Essay On Mexican War

According to President James Polk, “Mexico had passed the boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon the American soil.” (Document B) Clearly, this document shows that an affair with the Mexicans inside the border of America caused Americans to become injured and killed. According to Jesus Velasco-Marquez, “Thus occupying the territory in dispute and increasing the possibilities of a confrontation… In the eyes of the [Mexican] government, the mobilization of the US army was an outright attack on Mexico…” (Document C)

The claim that it was the Americans who were wronged in the border battle was deeply seeded within the propaganda published by the American newspapers. Statements such as the one stated in Document B, “Mexico has passed the boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory, and shed American blood,” exhibit the dramatic retellings of the fight to reflect upon Mexican savageness while neatly avoiding American flaws. It was also rooted into American morale that it was correct to annex Texas from the “imbecile and distracted, Mexico [who] can never exert any real government authority,” according to Document A. Ultimately, the question of which country was justified in the Mexican-American War is debatable. However, to side with the Americans would mean disregarding the blatant disrespect displayed by the settlers, the betrayal of the American government for the annexation of what was still viewed as Mexican land, and the ambiguity of the border dispute for both.

The Mexican-American War was the first war to be fought mostly on foreign soil. During this period, the newly formed the United States was eagerly seeking to expand their territory towards the west. When failed attempts to obtain lands by purchasing them from Mexico for the price of $30,000,000 dollars. The U.S. government felt there was little hope of gaining these territories by peaceful means, a war was inevitable. Mexico was still bitter despite Texas gaining their independence in 1836, voluntarily selling their lands to the United States was not an option.

South Carolina was first, with Texas following as the seventh state to secede from the Union and form a new country, the Confederacy. War was prominent and everybody could see it. The rising tension between the territories jump-started the Civil War. Both territories wanted to spread their ideas to the rest of the United States. When the Missouri Compromise happened, officials debated about letting in Missouri because it would tip the balance of power.

A). In April of 1846, President James K. Polk had an idea to expand the U.S from coast to coast and after Mexico denied selling land to Polk because they had Texas, Polk declared war on Mexico because they were weaker and would give more land. As a result of the Mexican War, the U.S acquired a lot of land. This acquisition of new land soon posed as a problem regarding slavery. The United States government did not know if slaves should or should not be allowed in the new land.

War is going on all the time and whether the causes are appropriate or not is debatable. Many times war is the last result, but for the US, in this case, armed conflict was the only option. On April 25th, 1846 a massive Mexican Army attacked Captain Seth Thornton and his US Army north of the Rio Grande. Many were overtaken by fear, of what was to come. War.

One of the consequences of Manifest Destiny was the Mexican-American War. Following the ideology of Manifest Destiny, Texas was annexed into the United States in 1845, creating tensions with the Mexican government. While the annexation of Texas had great benefits for America, from the Mexican point of view it caused many issues legally and threatened national security (Document C). In pursuit of the grand ambitions of Manifest Destiny, President Polk and many Americans forgot to consider the consequences of achieving their ultimate goal of controlling the whole of North America. While before the United States had supported the independent countries, such as Mexico, that had broken free of Spanish rule, during this time period America lost sight of their ideals and made

The Mexican American War started in 1846 because of Mexican resentment caused by the 1836 loss of Texas and the American’s desire for Mexico’s more northern territory. “On September 9, 1847 after two years of fighting, the Mexican American war essentially ended when the American Army captured Mexico City after the Battle of Chapultepec”( 6). The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war. United States leaders then acted morally superior in their negotiations of the treaty 1. During negotiations, United States officials viewed the “forcible incorporations” (1) of almost one half of Mexico’s land as an “event foreordained by providence and Manifest Destiny” (1).

20 1 ,2 ,3, Secede After a long, ruthless battle with Mexico, Texas hoped to get annexed to the U.S. and live in peace. Their wish was granted; however, they were not able to live in peace for long. After being a part of the US for __ years, Texas began to disagree with the rest of the US on many issues such as slavery and states’ rights, just to name a few. After seeing a few other states secede from the Union, the Texans got motivated to do so as well. Secede means, to officially leave a country or state.

Another interpretation was the idea of racism within Texas. Anglos retained previous beliefs that anyone of darker color would be significantly inferior to them, which created tension between all of the inhabitants. I believe that there were many other ideas that went through the minds of Santa Anna and his people. I think that there could have been ideas revolving around land control, and taking the land. However, I believe that they probably believed that the Anglos had sought to overthrow or extinguish them so that the Anglos would be in control and have the power.

Thirdly, a second reason the Mexican War was not justified because US soldiers were in a disputed area. According to Jesus Velasco Marquez from “A Mexican Viewpoint on the War With the United States,” he states that “From Mexico’s point of view, the annexation of Texas to the United States was inadmissible for both legal and security reasons.” As well as, “The American government acted like a bandit who came upon a

Annexing Texas and declaring war caused more problems for Mexico and America. America should have left Texas to Mexico. It caused many security problems to Mexico and brought the issues of slaves. It also seems as if america was “asking” for a war. Mexico did indeed throw the first punch, but America was taunting them.

(Marquez 327) This direct quote shows that Mexico is angry that the U.S. is taking more land. In the daily El Tiempo stated that the American government came as a traveler and then acted like a robber (Marquez 327). This information shows that that the American government came and stole from Mexico. The annexation of Texas was inadmissable and unofficial.

Consequently, the U.S. blamed Mexico for attacking them when they were only defending their borders. President James Polk’s statement saying,” Mexico had passed the boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon the American soil”(Doc B) and the quote by Jesus Velasco-Marquez,“In the eyes of the Mexican government, the mobilization of the US army was an outright attack on Mexico,” (Doc C) show how the United States and Mexico had different views on where the border was. Overall, it was unjust for the United States to blame Mexico for going on their land when there was no clear

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war between the U.S. and Mexico. This war was initiated by the United States and resulted in Mexico 's defeat and the loss of nearly 60 percent of its territory in the north. In the U.S. the war is termed the Mexican–American War, also known as the Mexican War, the U.S.–Mexican War or the Invasion of Mexico. In Mexico names for the war include Primera intervención estadounidense en México, Guerra de la Invasión estadounidense, and Guerra del 1847. Nonetheless, the Mexican American War was unjust because of President Polk’s thirst for more territory.