ipl-logo

Mexican American War Dbq Essay

760 Words4 Pages

LEQ #8 Following the Mexican-American War that occurred between 1846 and 1848, many issues arose. One major issue in question concerned the conflict of slavery between the states. With the United States acquiring nearly 525,000 square miles, the slave states saw this as an opportunity to acquire more territories and put the land to use via slaves. Those in the North felt they should not be slave states, as it would upset the balance of freed states and slave states. Overall, many things occurred during this time between the slavery controversy and its resistance, but one important event included the Ostend Manifesto. First, the Mexican-American War officially ended via the Treaty of Guadalupe. It was signed on February 2nd, 1848 by the chief …show more content…

The debate was led by Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun and Daniel Webster. Due to the potential unbalancing of the free states and slave states done by the Missouri Compromise, something had to be done. So, a series of 5 resolutions regarding the issue of slavery and the controversy between the North and South was proposed by Senator Henry Clay. Part of this Compromise amended the Fugitive Slave Law. This bill, also known as the Bloodhound Bill, stated that those fleeing slaves could not testify on their behalf and were also denied a jury trial. This harshly extended to even Northerners. In case they attempted to aid the escaping slaves, the Northerners would acquire jail time and even be subject to fines. The South felt a gain from this. The Compromise also touched the subject of which states were to be free or not. California was then entered as a free state, which upset the balance. Next, came Texas, which were given $10 million for being in debt. The remaining territories’ side of slavery was left for them to …show more content…

Southern expansionists were overall not satisfied with the lands acquired from Mexico. Instead, they saw new possibilities from Latin America. They were most eager about Cuba, in the hopes of of acquiring it as well. So, President James K. Polk attempted to make a deal with Spain for the land. He offered $100 million to purchase Cuba. Since Spain lost most of their once glorious empire, they rejected the offer. Southerners then attempted to take the land by force, but proved as no competition to the Spanish. The next President, Franklin Pierce, decided to pick this plan back up. With a destination of Ostend, Belgium, he sent three American diplomats to negotiate with Spain to buy Cuba. Written in 1854, the Ostend Manifesto came about, and was simply a document stating that the U.S wanted to purchase Cuba. Although they tried doing this secretly, it was leaked to the United States press and those against slavery were angered. Because of this, President Pierce as forced to drop the plan and let it

Show More
Related

  • The Dinner Between Hamilton Pros And Cons

    558 Words  | 3 Pages

    The heat at this moment insisted that Northern delegates had no rights to decide the behavior of the South, whose slavery situation was different from their definition. Right at the end however, Benjamin Franklin stepped up and declared the House abolishes slavery, and Madison stepping up as well making sure that no Constitution would be passed involving this

    Read More

  • Ap World History Dbq Essay

    470 Words  | 2 Pages

    Starting off his short term as president, James K. Polk had expanded the nation by two-thirds through the addition of Texas, the Oregon boundary, and the conquest of all Mexican provinces north of 31 degrees. However, having been elected on a platform pressing for Oregon to a northern boundary of of 54 degrees 40’ and Texas to a southern boundary of the Rio Grande river, Polk came to an agreement with Britain on 49 degrees but went to war with Mexico in want of Texas, New Mexico, and California. The acquisition of Mexico was concerning because it surfaced the debate over the balance of power and slavery between the North and the South. Along with Polk’s decision, Democrats agreed in expanding territory because of their strong following of the Democratic doctrine, the Manifest Destiny, by expanding the nation’s territory through any means.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast War And The Shock Doctrine

    1292 Words  | 6 Pages

    With presidents Martin Van Buren and William Henry Harrison both during these time periods we would see diplomatic ties with the US by Sir Andrew Jackson. This motive will later lead to a war with Mexico if political individuals proceed to try to achieve power of Texas. Which in result from the text we learn that Mexico tries to take over Texas and the US would respond with aggressive actions forcing the US and Mexico to declare war at the time for the annex of Texas. When the United States pushed to purchase Texas and Mexican California, we see that their attempt did not prevail whilst Mexico views this as an insult. Polk would act and ordered men to “take a bold, firm course towards Mexico.”

    Read More

  • Mexican American War Dbq Essay

    338 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Mexican-American War was an important turning point for the institution of slavery in the U.S. due to the acquiring of the states such as California, New Mexico, and the recognition of Texas’s annexation. With the new land acquired many disputes rose up on whether the states should be slave states or not, due to the good land and weather conditions in California and New Mexico perfect for farming (Doc.1). Manifest Destiny seemed like it was the most important for the south because of the better land but many Northern Democrats believed that slavery could not further expand (Doc.1) The Mexican-American war was a complete victory for the United States but the states gained became free states out numbering the number of the Southern slave

    Read More

  • Mexican American War Research Paper

    371 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the war between Mexico and the United States, was from 1864-1848. The reason for this war was because the United States wanted to expand across the North America. Americans believe that they had the god given the right to expand across North America because they were more civilized also, more Americans were settling in western lands. The United States offered the Mexican government of large lump sum of money and Mexican Government refused to sell Half of the country. They saw America as a dangerous country and didn't want to reside next to them.

