The Election Of 1844 Pitted James Polk

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

James K. Polk – expressed “that the re-occupation of Oregon and the re-annexation of Texas at the earliest practicable period are great American measures.” Argued that if Britain did not cede all of Oregon to the US, war would be held, and neither party really wanted that, and so Oregon came to be.

First he wanted to cut protective tariffs, but opposed cutting ones that “might in some way provide protection for certain goods by making imports unaffordable”(Miller Center of Public Affairs) . Secondly, he wanted to “reestablish an independent U.S. Treasury” (History.com Staff)1 which would allow for all of the country’s funds to be held in one place instead of it being scattered among several different private banks. The third and forth goals of Polk where based off of his belief in manifest destiny and because of these beliefs he decided that we must expand west in order to prosper. This lead Polk to want to secure the Oregon Territory from Great Britain and he also wanted to gain the territories of New Mexico and California from Mexico. If these two Territories were gained he knew that it would be the first time that the United States of America extended from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. The fifth and final goal of Polk was to allow the annexation of Texas, so it could become the twenty eighth state of the United States of America. Although, Polk also made it a mission to accomplish all of this in four years due to his promising to only run for one

The first reason the United States was justified in going to war with Mexico is because we had rights. “Polk was a strong supporter of manifest destiny.” This shows that Polk would have agreed to what people had to say about gaining land. “When word arrived

Polk became President as the trouble with Mexico was happening. In 1846 under Polk's orders the troops of General Zachary Taylor were sent to the Rio Grande. The US considered the Rio Grande to be the new border between Mexico and the US but the Mexicans believed the border was farther north at the Nueces River. The Mexican government automatically thought the movement of the U.S. army was an attack on Mexico. (Doc C). The Mexicans knew they had to defend the border of the Rio Grande so that’s what they did. They set up troops along the Rio Grande to protect its border (Doc C). In document C it states "The American government acted like a bandit who came upon a traveler". The Mexicans described us as thieves and a threat to the peace (Doc C). Polk sent a known spy, William Parrott, back to Mexico on a diplomatic mission after Mexico made it clear that Parrott was Mexico's enemy trying to give the Congress a reason to go to war (Online book). Polk is trying to give Congress a reason to go to war with Mexico (Online book).All this time Polk looked like the "good guy" to the voters back home, defending the land and the people. The people are agreed to go to war with Mexico (Doc B), So in 1846 Congress votes to go to war (Doc B). The United States was ready to take action because we thought that we are superior to the Mexicans (Doc

In Senator James Buchanan’s Letter to Edward D. Gazzam, 1844, (Document D) he said that Texas should remain independent but pointed out that, “But suppose that this cannot be, and that it should be satisfactorily established that we must either admit it or see it pass under the dominion of Great Britain; -what ought then to be done?” Some Americans feared that Britain would try to take over Texas if America did not. Briton William Kennedy pointed out in his diplomatic communications to Lord Aberdeen, 1844, (Document F) that war with Mexico would, “Produce an embarrassment of affairs, and would leave warm work and divided laurels for [Tyler’s] successor.” John O’Sullivan’s article in Democratic Review, 1845, (Document G) said that other nations have taken actions to stop the expansion of the United States, “This we have seen done by England, our old rival and enemy; and by France, strangely coupled with her against us.” Foreign relations worries were another cause of the war with Mexico, along with the desire to expand slavery and internal political

A final reason why the Mexican War was justified was that President Polk sent a message to the Senate to explain about going to war with Mexico. “I had ordered an efficient military force to take a position between the Nueces and Del Norte.” (Polk 325) This quote shows that the U.S. army marched and stayed between the Nueces and Del Norte to fight the Mexican soldiers. “Polk was a strong supporter of Manifest Destiny.” (Roden 317) This quote shows that Polk was in agreement in accepting and accomplishing the plan of God. Paraphrased information: Polk was elected in late 1844 and did not want just Texas, he also wants California, too. (Roden 317) This information shows that Texas isn’t the only state America should own. The United States had

In 1844, James Polk won the presidential election by campaigning on the idea of expanding the American border to the Pacific Ocean. David A. Clary, author of Eagles and Empires, asserts that Polk's "territorial

Not only was the southern border under dispute, the northern border between Canada and the U.S. was under dispute as well. The Treaty of 1818 called for a temporary solution- joint occupation. James K. Polk was elected in 1844 and claimed the entire Oregon Territory for himself. He wanted to claim the entire region and go to war with the British. The Mexican-American War helped us gain new states for short amounts of time.

A long history of dispute characterized the ownership of the Oregon territory, which included present-day Oregon, Washington, Idaho and portions of Montana, Wyoming, and British Columbia. Spain and Russia had surrendered their claims to the region, but the United States and Britain were active claimants in the early 19th century's early years. The matter's resolution was delayed by the Anglo-American Convention of 1818, in which both parties agreed to a temporary policy of "joint occupation" of the region. This accommodation was extended in 1827. During the 1830s, the American position came to favor establishment of the northern border arguing that the nation required no less. The British, however, wanted to see the southern boundary of British Columbia established at the Columbia River and based their claims on the Hudson's Bay Company's long history in the area. The British position weakened in the early 1840s as large numbers of American settles poured into the disputed area over the Oregon Trail. Possession of Oregon became an issue in the election of 1844. Democratic candidate James K. Polk took an extreme view by advocating the placement of

Over the next 9 years, Texas applied twice to become part of the United States. Congress said no both times because the northeast didn’t want another large slave state and Congress did not want to anger Mexico. When Polk became President, he annexed Texas. They asked to buy California from Mexico in 1845 but this angered Mexico very much. After Mexicans and Americans had a little border dispute, Polk decided he had a reason to go to war.

The President had a desire for the United States to control more land. Also, Polk was a strong supporter of manifest destiny and believed that it was America’s right to conquer all of North America to the Pacific Ocean. (“Mexican-American War”). To the Americans, it was okay for them to take over the Native Americans land without feeling guilty. This desire to expand the U.S. to make it a larger and a more powerful country helped influence the Mexican War.

Eventually by the end of 1845 Britain lost all interest with Oregon as mainly they were focused on themselves. They were busy facing the issue of starvation and little harvest in Britain. This allowed The United States to acquire Oregon under their terms. James Polk as president didn’t give up on adding

Polk was strongly in favor of expanding the United States to the Pacific. This opinion won him the election of 1844. That year Henry Clay, a well known and loved figure in American politics, ran and was expected to blow, little known, Polk of the charts. The only problem was Clay was nervous about territorial expansion. He did not want was with Mexico and was unsure of the constitutionality of expanding. Polk won because the majority of the public believed in Manifest Destiny.

In 1846-1848 was the first time the U.S would fight a war on foreign soil, it was called the Mexican-American war. At this time Mexico was just starting to develop into a government and was extremely confused and leadership was split between decisions. While the U.S government was head over heels about pushing the country’s borders farther and farther across North America with only expansion in his mind. President James K. Polk faith was in one thing and one thing only to the Manifest Destiny. He believed that the country shouldn’t be limited to just the Atlantic coastline that it should be connected to the Pacific Ocean as well. It began alongside the Rio Grande.