Jane Cazneau Essay

Hudson posits a Native American grandmother, although there is no solid evidence of this. Her first marriage apparently dissolved, but there is no divorce record. She may or may not have had an affair with Aaron Burr, an early mentor. Hudsons most significant hold is that Jane beset is the journalist who coined the phrase manifest destiny (pp. 60-62). Hudson argues that later historians have simply assumed that butt OSullivan wrote the Democratic Reviews many unsigned chromatography columns.But Hudsons computer outline (Appendix B) of OSullivans and Storms signed works shows that the grammatical errors in the famous editorial that first contained the phrase exhibit a much closer correlation with those commonly made by Storm than with those made by OSullivan. What is certain is that she migrated to pre-revolutionary Texas and speculated in land grants and immigration schemes. Writing beneath the pen name Montgomery (later, Cora Montgomery), Storm became a regular correspondent of Moses Y.Beachs New York Sun. When war broke out, Storm accompanied Beach and his daughter on a hugger-mugger peace mission to Mexico in late 1846. The Beach mission has long been clouded with uncertainty most its purposes and accomplishments, and so Storms role in it is similarly in doubt. Nonetheless, she was clearly an important element, as neither of the Beaches knew Spanish and President James K. Polk had a private interview with her after her return. After the war, Storm continued to favor U. S. xpansion into Latin America and the Caribbean, especially through annexation. Although Hudson maintains that Storm was not a rigid proponent of All Mexico during the U. S. -Mexican War, some have credited her with leading the movement. She had contact with Cuban, Mexican, and Nicaraguan filibustering groups. She married diplomat Williams L. Cazneau in 1849 after a long acquaintance but still worked as a journalist for numerous publications, wrote about her travels, and remained a ctive in Democratic Party politics.She secured a diplomatic mission to the Dominican Republic for her husband and worked with him to gain U. S. access to Samana Bay. Jane Storm Cazneau died in a shipwreck during a coerce at sea in 1878. Many questions about her activities and the extent of her influence remain unanswered. Barring the return of new documentary collections, Hudsons biography is the most complete picture of her life we are apparent to have. As such it is a useful addition to the literature on nineteenth-century U. S. expansionism.