    Read More

  • Dbq Slavery

    438 Words  | 2 Pages

    The southern elites who owned these plantations had no intentions to give up their slaves. The founders must have realized that the southern economy would be devastated if

    Read More

  • 13th Amendment Essay

    585 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Three-Fifths Clause of the United States Constitution (1787) article goes into detail about The Northern States simply laughing at this idea because they would only count the slaves into their population upon it benefitting them as they all knew slaves were not held at an equal standard. They figured that if slaves didn’t have rights then how could they be counted into the population that would decide the percentile of representation upon the States. Although, this would have given them a Tax break, it would have been an unfair advantage in the House of Representatives. This was merely a selfish act upon the Southern states to gain a totaling advantage of about thirty percent or possibly even more. We should not have allowed the compromise basing it off the want for more power as they had denied the slaves the power of humanity already.

    Read More

  • The Three Compromises Made In The Constitutional Convention

    1593 Words  | 7 Pages

    One of the compromises made in the Constitutional Convention is the three-fifths compromise. In this compromise, the southerners wanted to add slaves to the population of the state they lived in. If slaves were included in their state’s population, that state would be able to add more representatives in the House of Representatives. Northerners did not agree with that statement because slaves did not have the right to vote. After the delegates compromised, they agreed that only three-fifths of the slave’s population would be counted into the state’s population.

    Read More

  • How Did The Mexican American War Affect The Economy

    170 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Mexican-American war altered the United States environmentally, culturally and politically. First, on February 2, 1848, Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo two years post the beginning of the war. The treaty not only achieved President Polk’s goal to achieve California from Mexico but also granted the U.S. over 500,000 square miles of new territory. The new land caused approximately 90,000 spanish speaking, mostly Catholic Mexicans under American jurisdiction. Second, Nativism, a rising anti-catholic and anti-immigrant deemed the Mexicans inferior.

    Read More

  • Mexican American War Essay Thesis

    1171 Words  | 5 Pages

    INTRODUCTION Throughout the 1840s and 1850s a major war happened called the Mexican American War which drastically changed the U.S. and Mexico and lead to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo to be signed and which established the Rio Grande and not the Nueces River as the U.S Border. This also lead to the U.S. annexation of Texas and lead to the Mexico agreeing to sell California and the rest of the territory for 15 million. So you 're probably wondering why the war was fought but you 'll find that out later.

    Read More

  • Mexican American War Justified Dbq Essay

    492 Words  | 2 Pages

    It was April 25, 1846. The Mexican military invaded Texas, a disputed territory. When the U.S. military came to attack, the Mexicans killed 16 Americans. This is one of the many events leading to the Mexican American War. The Mexican-American War was a major war over Mexico’s land.

    Read More

  • Long Term Effects Of The Mexican American War

    550 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1846, two superpowers of the Americas went to war against one another, Mexico and the United States of America. Though the war was purely based upon land expansion, the aftereffects were consequently very important to all the people who lived in either country. The three most important effects of this territorial war, known as the Mexican-American war, include the increase of miners and settlers pushing west, the dramatic decrease of the Native American population, and the increase in sheer number of slaves and popularity of slavery. When the U.S. won the Mexican-American war, they gained over 500,000 square miles of land alone from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, not including the Gadsden Purchase of 1853 which acquired an additional 29,000 square miles. With all this new land, there were many trail blazers that set out to conquer the wilderness.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of The Mexican American War

    512 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Mexican–American War, also known as the Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States of America and the United Mexican States from 1846 to 1848. The Mexican War between the United States and Mexico started from the annexation of Texas in 1845. The war resulted in the United States’ acquisition of more than 500,000 square miles of Mexican territory extending westward from the Rio Grande to the Pacific Ocean America’s dedication of War on Mexico. There were many pros and conflicts following this war, which will be the main focus of this paper.

    Read More

  • Mexican American War Research Paper

    889 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Mexican-American War changed the Unites States of America in a monumental way. This war changed The U.S.A.’s relationship with foreign powers and the economic standpoint of the nation. The Mexican- American war, and its strong ties to manifest destiny, shaped the nation in a country bordered by two seas with a chance for common folk and foreigners to have a sustainable life due to the gold rush. The war can also be accounted for the downfall leading to the Civil War over the conflict of slavery due to the land purchased in the wars treaty. Conflict between Mexico and the United States began when Texas, previously part of Mexico, became part of the United States.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Mexican American War

    1083 Words  | 5 Pages

    The United States war with Mexico continues to be a divisive topic among many people because of its background. The Mexican-American war was a fight between Mexico and America for land. America’s belief at the time was Manifest Destiny, which meant that they believed that America should extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific ocean. In the end, America benefited from the war and got the land. The United States expanded its size, achieving their dream of Manifest Destiny.

    Read More

More about Mexican American War Dbq Essay

Open Document