Discuss The Short And Long Term Effects Of The Mexican American War

The Mexican-American war was an armed conflict between the neighboring countries of the United States of America and Mexico. The war had a deep impact on citizens of both countries north and south of the border and left thousands dead on both sides as well as a large debt to be assumed and repaid to the Mexican government by the United States in exchange for territory. Greatly influenced by the annexation of Texas, the war also heavily influenced the beginning of the Civil War as it brought to attention the disagreement over the extension of slavery. The main objective of this paper is to bring to attention the causes that led up to the war and the short and long term effects that the war wrought.

From a historical perspective, the Mexican-American

This was also coupled with the “determination of some expansionists to bring Texas into the union as another slave state and increase the economic gains that would result from the expansion of slavery into the area” . Furthermore, as more and more people continuously began populating into Texas, they began to disregard the authority of government officials from both Mexico and Texas. As a newspaper from the time period states “It is uncertain to many living in the newly occupied Texas territory, as to the attitudes held by Mexicans of the new American presence in the area, and whether or not it is positive or negative, cannot yet be judged” . The uncertain feelings that were oblivious to settlers of this time quickly became negative as newcomers continued to break Mexican rules and laws including those against slavery. The actions committed by Americans in the new area grew in number as did the complaints by Mexican citizens of their new neighbors. These complaints highly contributed to the overall disproval of American citizens by Mexican officials and were yet another factor that led to the bloodshed of the

In 1846, a congressman from Pennsylvania by the name of David Wilmot brought to floor a bill that would forbid any lands acquired in the war from abolishing slavery. Although his Wilmot Proviso was not passed, it led to ideas in the south that northern states were conspiring against the south. As a result the bill greatly signified an impassable divide in the nation on the subject of slavery, and through this divide the civil war would commence years later as the ultimate result of the Mexican-American