The Mexican American War : Causes Of 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.

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 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.

“The United States had emerged as a modern capitalist nation, and the spirit of nationalism in the country was strong and growing” (Henderson 71). As tensions grew between the Unites States and Mexico, there was a thirst for war. The Unites States declared war with Mexico, because they owned land that Americans desired, resulting in America’s fulfillment of achieving their philosophy of “Manifest Destiny”. The blood boil of both countries caused a lot of bloodshed. The dispute lasted for a long two year battle which was for huge amounts of land. The Americans were victorious and claimed new territories from the conflict.

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,

“At this period, citizens of the United States had already begun to into Texas... That deal was... That this extensive prevent to become a part of the United States…” (Doc D ,Charles Sumner This evidence Demonstrate that America was not justified in going to war with Mexico because all they wanted to do was to get their lands. “A current of emigration soon followed from the United States favorite. Slaveholders cross the Sabine with their slaves, In defiance of the Mexican ordinance of freedom” Doc D,Charles Sumner. This mean that America was All About Us Us expanding slavery into stole a land and was not justified into going in with

In 1846 throughout 1848, a war to conquer land from Mexico were orders held by James K. Polk. An unjust war is about to occur, In 1846 Texas becomes Independent from Mexico and the United States. To begin with, Mexico approves for the Americans to settle onto Texas with one condition to not bring slaves along with them. During this time period, slavery was one of the most important political concerns and they opposed slavery. The Americans didn’t hold the values of anti-slavery, during this time they valued Manifest Density strongly. Accepting some restrictions from Mexico placed was nothing compared to its own destiny to occur from preventing America to stretch outward towards the Pacific Ocean. The main conflict started with the annexation of Texas, a dispute on the nation’s border, the Mexicans consider the Nueces river to be the border of Texas as for Americans that wasn’t enough land so they consider, Rio Grande the border. A way to aim to

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

     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 most important reason why the Texas fought in the civil war was to preserve slavery. Texas believed that white men “established the government” and African Americans did not (document B). Texans wanted power, and maintaining slavery would not only bring power but and economic uprising. Since “182,566” people were enslaved in 1860, this being “30%” of the Texas’ population (document A), many Texans used slavery for farming and cultivating crops. Slavery was key in sustaining the Economy. It’s simply like a math equation, slavery plus crops equals economy, take slavery away and the entire empire

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

The Mexican War of 1846 was not a justifiable war based on the Just War Theory of jus ad bellum principles. The Just War Theory addresses the political leaders that are in charge of initiating war with another entity. The rules of applying the jus ad bellum to a war are based on six areas that address whether a war can be considered a just or unjust war. The most important rule is examining Just Cause as it sets the way for the rules that follow. Right Intention to go to war based on their Just Cause, Proper Authority and Public Declaration to determine if they could declare war and Last Resort being the final decision made if all other outlets were exhausted. As well as determining the Probability of Success in the

The Mexican-American was very important to our country. We not only annexed Texas but, gained other states what is now modern day California, Utah, and Nevada. Mexico also obtains from the war which was debt relief. This paper explains how America and Mexico went from enemies to allies.

The war with Mexico is long remembered as an episode, and by no means is it an unimportant one. With the events that led up to its happening, from the Manifest Destiny to the disputes on territory, it has severely marked the United States. American historians regard the Mexican-American war as “the foulest blot on our national honor”. (sfmuseum.org) Unethical actions were taken gain Mexican territory. Polk and his hunger for land drove him to find some devious way to fight a war with Mexico. His belligerent attitude in regard to this war was the “foulest blot on our national honor.” However, as one studies the events that led to it, was it an unprovoked act of aggression? Or did the US unjustifiably lure Mexico into one of the bloodiest wars on American soil?

The Mexican-American war, also known as the Mexican war happened between 1846 and 1848 with the participants being United States of America and Mexico. Texas, previously a Mexican state, was the primary cause of the war. A series of disagreements had occurred between Texans and the Mexican government leading to Texas declaration of its independence in 1836. Later, Texas decided to join the United States as the 28th state and this infuriated Mexico. Additionally, border disagreements came up with Mexico claiming the border was at Nueces River while Texas claimed it was at Rio Grande River. James K. Polk, the president, sent his army to protect the border which ended up in shooting between Mexican and American troops. It is after this that