cast the vote 
that put him in the United States Senate was elected in Scott County, 
Indiana, by one vote.
  Although I wouldn't want to take credit for Texas being a part of the 
Union because of Indiana, I did want to say to my good colleague from 
Texas tonight that Indiana did have a role in electing Texas to the 
United States of America. So I am very happy that tonight we celebrate 
the admission of Texas into the Union. And I must say to my colleague, 
don't ever forget that the United States of America got the great State 
of Texas because Indiana put a Senator there who voted for Texas by one 
vote.

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