The Mexican-American War

The Mexican American War was a very controversial event. The Americans believed in their “Manifest Destiny” which prompted them to annex the territory of Texas which, in turn, initiated the war on April 25, 1846. Texas was annexed to the Union as a slave state on December 29, 1845. This upset all of the Free states along with the Mexicans but the Southerners were in favor of the war because it gave them more strength when fighting for slavery. While there were many different beliefs about the Mexican-American War throughout the United States, these beliefs generally were the same within a region.

Leading up the Mexican-American war, a multitude of events occurred that catalyzed the conflict. For starters, the idea of manifest destiny heavily played into the conflict within this region. Manifest destiny was the idea that the United States had a “divine right” to expand westwardly and would do so at any cost. Nearly all presidents of the time cited this idea as a justified means for illegally seizing land in hopes of using it to aid in U.S expansion. However in 1803, President Thomas Jefferson purchased a parcel of land from France, known as the Louisiana Purchase, that nearly doubled the size of the United States overnight. But with it, this land brought up many

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the former President of India, once famously said, “War is never a lasting solution for any problem”. Every single country has had some sort of conflict with another country, and often the solution is war. However, many do not realize that most wars (including the Mexican-American War) permanently damage the diplomatic relations of countries. Because of the damage of the Mexican-American War, it is unlikely that the bond between America and Mexico will ever be the same. The events leading up to the war began when Mexico won its independence from Spain, and in an effort to increase the population of the country, Mexican leaders welcomed American settlers to colonize the Mexican territory of Texas. However, conflict arose

Throughout the late 1830s and early 1840s, political controversy broke out over the annexation of Texas into the United States claiming that it was the destiny of the country to expand through the Manifest Destiny. Many Americans saw the potential addition of Texas as an essential component in Westward expansion, however, war with Mexico was an unavoidable risk and would create even more problems with slavery. Northern and Western regions of the Unites States opposed annexation because while the South wanted to add Texas into the Union to expand the slave industry. Annexation of Texas was also seen as revenge for the vast amount of American deaths during the Alamo and Goliad. Politicians battled back and forth on whether or not Texas should be in American control or not. I believe that the annexation of of

The aftermath of the Mexican American warManifest Destiney, the annexation of Texas, and the actions of President John Polk are all factors leading up to the Mexican-american war. It is known that the annexation of Texas was what pushed Mexico leaders over the edge. In 1836 Texas gained independence from Mexico, after becoming an American State the relationship between Mexico and the U.S quickly came to an end. Polk not only had his eyes on Texas but also on California and New Mexico. Polk won the support of the american people by declaring he would complete Americas Manifest Destiny, to reach the West coast. Mexico denied Polk’s offer to buy these lands, leading America to send troops onto disputed territory. April 25, 1846 Mexican troops killed american soldiers on the disputed land, marking the beginning of the war, this was the battle of Palo Alto. The Mexican-American war had a major impact on both Mexico and U.S history. This essay will discuss the political, social, and economical effects between Mexico and the U.S after the Mexican American war.

Texans revolted against their Mexican government to seek for independence. This caused the Texas annexation and revolution.

The second basic cause of the war was the Texas War of Independence and the subsequent annexation of that area to the United States. Not all American westward migration was unwelcome. In the 1820's and 1830's, Mexico, newly independent from Spain, needed settlers in the underpopulated northern parts of the country. An invitation was issued for people who would take an oath of allegiance to Mexico and convert to Catholicism, the state religion. Thousands of Americans took up the offer and moved, often with slaves, to the Mexican province of Texas. Soon however, many of the new "Texicans" or "Texians" were unhappy with the way the government in Mexico City tried to run the province. In 1835, Texas revolted, and after several bloody battles, the Mexican President, Santa Anna, was forced to sign the Treaty of Velasco in 1836 . This treaty gave Texas its independence, but many Mexicans refused to accept the legality of this document, as Santa Anna was a prisoner of the Texans at the time. The Republic of Texas and Mexico continued to engage in border fights and many people in the United States openly sympathized with the U.S.-born Texans in this conflict. As a result of the savage frontier fighting, the American public developed a very negative stereotype against the Mexican people and government. Partly due to the continued hostilities with Mexico, Texas decided to join with the United States,

