Leaving The Nest : The United States

The Mexican American War began on April 25, 1846. The war lasted two years losing many men on both sides. The Mexican war was the third major fought by the United States. In 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla triggers the beginning of Mexico’s fight for independence from Spain. Mexico gained its independence in 1821 after a long and bloody revolution against Spain. For Mexico, the war between them and the United States was a fight to keep their institutions and national integrity intact, to protect themselves from present and future aggressions by the Americans, but more than anything else, the war was a struggle for land. In the early days of the republic, most Americans made their living by farming, so in 1803

After the people of Mexico freed themselves from Spanish control, they faced difficulties trying to officially establish themselves as a country. Despite their independence, Mexico had to also live with the aftermath of Spanish colonialism. Part of the aftermath included socio-political issues amongst the Mexican people. In an effort to establish themselves as a nation, they first had to free themselves from a Spanish ideology, for Mexico truly was not free after their independence. The socio-political predicaments contribute to the evolution of modern day Mexico.

There are similarities and differences that arise between the government of Mexico and the government of the United States of America (U.S.A.). One main similarity of the government in both countries is that they are both varying forms of a republic. The republic form of the U.S.A. is a constitution-based federal republic with a strong democratic tradition, while the republic form of Mexico is a federal republic that is not based on a constitution (Wilson, 2008). Differences are in how cabinet members are appointed and how presidents are elected. In the U.S.A., the cabinet is appointed by the president and needs the Senate approval in order to be appointed. Leaders such as the president and vice president are elected by a college of representatives that were themselves elected from each state. Once elected, the president and vice president will serve four-year terms and are able to run for another term for a total of two presidential terms. On the other hand, Mexico’s president is elected via a popular vote and is only able to serve in a single six-year term. Both Mexico and the U.S.A. are members of the United Nations (U.N.), an international organization established to preserve international security and peace. Mexico and the U.S.A. became U.N. members in 1945 (United Nations, 2016).

In Harvest of Empire’s “Mexicans: Pioneers of a Different Type” Juan Gonzalez outlines how Mexican descendants contributed to U.S. prosperity and culture. Gonzalez’s assertion is that the Mexicans and their culture have been in the United States long before the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the establishment of settlements and trade along the Rio Grande by Mexican pioneers, and the important factor Mexican-American workforce had in the nation. He supports his argument using historical records, individual’s stories and local papers. Respectively, Gonzales provides information that Mexicans greatly affected the economic uprising and culture of United States across the border.

II. Thesis Statement: Mexico is an interesting country, with many different and people and customs, as well as major problems.

This report provides data on Mexico which includes the economy, geography, its society, and government. It also discusses how Mexico’s economy is becoming orientated toward manufacturing. In addition, it shows that the GDP rate is not growing. The report explores the transnational issues facing the country which are international conflicts, refugees and domestically displaced persons, and drug trafficking. This source will contribute to my final project because it provides facts on the measures I am using to determine the development of a country.

The Mexican government were seen as not knowing what they were doing, especially after them gaining independence from Spain in 1821 because the Mexican leaders lacked experience in politics, on top of being a nation that had deep-rooted connection to Spain’s ideologies rather than that of their own. While the United States thrived from the time of its colonial origins, for Mexico to modernize after gaining independence meant breaking its structures, destroying old institutions and building new ones whilst juggling an aggressive neighbor who eagerly sought more land. By putting into context the origin of the soon-to-be-at-war states, it is easier to comprehend why holding aggressive nationalistic behavior was the norm with the United States when they decided to take on its southern neighbor as the state’s population started to expand increasingly. The origins of the United States shows the attitude of “us versus them”, where Mexico’s top officials and administration were seen as incompetent and trickled down to its

Mario García’s study of this era could also be considered prophetic to many Mexicans in the mid-nineties as the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed, it sank México’s economy, lands that the Mexican revolution had provided for farmers were gone, and as México was now obliged with treaty to buy produce from the United States. Mexican farmers unable to compete fled México once again in search for a better life to the United States.

The book chosen for this analytical report is A Glorious Defeat: Mexico and its War with the United States by Dr. Timothy J. Henderson. Dr. Henderson is currently the Department Chair, for the Department of History at Auburn University Montgomery. Dr. Henderson’s specialization is in Latin American History, concentrating heavily on Mexican and U.S. – Latin American relations. Dr. Henderson has majored in Latin American Studies for both his Master of Arts degree and Ph.D. studies, and has eight different awards and honors throughout his career. He has written over 10 publications, with his latest being released in 2011. Dr. Henderson is currently researching the several aspects of Mexican migration to the United States.

Mexico is an extremely important country, as far as immigration is concerned, in the world. It has a large amount of emigrants that leave their country each year. Many of these emigrants go to the United States. This has caused the Mexican immigration issue to become very popular. After research, we have found out a lot about the country of Mexico.

Mexico is one of the most populated and industrialized of the third world nations, yet it remains very impoverished in comparison to it’s northern neighbor. Recently Mexico has been the third largest trading partner of the United States, has become an important exporter of petroleum and plays a pivotal role in the politics of the region. Yet Mexico is frequently treated with neglect and misunderstanding by the United States. This treatment is why Mexico is hesitant about United States influence and investment in Mexico. While many foreign countries acknowledge the United States as a

US-Mexico Relations Causal Essay More than half of the adults in the United States see Mexico as a problem and the other half see Mexico as a good neighboring country or have no clue how to feel. Many believe that the controversy between the US and Mexico just recently occurred, but in fact, the two countries relationships have always had pros and cons. Even though the US and Mexico were rival countries at the beginning, the treaties that have taken place between our two countries have turned us into allies; however, though we are allies, we still have remained ongoing conflicts and success that result in either positive or negative outcome. The US and Mexico have interacted since the early 1800s’ when they were liberated from their mother countries. Both were becoming powerful nations with cultivation and beautiful land.

The United States has led the fight against criminal activities from Mexican borders for many years. Criminal activities along the United States and Mexican border range from drug trafficking, human smuggling and an economy that disruptive. These are illegal activities scholars have argued could lead to the failure of Mexico as a country and the spread of violence to the United States. The illegal activities are not only a threat to the economy of Mexico and United States but also to the rest of the world due the impacts associated. The border between Mexico and US is of essential significance because it provides the link between the two countries. The border provides passageways through which either country can access the other via land or air means. Although the border is of significance to both countries, smuggling of drugs and trafficking human are main causes of violence between the countries. Drug cartels in Mexico smuggle drugs into the United States and this drives a war between them and the US government. The economy and the peace between Mexico and US is also affected significantly due to the illegal activities. To minimize the violence caused by these illegal activities, the US government need to act against the activities. The United States needs to increase the economic aid and military intervention to Mexico to fight the drug cartels, otherwise it could become a failed state; spreading more violence across the US border.

The following section I discuss the following: form government, living standards, labor market conditions, the orderliness of leadership and succession, culture and demographic characteristics of the population, integration with international economic systems and security risk.

Mexico is the closest neighbor and the largest contributor for immigration in the United States. After watching the documentary "Harvest of Empire", I learned that Mexicans are the largest group of Latinos that populate the United States, with a staggering number of thirty-three million Mexicans currently residing here. But when considering globalization, it is important to explore the Mexican-American War, and how this war has influenced the societal and economic changes in each country.