The Mexican-American War

The Mexican War was viewed as one of the most controversial wars in United States history. Originating from the annexation of Texas, or the lack thereof in Mexico’s eyes, the final spark to cause the war was an incident between soldiers of both countries in disputed land. Both Mexico and the US claimed to have been provoked by the other, and that they were only protecting their country. Many US citizens argued the war, as it appeared President Polk was using it for reasons other than self defense. By going to war with Mexico, the US faced the possibility of gaining much more of Mexico’s land and extending slavery in the country. The United States' decision to go to war with Mexico was based on a desire to extend slavery, to gain land they had

The Mexican-American War was incorrectly named; it was not simply Americans vs Mexicans, but a war between opinions. America’s war with Mexico: a war for land, for the sake of Manifest Destiny, or perhaps, a war to be started and ended in victory by… a thief. This war was supported and criticized by Americans and Mexicans alike. Manifest Destiny was a belief that it was God’s Plan to for America to expand to the Pacific Ocean, and a very controversial belief, at that. Before this war of opinions, the US already created a tense relationship with its neighbor by providing aid to the Texas Rebellion, and later annexing Texas. The United States was not Justified in going to war with Mexico because Texas was signed over, with no extra land, America was obviously itching to go to war, and settlers agreed to become Mexican citizens in the first place

The Mexican-American War was driven by the idea of "Manifest Destiny" (Which is the belief that America had a God-given right to expand the country's borders from sea to sea) This belief would eventually cause a great deal of suffering for many Mexicans, Native Americans and United States citizens. Following the earlier Texas War of Independence from Mexico, tensions between the two largest independent nations on the North American continent grew as Texas eventually became a U.S. state. Disputes over the border lines sparked military confrontation, helped by the fact that President Polk eagerly sought a war in order to seize large tracts of land from Mexico.

     Along with the desire of new land, there were other contributing factors that initiated the war with Mexico. There were also political and economical factors that were as equally important in the start of the war. With most of the Mexican land below the 34o30` line, the Democrats and the southern states were pushing for the war. With the increased amount of representatives for the southern states, there would finally be a tiebreaker in the free-slave argument. Without saying, the Whigs of the northern states were opposed to the

The Mexican-American War was a conflict between the United States and Mexico. It took place  on 25 April, 1846 and ended on 2 February, 1848. President Polk played a huge part in the United States government's involvement with the Mexican-American War. Not all of the American citizens supported the war. There were many individuals who were against it they just was not for it. Henry David Thoreau, an American writer and philosopher, strongly opposed the war by declaring the United States actions as unethical.

Professor Walter Nugent, of “California and New Mexico, 1846-1848: Southward Aggression II,” argues that the Mexican War was indeed an exercise of American imperialism. Throughout his presidency, James K. Polk made a promise to the American people to honor Manifest Destiny, expanding the territory of the United States to the Pacific Ocean. Polk was blinded by his tunnel vision, and was more than willing to pay the cost of thousands of Mexican lives (over twice as many as Americans) in pursuit of his goal. The Mexican government was weak, so, Polk took advantage by sending representatives to monitor, what he considered, the borders between their nations. Polk was aware that this would manipulate the Mexican government to strike, spilling ‘American blood on American soil’. This action resulted in support from Congress to declare war; although, many voted in favor out of fear of being considered unpatriotic. Alternatively, many voted in favor of war in order to expand the amount of representatives opposed to slavery. Polk was not considered a strong nor wise ruler, Isaiah Berlin contends that Polk was “a hedgehog, not a fox,” he explains, “Jefferson, FDR, and Bill Clinton were foxes. Jackson, Polk, and George W. Bush were hedgehogs. Whereas a fox has many ideas… hedgehogs, like Polk, have one.” For those reasons, the Mexican war was an unjust war, and a result of American imperialism.

Following this, President Polk declared war on Mexico. The United States was justified in going to war with Mexico because it was our manifest destiny to take the continent and

Although it might not seem like the Mexican-American was a significant event in history, it was actually extremely important and has helped shape the United States into what it is today. This war between the two countries was started because Mexicans believed the border was the Nueces River, while Texans and Americans believed it was the Rio Grande, which caused confusion and anger in both countries. To make things worse, Texas decided to annex itself to the United States at a time when Mexico believed Texas still belonged to them. On April 25, 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico, and the Mexican-American War lasted all the way until February 2, 1848. However, many question whether or not the United States was justified in going

The war with Mexico was unjustified because of Manifest Destiny, Polk just wanted to go to war, and because of the border dispute.

The war started when the General sent John Slidell to Mexico City to buy California which furiated the Mexicans so they sent him back. When Mexico had fired on U.S, troops on the “Texas” side, the President found a reason to go to war with them even though the Mexicans were trying to protect the border from them. In the end, the U.S. won the war. Later on, Mexico achieved independence of the Spanish Crown and the U.S. had begun to move into Texas. I believe that the United States was not justified to go to war with Mexico because the U.S. had made an act of a declaration of war and Mexico was protecting themselves.

Another American who felt strongly about the war was Ulysses Grant, a war general and 18th U.S. President. He believed that the Mexican American war was unjust because of how the American government acted. Famously, in response to an interview question, he stated that ” The wickedness was not in the way our soldiers conducted it, but in the conduct of our government in declaring war”(Doc C). Grant and many Americans believe that the war was provoked by the government, specifically president Polk and his decision to send troops into Texas and start fighting at the Rio Grande. These decisions made by Polk and the American government unjustly provoked Mexico and its decision in fighting in the war. The unjust decisions made by the American government ultimately started the Mexican-American

-The Mexican American War: The Mexican-American war was a fight for lad between the Untied States and Mexico where the United States defeated Mexico and gained over five hundred thousand miles of land. The land in known as the Southwest and makes up a vast majority of the United States. A major contributor to the war was the American belief of Manifest Destiny and showed how the United States wanted to extend their

The peoples first thought was that here’s this country trying to take advantage of a new country that has only been independent for nearly two decades. The controversy didn’t stop there however, people throughout the states all questioned whether people were fighting for Texas in the Mexican war for it to become a slave state so they could obtain more land for farms, or if they were actually fighting for the will of America. Colonists saw the Mexican war as an “expansionist power play dictated by an aggressive Southern slave owner’s intent on acquiring more slave states” (The Mexican War). Although the war was supported by many American colonists, people with moral values like Henry clay said that the war was unjust and unnecessary saying “Henry Clay declared, "This is no war of defense, but one of unnecessary and offensive aggression” (War Fever and Antiwar Protests). All in all the people of the states more than willing to go to war for their country, but as we look back at it today from a historic point of view we recognize that a war like this could have easily been

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

They believed it was necessary to extend their control into Mexico. But this was just an egotistical way of wanting to render slavery and wanting to feel higher achieved over all. Additionally, in the magazine article on the annexation of Texas, which was a huge cause of the war, written by John L. O’Sullivan, “... the irresistible army of Anglo-American emigration has begun to pour down upon it.” This reveals that the U.S. believed they were superior compared to the Mexico government. This idea of conquering land made them think they are the best for needless reasons.