Manifest Destiny: The Black Hawk War

The phrase “manifest destiny” was in the air, exciting United State citizens. President James Polk declared that it was America’s right to expand to the Pacific Ocean. However, the land west from Texas was Mexican soil. As a result, the United States asked to buy the California territory. When Mexico declined their offer, President James Polk needed an excuse to go to war with Mexico to steal California right from underneath them. Polk spread the rumor that it was their “manifest destiny” to extend America’s territory to the Pacific Ocean. Historians today ask the question: Was the United States justified in going to war with Mexico? The United States was not justified, because the United States were greedy for land, “manifest destiny” is weak excuse, and because of the human cost.

On April 24, 1846, a Mexican army attacked American troops with no motive on U.S. soil. The United States of America was right in declaring war on Mexico because of Manifest Destiny, Mexico being aggressive, and Mexico being the ones to attack first.

The cry of war was heard between two nations that continually fought for land. Different boundaries are being claimed between America and Mexico for the fight of Texas, but the result is the increasing number of the dead. The United states chose to start the annexation of Texas. Mexico was angry with this unfair request. American troops were sent to southern Texas to only result in meeting the same set of foes. Gun shots were heard as U.S. troops and Mexican troops fought. As a result, James Polk, the president of the United States at the time, declared war on Mexico. The U.S. was not justified into going into war with Mexico because the Annexation of Texas and California was unofficial, Texas unfairly changed its borders after winning its

Polk at this time looking at mexico with no opposition turn to congress to declare war. congress did not want to because of the reasons Polk wanted war were invalid, but congress did say if they shot at us we would have no choice than to go to war with mexico. So frustrated Polk now forced a showdown, and on Jan. 1846, he ordered men under Zachary Taylor to march from the Nueces River to the Rio Grande, provocatively near Mexican troops. As events would have it, on April 1846, news of Mexican troops crossing the Rio Grande and killing of wounding 16 Americans came to Washington, and Polk pushed for a declaration of war. so with the Push by Polk, Congress declared war, and so began the Mexican-American War which mexico was trapped in fighting.

The causes of the Mexican-American war were the Annexation of Texas, Land Disputes between Mexico and the United States of America and President Polk’s Greed. The country of Mexico was upset and angry with the United States of America because they took the state of Texas away from them. The two continued to dispute over Southern Texas and the land between the rivers Rio Grande and Nueces. President Polk later sent a messenger to offer thirty-million dollars for the SouthWest. Mexico declined the offer and President Polk declared war on Mexico. This showed President Polk’s Greed and desire to spread the United States of America from the east to the west. By the end of the war, America was victorious and in result they took half of Mexico’s

Americans were outraged over the border dispute at the Nueces and the Rio Grande rivers, and Mexicans were irate with America’s annexation of Texas. President James K. Polk availed in the atmosphere of animosity, hurrying to place troops on conflicted land. On May 9, 1846, he found his cause for war. Mexican and American troops had engaged in combat on April 24, which led American blood spilt on contended soil. However, through all their fighting spirit, the Americans faithfully ignored their own mistreatment of the Mexicans. They ignored the original reason of the enmity, which was the annexation of Texas, and the actual uncertainty of border uproar. This brings into question; were the Americans as justified as they believed in their cry against

Manifest destiny also affected the relationship with Mexico. Several factors led to the Mexican- American War in 1846. The factors were that the U.S citizens were moving into California and Mexico. Since there were many revolutions happening in Mexico throughout this time period the Mexican government was not able to protect the U.S citizens in this region. Another factor was that Mexico was upset that Texas declared independence from them and then the U. S annexed Texas in 1845. The way they claimed annexed was by saying the Rio Grande was the southern boundary of Texas but Mexico said it was the Nueces River. In regards to the war, Americans were greatly divided. The northerners hated it because of the fact that Texas favored slavery. Those in the south liked the idea of a war because it would help expand to the west. This expansion would provide more land and opportunity. The war was one-sided due to the fact that the United States won most of the battles. The problem with this was that México refused to negotiate after every loss, so the war had to go on for longer than it had to be. Since Mexico refused to negotiate

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.

Throughout the years of 1807-1910, there was a lot of tension and confusion within the United States. The major factor that prompted the U.S. expansion was they wanted to expand and make their borders known.

“The expansive future is our arena, and for our history. We are entering on its untrodden space, with the truths of god in our minds, beneficent objects in our hearts, and with a clear conscience unsullied by the past.” This is telling the reader that we have a huge desire to go and capture something that no one can stop us from.” Manifest Destiny” is supporting of expansion, discovering new lands and resources.

Manifest Destiny was the term used by John O’Sullivan to describe America’s desire to expand West due to reasons including both the vast amount of unclaimed land and the opportunities Americans wanted to explore. During this time, Americans believed that it was their God-given right to expand West, and therefore they were entitled to push away any groups that were in their way. Due to the mindset that the Americans could do as they pleased with the groups of people who got in their way, Manifest Destiny affected many groups of people, including the American Indians and Slaves, and continued to build up the preexisting tension between the North and South.

“Once we became an independent people it was as much a law of nature that this [control of all of North America] should become our pretension as that the Mississippi should flow to the sea” –John Quincy Adams (Henretta, p. 384). In the 1840s, Americans had a belief that God destined for them to expand their territory all the way westward to the Pacific Ocean. This idea was called Manifest Destiny. In the nineteenth century, Americans were recognized for coming together and building up one another for one cause: westward expansion. The time of Manifest Destiny was a time of true American brotherhood and comradeship. With Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk being the leading presidents of the cause during this time, it not only led to continental expansion but homicide as well. While the Americans believed they were expanding into free land, Native Americans had already settled the land centuries earlier. This led to the dark side of Manifest Destiny. Native Americans were forced to pick up their homes and resettle in areas that were less than sufficient to meet their basic needs. If Native Americans were not compliant, Americans would murder them. Although Manifest Destiny was seen as an inevitable movement among Americans and resulted in the formation of the American West in the Nineteenth century, it was truthfully an act of invasion and subjugation against peoples who had settled the land for hundreds of years earlier. Manifest Destiny led to an obvious upsurge in racial

The Market Revolution generated a drastic change in the United States economy and altered gender barriers while at the same time accomplishing this in a provocative manner. This economic boom occurred around the first half of the 19th Century. The economic boom was achieved by inventions such as a transcontinental railroad system which resulted in a better transportation system which improved trade and the cotton gin which sped up the rate of removing seeds from cotton fiber. However like what the great Hugo said, “The brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are over we realize this: that the human race has been roughly handled, but that it has advanced”. That is exactly what happened with this revolution in fact and the progress

In 1819, John Quincy Adams asserted that the United States had prerogative to all of North America. He thought it was America’s destiny to expand to the Pacific Ocean. Many Americans had agreed with him by the 1840s. The Manifest Destiny had an important role in the Election of 1844. The Democrats had chosen James K. Polk for President, a man who wasn’t really known, while the Whigs chose Henry Clay for President. Polk had soon became known for wanting land expansion and he demanded that Oregon and Texas should be added to the United States. On election day, Polk was elected President since the Americans had showed favoritism of expansion.

From 1820-1860 Manifest Destiny played a major role in American Politics. Manifest Destiny was the expansion of American settlement onto Western land, and the belief that it is God-given land. Manifest Destiny impacted America politically because Americans felt they had a right to all Western land, so this resulted in the creation of the Missouri Compromise of 1820,and the Mexican American War of 1846. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 created a border line between free-soil states, and slave States in Western territories. The Mexican American War of 1846 was a war between the Mexicans, and Americans for Western land.