Us Conquest Dbq

Manifest destiny was used as an excuse for America claiming land it had never had any right to. Americans wanted to extend slavery and saw taking land from Mexico as a way to do so. President Polk set the perfect opportunity to get Mexicans to attack US soldiers, so he would have grounds for war. None of these were justified reasons for war, and only caused a larger rift to form within the nation. The United States’ unjustified decision to go to war with Mexico was a driving force in dividing the nation, ultimately leading to the Civil

James K. Polk was the eleventh President, from 1845 to 1849. James K. Polk had said in his inaugural address on March 4, 1845, “ The world has nothing to fear from military ambition in our government. “ He basically is saying that we as citizens and people in the world should not have any fear in military ambition from our government. Polk’s presidency reflected this statement by achieving his four main goals he set out to achieve during his presidency. The four main goals were to cut tariffs, reestablishing an independent U.S Treasury, securing the Oregon Territory, gaining the territories of California and New Mexico from Mexico. In ways that didn’t reflect the statement was that he caused war with Mexico for three years.

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.

The second reason the US was unjustified is that Polk really provoked Mexico. President Polk strongly believed in Manifest Destiny. He believed that it was a plan of God to kick out Mexicans and let the US grow. He stole Texas from Mexico. This is from Document B. This evidence shows that the US was unjustified in going to war because he thought Manifest Destiny was a plan of God.

“Americans play to win at all times. I wouldn’t give a hoot for the man who lost and laughed. That’s why Americans have never lost nor ever lose a war” (George s. Patton). America went into war with mexico because they couldn’t agree with which country owned what land. Texans were starting a revolution against Mexico to make Texas It’s own country. So the Americans went to war with mexico over land in 1846. The war with Mexico started in 1846. The war took place mostly in mexico and texas. What was happening was the Americans stole texas from the Mexicans and it angered the Mexican government. The US people wanted Manifest Destiny. Americans believed in Manifest destiny Americans believed that it was there right to go settle in the West

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

As Texans began demanding freedom, they deciding to away from Mexico, causing tensions between the United States and Mexico. In 1845, tensions began to lead to threats between the two countries when the United States decided to annex Texas into their country and ultimately led to the Mexican-American war. The U.S. was not justified in going to war with Mexico. A reason is that James K. Polk, president at the time, decided to send American soldiers onto disputed territory which Mexico thought was theirs. Doc C is an article written by Jesus Velasco-Marquez discussing the Mexicans viewpoint on the war with the United States in 1846. According to Doc C,¨In the eyes of the Mexican government, the mobilization of the US army was an outright attack

U.S. War with Mexico had many effects on both countries. Even though American’s gained a considerable amount of land, it leads to a great deal of sectional tension. The two governments agreed to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which confirmed the annexation of Texas and ceded California and present day México, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah to the United States (Foner,474). With this huge land acquisition, the issue of slavery in the new territories was raised. The new land caused a great deal of conflict, and created great political sectionalism in America. Gaining this much land at a time seemed like a good idea until Americans had to deal with the political issues that went along with it. Residents from both the North and the South wanted

that President Polk had no right to do what he did. It is said that

The Mexican-American War was a result of Manifest Destiny.  Manifest Destiny was a belief that Americans had a god given right to expand their border all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Not only did Americans believe that they also had a right to the land, but they also believed that they had a moral duty to civilize its occupants, which included Native Americans, Mexicans, and Spanish speaking Catholics. According to Britannica, the Mexican-American War originated from the United States annexation of Texas in 1845. Texas had been in a border dispute with Mexico at the time of the annexation  therefore, the conflict transferred to the U.S. Mexico claimed that the border ended at the Nueces River, and the United States claimed it ended at the Rio Grande River.

The idea of Manifest Destiny had arisen during this time. Manifest Destiny was the belief of Americans that it is their God-given destiny to expand westward and become a transcontinental nation. They needed to extend from pacific to Atlantic, east to west coast. The westward expansion did not stop at California as many believe; goes all the way to Asia and further in the Pacific Ocean (Document 4). The advocates believed that they were superior and better than the Europeans. The Europeans act like imperialists while America will not harm native lands; they will only help or try and create a place of freedom and liberty, a gift to all the people. Thomas Denton believes Oregon is a stepping stone for trade with Asia (Document 4). James Polk’s campaign was 54-40 or fight. Britain and the United States jointly governed the territory which had extended to the 54th parallel. America gives a notice of termination for territory at Oregon and they met for discussion and settle at 49th parallel. Citizens were upset that Polk “settled” . Polk starts the war with Mexico to gain more territory to please the communities he had

About 15 years later, 1836, Texas declared their independence from Mexico. In 1844, Polk was elected president of the United States. In just 2 years later the Annexation of Oregon Territory occurred, in 1846. One reason the Mexican was justified was because they followed/believed Manifest Destiny. “ Polk was a strong supporter of Manifest Destiny”, President Polk

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.

What was the most important things that James K. Polk do that made him influence on the Mexican war? This would be one of the most important thing that happen in America history. The reason for how important this part of history is because the Mexicans lost one third of their land to the United States at the end of the war. Polk had a big impact on whether or not America should go to war and take the land that the Mexicans would not give up. At this time there are many problems that Polk wanted to get rid of since a lot of Americans were moving in the Mexico land.

It was God’s plan to expand to the West, and the Americans of 1846 followed that plan. Mexico and America disagreed on just about everything, including religion, slavery and government. In 1844, James K. Polk was elected President, and turned these disagreements into a war. Polk had different ideas, and insisted on expanding the US from sea to shining sea. Polk, according to the background essay, “did not just want to annex Texas. He also had his eye on California”. Eventually, in 1846, war broke out between America and Mexico. The United States was justified in the War with Mexico because they believed in Manifest Destiny, Mexico was not fit to rule Texas and California and Mexico attacked first.