Botts served in Congress from 1839 to 1843 however he was defeated for reelection in 1842 (following redistricting after the 1840 census). Although a slaveholder, Botts vehemently opposed extension of slavery into territories, and blamed Democrat John C. Calhoun for increasing sectional animosities by trying to annex Texas . On July 18, 1842, Botts introduced a resolution that levied several charges against President John Tyler and called for a nine-member committee to investigate his behavior, with the expectation of a formal impeachment recommendation. The Botts bill, however, was tabled until the following January, when it was rejected after Botts' defeat for reelection, 127−83. After this defeat, Botts continued to publish letters and articles opposing Texas' annexation. Botts won election to Congress again in 1846, serving from 1847 to 1849. He was chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs from 1847 to 1849, using it to support the Army (in which his son fought and died) rather than to oppose the war. Botts again lost his reelection bid in 1848, but he was elected again in 1850. Botts also served as one of six delegates representing the city of Richmond and the counties of Charles City, Henrico, and New Kent in the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850-1851. There, Botts chaired the committee on the Bill of Rights and argued for abolishing the death penalty and imprisonment for debt, as well as for extending the franchise and giving more voice to Western Virginians. He also proposed requiring that before any manumission of a slave, the owner must either arrange for the person's travel out of the state or secure legislative permission to remain in the state. Botts resumed practicing law in Richmond in 1852. With the demise of the Whig party (whose last national convention he attended in 1852), he ran for Congress on the Know Nothing Party ticket in 1854, but lost. His opposition to the admission of Kansas as a slave state also bucked public opinion in Virginia. Prelude and American Civil War Botts was not fond of the Democratic party. He believed that Virginian governor Henry A. Wise had secretly planned John Brown's 1859 raid to inflame the citizenry. With the support of Anna Ella Carroll, Botts attempted to unite the Know Nothing party with the new Republican party, but failed to win the support of either as a presidential candidate in 1860. During the presidential election of 1860,