The Pros And Cons Of The Mexican American War

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.

Post the Mexican – American War in 1846, there would be a plethora of political change that would be inevitable for the Mexicans, and the Americans. These changes would bring about a divide between the two countries that would keep them in a rivalry spanning over numerous decades. However, before this rivalry could occur, something would be needed to induce it. The Mexicans and the Americans would fight against each other for over a year until a victor would succeed. Ultimately, all the fighting would have an outcome of epic proportions due to the political losses and gains each country would encounter. Though the end of the war brought Mexico further independence, it also contributed to

The annexation of Texas was a path that many Texans wanted. Nearly ninety percent of Texans wanted to become part of the United States. “People hadn’t come to Texas to become part of the British Empire; most were particularly incensed by the British insistence on emancipation of the slaves; responding to public sentiment, the Texas Senate demanded that President Houston give them a full accounting of his dealings with Great Britain”. Before annexation, The Republic of Texas was a sovereign nation that existed for nearly ten years. The annexation process was proposed by John Tyler. Unfortunately, President Martin Van Buren struck down the annexation of Texas out of fear that this would expand slave territory and ensue war with Mexico. The Treaty of Annexation, Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, Mexican-American War and Joint Resolution of Congress all impacted the annexation process.

There are many controversial thoughts about the American war with Mexico. Many people have too much doubts about this war, that later finished with the appropriation of a very large part of Mexico. There are many arguments that justified and make people believe that the war with Mexico in 1846 was the best option to do. Obviously, there are many reasons that maybe make us believe that having a war with Mexico was not a good idea. This war between Mexicans and Americans bring to many outcomes later.

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.

The Annexation of Texas was one of the most debatable events in American history. The question at hand would deeply impact the United States for generations to come. There was on one side a long list of reasons for why to not allow annexation, but there was the same kind of list on the other side for reasons to push forward for annexation. Some of these reasons of both sides were slaves, war, manifest destiny, politics , and constitutional rights. Also the way Texas began in a way said that they should be apart of the United States In the end there were more important reasons for annex Texas into the union, than to leave Texas the was she was.

Why did the annexation of Texas cause political, military, economic, cultural, and moral controversy in the United States?

In 1845 Texas was annexed as a state, however disputes between America and Mexico remained concerning where the border would be located. President Polk at the time had no choice but to send troops due south to defend Texas and the Thornton affair, won by the Mexicans, would force congress to declare war on Mexico.

Why was the annexation of Texas such a controversial policy? The tension grew over slavery and whether Texas should be slave-holding states. At this time it was democrats and whigs however whigs held the majority of seats and were able to fight the annexation. Texas joined the United States Dec 29, 1845 the last day president Tyler was in office.They passed a Joint Resolution for Annexing Texas to the United States. The UK didn't want the US to become any bigger they tried to join Texas and scheme on Mexico to keep them from joining the union. This set off several small wars between the US and England.

The Annexation of Texas created a domino effect by being the first to amend the ideals of the manifest destiny. The Annexation of Texas was a voluntarily act made by the southern settlers of the Republic of Texas, setting an example. After the battle of San Jacinto, Sam Houston became the southerner’s leader, leading them to become the 28th state under the American government.

In the book Voices of Freedom written by Eric Foner it quotes a document written by a man named John O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan writing for the Democratic review in the summer of 1845 wrote an article titled "Annexation". The article was written ten year after Texas declared independence from Mexico. There was a push from many Americans to annex Texas. Congress voted on annexation and the majority voted towards annexation. Although it was voted upon in Congress, they did not go ahead with annexation due to fears of another slave state and the chance of war with Mexico. There were many Americans that were against annexation. O'Sullivan

The United States believed that it was their God given right to spread from coast to coast. The people of the young nation set out to do just that on a journey unofficially called the Manifest Destiny. President James. K. Polk offered Mexico twenty-five million dollars for the area of Texas and told Mexican leaders to name their price on California. The United States needed the land to fulfill their destiny to spread across the continent. Although the offer was a very generous Mexico declined. Thereby, American troops were sent down past the Nueces River to “poke” or cause enough tension for Mexicans to fire upon American troops to start the first battle. The Mexicans believed the Nueces River was the border of America and Mexico, but

The Mexican-American War and its effects impacted the American people and their interests in many different ways, eventually leading to what became the civil war. For instance, it inspired more westward expansion and growth as a country, which in a way created the Westerners and much of the American wealth and "new money". It also meant more land to govern and control, and a whole new era of interest for the New Englanders. However, it even created new borders and conflicts for the Southern Americans, changing their ideals and wishes greatly. Southern and Northern Americans challenged each other on issues such as freedom of slaves and how to deal with the newly-acquired land. With America recuperating after a newly-won war, the economy skyrocketed, ego rose exponentially, and Americans felt confident in their newfound land and opportunities. 1845 to 1855 was one of the most productive and influential decades the United States had ever seen, due to the effects of the war. A lot of changes involving the slave trade, handling newfound riches and money and changing how politics worked. Politicians disputed boundaries, slavery continued, and the creation of new states ensued. The Mexican-American war and its effects altered the course of American history with significant impact; The war challenged common beliefs such as slavery and statehood from all angles.

Many people who now the story and that do not know the story of how Texas became a state think that United States took Texas from Mexico but that is not correct because Texas obtain their independence from the Texas revolution. All begin when Santa Anna one of the presidents from Mexico established a military dictatorship in 1935 and increased the number of soldiers in Texas as well as confiscated several privately owned guns and suppressed efforts of the Texans to form militias (Byes 5). After this change that Santa Anna made the residents from Texas would feel like their liberty was taken and they would want to obtain their privileges back or to obtain better ones than the ones that they already had. Texas residents not feeling comfortable wanted to negotiate with the president to obtain the privileges they had or obtain better ones but nothing was obtain. Since, the president would not help with the negotiation the residents wanted to obtain their independence. Until 1836 Texas declare their independence but was taken place until April 21, 1836 because they declared themselves independent but Santa Anna wanted to obtain Texas but his army got defeated by Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto (Byes 6). Texas was considered independent but they not secured because they knew that Mexico would want revenge and would do whatever is possible to obtain Texas back. James Knot Polk used the Texas Annexation as a campaign and help him won but it was until