How did California, The Golden State, become a part of the United States of America? The answer lies in the Mexican-American War. This controversial war was fought in 1846 under the presidency of James K. Polk, a strong believer in Manifest Destiny. It took place after the annexation of Texas and was a result of a dispute over land between the Nueces River and Rio Grande. The Mexican-American War was unjustified for three reasons, for one; Polk intentionally instigates the war with Mexico, secondly; the U.S. only wanted Mexican land to expand their own, and finally; in order to obtain this land, America violates Mexican laws. Polk’s declaration of war was unjustified due to the fact that he provokes the war with Mexico by deliberately
I believe America’s declaration of war on Mexico was a poor choice because although, there were benefits like gaining new land such as California, Texas, and New Mexico, it will strain any future relations with Mexico, money and supplies were wasted, tensions will rise, and most importantly, many lives were lost
3) Polk wanted to negotiate with the United States and was willing to go to war against them for territory gains. He also states that with the act of the war they are fulfilling patriotism and their duty toward their own country. So that is what he tried to resolve the issues between Mexico and the United States. Polk believed in the idea of the Manifest Destiny which played an important factor in his actions. 1)
By completing this action, President Polk understood that Mexico would see this as a threat to their country, and would react with violence. This would then lead to Mexican soldiers arriving on ‘’U.S territory’’. These intended actions ultimately resulted in an unethical war that was wickedly planned out by, the one and only, President Polk. Furthermore, in Polk’s address to the United States Congress, asking for a declaration of war, he says,’’... I had ordered an efficient military force to take position ‘between the Nueces and Del Norte’.
The Mexican War was a violent and devastating event between United States and Mexico that lasted from 1846-1848. President Polk had to lie to congress, to make United States declare war on Mexico. Lincoln considered President Polk provoked as a vote-fixing device and hoped the arguments against the war would cause his reputation in the United States House of Representative. Lincoln claims President Polk misrepresented the whole thing that the Presidents Polk evidence was not true by any means. Lincoln lays out evidence that president Polk gave is either incorrect or irrelevant reasons to gain support from congress.
Mexican War, the misinterpreted situation, full of thievery of land and of lives. In 1846 the U.S went to war with Mexico, most people know it this way, but they did not know the actions that led to it. The U.S was not justified in going to war with Mexico. Some people think otherwise, but the facts are in the documents. These is what I think are the best 3 reasons, the land hunger of the U.S, the transgression of Mexican rules, and the amount of casualties left by the acts of the U.S.
As a Democrat, I believe that President Polk was justified in starting the Mexican-American War. Also, as a strong supporter of Manifest Destiny, also known as Western expansion, I furthermore find reason to believe Polk was justified in initiating war with the Mexican people; being that the Mexican government refused peaceful negotiation. The Americans were the just owners of this western land, and we intended to get it. The Mexican government refused a meeting with our representative to establish the border between Texas and Mexico, along with an offer of 30 million dollars for Western territory. These western territories would provide substantial economic growth for the United States, as well as the obvious: making our nation larger as
Another thing is that Polk deliberately sent a known spy (William Parrot) to Mexico for a diplomacy after Mexico made it clear that Parrot was not wanted. Did you know that Polk is trying to start war with the Mexicans, trying to make himself look all innocent. He only wants to go to war to gain land but, doesn't want his voters to know that. He tricks the U.S citizens
The War of US vs Mexico “Crash!”, “Bang!” , “Boom!” were the sounds as well as bloody battle cries people heard during this time period. The US vs Mexican war was a time of despair, horror, and a nightmare people will never forget. Around this time Mexico and the US were the same sizes and didn’t have many conflicts with each other. The war all started because of border issues.
The major conflict of President James Polk's term was the Mexican War that began during his presidency on 1846, and ended in 1848. May 13, 1846 is when congress officially declared war on Mexico, but previously to the U.S. declaring war the United States had already won two battles. This war was popular among young men and men, many people wanted to enlist in the army that recruiting stations had to turn away a large amount of people. During the war president James Polk sent a diplomat by the name of Nicholas Trist to try and settle peace with the Mexicans, but had an unsuccessful arrangement with Santa Anna president of Mexico. Therefore the war continued but ended shortly after when the United States won the battle of Mexico
and Mexican forces had taken place in U.S. territory.” “Further, legislators were at odds over whether Polk had the right to unilaterally declare that a state of war
In Document B, President Polk said, “I had ordered and efficient military force to take a position...to meet a threatened invasion of Texas by the Mexican forces….invasion was threatened solely because Texas had determined….to annex herself to our Union,... it was plainly our duty to extend our protection over her citizens and soil.” President Polk then mentioned the attack at the Rio del Norte, where the invasion in Texas happened. This evidence shows the US was justified in going to war with Mexico because Texas was invaded by Mexico, meaning that the U.S. should protect Texas by fighting
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
As stated before, the US was justified in going to war with Mexico because of three reasons, Americans were killed, Texas was already annexed, and Manifest Destiny allows it. The United states had many superb reasons for going to war with Mexico. This essay is significant because it helps explain the United States’ choice to go to war with
When Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, a string of ruthless dictators and weak presidents made Mexico an easy target for its powerful neighbor, the United States. The US swooped in to expand its territory and its popular institution of slavery. By doing so, the US started a war with Mexico that was justified for illegitimate reasons. The Mexican-American War was not justified because the US took Mexico’s land for the expansion of slavery, and justified their taking advantage of Mexico when it was politically weak by hiding behind Manifest Destiny.
Although the United States war against Mexico resulted in the gaining of America’s most valuable land, the war itself wasn’t legitimate because of the revolution in Texas, motivation for superiority, and the U.S. government’s actions. To begin, the Texans began an unreasonable war because they didn’t follow Mexico’s laws and conditions. When Mexico started selling cheap land, they set conditions for the people moving in. The people had to convert to Catholicism, learn Spanish, become a Mexican citizen, and have no slaves. Many Americans didn’t like being told what to do, and disobeyed the rules and laws.