Oregon County Essay

On May 9, President Polk received a message from his war department about the attack. After being told of the attack President Polk immediately wrote a message declaring that a state of war has existed between the US and Mexico. On May 13 congress declared war. President Polk went into war with one main objective, to seize all of Mexico north of Rio Grande and the Gilla River and westward to the Pacific. The US army advanced into Mexico. US forces led by Col. Stephen W. Kearny and Commodore Robert F Stockton were easily able to get the lands. "Chapultepec was the last battle of the war before the capture of Mexico City" Many battles went on during the Mexican War.

Polk had said that Mexico were planning on an invasion and declared war on Mexico. This didn’t show that we show not be afraid or fear military ambition. It showed how selfish man can be just to gain more territory because they believed that it was their right to expand the country. Mexico only wanted what was theirs after claiming independence from Spain, and not have it taken away. Texas was under Mexico law, and Mexico banned slavery. Many Americans settlers did live in Texas at the time and knew it was against Mexico’s law but still had slaves anyways. The war lasted for three years, but soon Mexico decided to sign a peace treaty that gave territories to America. America paid Mexico 15 billion for lands that are known today as California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and

Knowing that the Texans were not obeying Mexico’s laws, the Mexican President sent Antonio López de Santa Anna to fight and stop the revolting Texans. “Santa Anna gained his earliest military experience fighting for the Spanish army

General Cos established a headquarters in San Antonio, Texas and for two months tried to repel the Texan forces from taking his position. On December 11, 1835, General Cos signed a surrender and removed all Mexican forces in Texas (de Cos, 2015).

Consequently, Polk conceded on demands for expansion deep into Canada and set about instead to negotiated a more reasonable American-Canadian border. The Oregon Treaty, signed with Great Britain in 1846, allowed the U.S. to acquire peacefully what is now Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Reasonably certain that war in the Northwest could be avoided, Polk concentrated on efforts to claim the Southwest from Mexico… He tried to buy the territory, and when that failed, he

In addition to Polk’s scheme to pull Mexico into war with the United States, he was also hatching a plan in the west. With the help of John C. Freemont and a group of American frontiersmen, known as the “Bear Flaggers”, he organized a revolt against Mexican rule and liberated most of California before the U.S. invasion began. Likewise, Both California and New Mexico were occupied by American forces prior to the assault on northern Mexico. (Tindall & Shi 2010). Securing the territories of Texas, New Mexico, and California ignited widespread support for the war and re-established the national America’s sentiment of manifest destiny. (Tindall & Shi 2010).

In 1846 General Kearny leads an army West to Santa Fe, New Mexico. He intends to gain control of New Mexico as he claims it is American territory. His march was met with hardship from lack of water, and frankly nothing but desert for the mass duration of his journey. Upon reaching camp he is confronted by a lieutenant, a sergeant, and two privates from Mexican forces. Conflicts arise between General Kearny and Manuel Amijo. General Kearny himself put forth, “All who obey me, and do not resist, I will respect, and make secure in their property,

It is worth noting here that the Americans were concerned about appearances, and that they did their best to provoke Mexico into a war, without having to bear the responsibility of actually starting the war. In his Personal Memoirs, Grant explained the mission of the U.S. Army in south Texas, "We were sent to provoke a fight, but it was essential that Mexico should commence it." The plan worked. The U.S. annexed Texas in February of 1846, and Polk immediately ordered Taylor to proceed to the Rio Grande. One of Taylor's patrols skirmished with a Mexican detachment and lost over twenty soldiers, including eleven dead, five wounded, and several captured. Polk immediately called for war. In his bellicose message to the U.S. Congress, the President announced that, "American blood had been shed upon American soil." He got his declaration of war.

The siege, fall and ensuing massacre of nearly two hundred Alamo defenders at the hands of Mexican General, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna y Perez de Lebron’s army of over five thousand was a defining moment in both Texan, and American history. For 13 days against insurmountable odds, a small, but very determined Texan garrison force fended off an equally determined Mexican Army ordered to capture it. I’ll discuss the events and political climate leading up to the siege, key historic figures involved on both sides, the siege itself, along with events immediately following the battle. The iconic phrase, “Remember the Alamo!” would later go on to become a rallying cry at the Battle of San Jacinto.

After the Midwest had been substantially developed, the national focus turned toward the far west. The territory of Texas, controlled by the Spanish, was settled by Americans, who eventually undertook the Texas Rebellion in efforts to win independence. When the United States admitted Texas to the Union in 1845, the Mexican government was outraged, and from 1846 to 1848, the two nation's squared off in the Mexican War. With a resounding victory, the United States gained control of Texas, New Mexico, and California. The Oregon territory was annexed in 1846 as well, and the US controlled the land all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

News spread of Santa Anna’s attempt to recapture San Antonio with approximately 7000 soldiers. William B. Travis, who was the commander of Texan forces at San Antonio, sent pleas to fellow Americans on February 24, 1836, for reinforcements. He pleads, “I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, and ever thing dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch.” He also informs everyone how the enemy is receiving reinforcements daily, which is why he is asking for additional men to come to their aid. He then concludes his plea with, “If this call is

Kearny was joined in California by Captain John C. Fremont who took California and proclaimed the "Bear Flag Republic".

He then moved south gaining more enemy forces at Matamoros. On September 20 1846 general Zachary Taylor led a group of 6500 U.S. soldiers and volunteers to attack the northern Mexico City of Monterrey. The city was well fortified and protected by artillery installations and 10,000 Mexican soldiers under the command of General Pedro de Ampudia. (Staff U. A., 2014)

This Oregon boundary was commonly occupied by Great Britain and America from 1818. In Polk’s Presidency in 1846 he settled this Oregon border settlement with the Great Britain.

The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) was the first U.S. armed conflict fought on foreign soil. It positioned a politically divided and militarily unprepared Mexico against the expansionist-minded administration of U.S. President James K. Polk, who believed the United States had a “manifest destiny” to spread across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. A border skirmish along the Rio Grande started off the fighting and was followed by a series of U.S. victories. When the dust cleared, Mexico had lost about one-third of its territory, including nearly all of present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. In exchange for surrendering and his release to the United States, the Mexican General Santa Anna agreed to have the boundary line set at the Rio Grande between Texas and Mexico. Of course, it did not pan out as expected. The plan presented was for the boundary to run northward. This would include New Mexico as well as some land in west Texas. Instead, the Mexican government drew the border at the Nueces River.