Execution Essay: The Mexican War

With westward expansion becoming more popular, and with people thinking it was their manifest destiny-or God given fate to go west, populations increased. But conflict arose with our southern neighbor Mexico. This conflict could’ve been prevented, or resolved, but instead it grew worse. This conflict is often called the “Mexican American War” but in Mexico it is called the “US Invasion”. On April 24th, 1836 63 American men and officers went just south of the Rio Grande when Mexico attacked.

Mexican American War “... May the boldest fear and the wisest tremble when incurring responsibilities on which may depend on our countries peace and prosperity…” -James K. Polk. What our 11th president meant by this is that we need to maintain good relations to bring success as this is the opposite of what Mexico wanted. In 1845, many Americans believed in manifest destiny which was the belief that the United States was destined to stretch from coast to coast. As this idea scattered through America, citizens of the U.S. spread with it.

Unlike the viewpoint of Americans, Mexicans did not view the annexation of Texas and the Mexican-American War justifiable. Americans did not have the right to invade in Mexico. Many politicians in the United States proclaimed that they should expand their territory by the annexation of Texas and Mexico. Americans justified the annexation with the idea of “Manifest Destiny”, an expression of idealized justification on the part of Americans that they have the God-given right to civilize all the nations.

Some Americans opposed New Mexico statehood because they questioned the loyalty of many New Mexico citizens. They also feared that New Mexicans might side with Spain, their former mother country, in the Spanish American War. Many Americans saw similarities between the Cuban struggle for independence and their own struggle for independence from England during the American Revolution. On February 15, the battleship exploded in Havana Harbor. More than 250 American sailors were killed The United States declared war on Spain for this and other reasons in April 1898.

America had a dream of Manifest Destiny (O’Sullivan). Which they believe that God had set aside the entire North America for United States(Textbook). “Which later started the Westward movement”. During the time Native Americans tribes and Mexico had already had been inhabiting the area(Textbook). They would not leave without a fight.

Texas Declaration of Independence were wrote in March 2, 1836. There are four authors of Texas DOI, appointed by the president of the Tejas, Richard Ellis. The main author, George Childress, was born on January 8, 1804, at Nashville, Tennessee, and graduated from Davidson Academy, the modern University of Nashville, in 1826. He married Margaret Vance on June 12, 1826. After, he began to practice law between September 1834 - November 1835.

In life everything can be either justified or unjustified. Sometimes when things happen they can come out being unjustified according to some people and justified according to other. When that happens there is normally a huge argument about it. In 1812 Mexico gained its independence from Spain and in 1836 Texas won its independence from Mexico. There was a huge war in 1812 but it wasn't a very controversial war, the Mexican-American war was way more controversial.

The social reaction to expansionism continued throughout both movements because the opposing sides of each argument disagreed on completely different topics. Many during the time of Imperialism believed America was destined to expand due to the believed superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race (Doc 1), and was justified in expanding due to the fact that America would spread democracy and that they were required to expand because it was the “White Man’s Burden” (Doc 1-POV). This is also true for Manifest Destiny, which was built on the idea that God ordained the western hemisphere for Americans.

In the 1840’s the Americans had a belief which was they could spread their land and culture across what was know as mexican territory. The culture before was America only consisting of only The United States, and The Louisiana purchase. The Americans needed a land where they could have fertilized soil to grow their crops. The Americans said “we want to expand our way of living.” Which meant that the only way to get the land was to share it or capture it.

In the 1840’s, problems between the U.S. and Mexico had risen. Not one country was sure on if they were being invaded or if one was invading the other. The U.S. was not justified in going to war with Mexico. One reason is that the U.S. was trying to invade Mexico. Doc A is a Magazine article by John L. O’Sullivan written in 1845.

During the nineteenth century the U.S was immersed in the era called the Industrial Revolution and there were many negative aspects that came with innovation. A combination of negative aspects of the industrial revolution including economic instability (Booms and Busts), job insecurity, and dangerous work conditions led to the creation of gatherings of workers called labor unions. This century was known for two main national labor unions, the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor. The first national union was the Knights of Labor it was founded in 1869 by Uriah Stephens. The Knights of Labor were the first union to organize skilled, unskilled, men, women, white, and black workers.

Without the Mexican-American war, would people living on most of the West Coast be living in Mexico or the U.S? In 1846 through 1848 Mexico and the United States were at war. James Polk was the President at the time. Was war with the U.S and Mexico justified? The United States was justified in going to war with Mexico because Texas had already gain independence, Manifest Destiny, and Texas becoming a state.