Signed on February 2, 1848, in Guadalupe Hidalgo, a city north of the capital. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed by the U.S. and Mexico. The United States appointed Nicholas P. Trist, a citizen of the United States and the Mexican Republic has appointed Don Luis Gonzaga Cuevas, Don Bernardo Couto, and Don Miguel Atristain. This Treaty, brought to an end the Mexican American War. Bringing peace between the two countries. The U.S. called for Mexico to cede 55% of its territory, extending the boundaries of the United States by over 525,000 sq/m. This newly acquired land is what is known as present day Texas, California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado,and Wyoming. In exchange for this land, Mexico received a $15 million compensation.

Incidentally, a few years later the discussion of the annexation of Texas to the United States had begun, but required years of debate before the final decision came in December of 1845 where Texas joined the Union as a slave state. This issue of slavery caused much of the debate in whether or not to accept Texas into the Union as doing so may have further disrupted the status quo by upsetting the political balance in Congress and in the country. All the while, Mexico remained another source of concern as people thought the annexation of Texas would cause some sort of trouble with them. Despite all of this, Texas was eventually annexed with its own new state government and constitution to go along with it. Although it had already been defeated by Texas in their revolt, Mexico remained angry at the annexation of Texas and began the Mexican-American War spanning all of 2 years, from 1846 to 1848 bested by the American army. This resulted in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, establishing the Rio Grande as the United States-Mexican border. Along with the establishing of set borders, Mexico accepted the United States annexation of Texas and it agreed to sell California and the rest of the territory north of the Rio Grande to the U.S.

The southern desire to expand slavery was a major cause of the Mexican-American War, but there were other causes as well. The war started on April 25, 1846, and ended on February 2, 1848, with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In that treaty, Mexico ceded Texas with the Rio Grande boundary, New Mexico, and California to the United States. The desire to expand slavery in the south was perhaps the largest cause of the Mexican-American War, because southerners were in favor of Manifest Destiny and believed that the expansion of slavery was necessary to keep the slave trade alive in the U.S. Internal political conflicts were another cause of the Mexican-American War. Also, the fear that Texas could be claimed by Britain or France or that it would be uncontrollable if independent was another cause of the war. The

The war with Mexico abruptly started with the annexation of Texas. Though the land was originally Mexico’s, the U.S had taken part of the territory in the belief of Manifest Destiny. America thought of it as god’s

Since the United States was founded as an independent nation from Great Britain, its people had confronted many economic, political, and social problems. The United States started to expand its territory in the western part of the country. Some examples are the Louisiana purchase from1803 and the Spanish Florida annexation. One of the most significant and controversial in the antebellum years was the Texas annexation which was a result of the War between Mexico and the war of independence by Texan rebels on the late 1830’s and 1840’s. Therefore, the annexation of the Republic of Texas existed from 1836-1845 produced controversy and consequences on both sides of the border.

The Mexican-American war fought between 1846 and 1848 remains a topic of much contention amongst modern historians. Differing accounts and conclusions of the war are often presented and one must remain pragmatic when analysing both primary and secondary sources regarding the war. There is a clear time line of events that led to the outbreak of the war, but there is one major event, and one minor action, which directly resulted in the declarations of war on both sides of the conflict between Mexico and the United States. Most scholars agree that the annexation of the Republic of Texas by

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.

The Mexican-American war determined the destiny of the United States of America, it determined whether or not it would become a world power and it established the size of the United States of America. Perhaps the war was inevitable due to the idea of Manifest Destiny - Americans thought they had the divine right to extend their territory. The Mexican-American War started mainly because of the annexation of the Republic of Texas (established in 1836 after breaking away from Mexico). The United States and Mexico still had conflicts on what the borders of Texas was, the United States claimed that the Texas border with Mexico was the Rio Grande, but the Mexicans said that it was the Nueces River, so the land in between were disputed and