Compare And Contrast The Mexican American War And The Declaration Of Independence

Matt Finegan
Ms. Macintosh
United States History
20 January 2023

The government did not fully uphold the values of the right to life, consent of the governed, and liberty within the first 100 years of America's existence. While the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were significant steps towards creating a nation built on principles of equality and individual rights, the reality of America's history has been more complex. The idea of "all men are created equal" did not initially apply to all practically nonwhite people. In particular, the treatment of Indigenous peoples, Mexicans, Native Americans, and African Americans by the government is emphasized. Two significant events, the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the Massacre at

This is shown by three significant events: the Mexican-American War, the Trail of Tears, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. These events prove that the government prioritized expanding and maintaining the power of the elite class over truly respecting the rights and autonomy of these groups of people. The Mexican-American War, in which the U.S. government annexed large portions of Mexican Territory without the consent of the Mexican people, was a massive violation of the principle of consent of the governed. The justification for the war was the belief in "Manifest Destiny," which ignored the fact that the land was already inhabited and governed by another sovereign nation. The people living there had no say in the matter. This had no consent from the Mexican people and, in the name of American expansion, showed a clear disregard for their right to self-government. The Mexican-American War violated the value of the governed's consent and disregarded the sovereignty of another nation and the rights of the people living there. The Trail of Tears, in which thousands of Native Americans were forcibly removed from their ancestral lands and relocated to reservations without their consent, was another time of Americans not following the value of consent of the governed. The government used the Indian Removal Act of 1830 to justify these actions, arguing that it was necessary for the expansion of white settlers. However, this forced relocation ignored the rights of the Native American tribes and violated their right to self-government. The act resulted in the deaths of thousands of Native Americans due to disease, starvation, and exposure. The Trail of Tears violated the principle of consent of the governed and disregarded the rights