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How Did The Mexican-American War Dbq

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In April 25, 1846, the U.S. went to war with Mexico over the U.S. annexation of Texas. Later in the war, it was revealed that America’s true intensions were to expand slavery and to claim western territory. This skirmish between the U.S. and Mexico became known as the Mexican-American War. The Mexican-American War was fought from the April 25, 1846 to February 2,1848 and took place on disputed land, in what’s current day Texas. This yearlong combat resulted in Mexico losing and even more importantly, the loss of half of Mexico’s national territory in the north. Furthermore, feuds over land were a common practice during this period in history. Due to the fact that the economic state of both Mexico and America was unsteady, Mexico wasn’t …show more content…

A significant amount of American’s interpreted this as a god given right to expand. Declared in “John L. O’ Sullivan, “Annexation”, The United States Magazine and Democratic Review, Vol. XVII, July 1845.” (Document A) “[O]ther nations have undertaken… hostile interference against us… hampering our power, limiting our greatness and checking the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by providence [God] for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.” To summarize, this meant that countless Americans believed that Manifest Destiny gave them the means to take and take with no repercussions. In addition to America’s new found beliefs, the U.S. had even more of a reason to engage the Mexico because the Mexicans had killed and wounded sixteen Americans. As stated in “War Message of President James Polk, Washington, May 11, 1846” (Document B) “[On the 24th of April] a party… of sixty-three men and officers, were… dispatched from the American camp up the Rio del Norte, on its [North] bank, to ascertain whether the Mexican troops had crossed, or were preparing to cross, the river… [They] became engaged with a large body …show more content…

Mainly due to the event involving the Mexicans who killed sixteen Americans on disputed territory. Americans were angered that blood was shed on this land they wanted dearly. As a matter of fact, Mexico denied $10 million dollars from the US in exchange for Texas. President Polk said that the Mexicans brought this on themselves and the war was inevitable. Within “Jesus Velasco- Marquez, Instituto Technologico Autonomo de Mexico, “A Mexican Viewpoint on the War With the United States,” Voices of Mexico, Issue #41, Center for Research on North America (CISAN), National Autonomous University of Mexico, 2006.” (Document C) it’s said that “From Mexico’s point of view, the annexation of Texas to the United States was inadmissible for both legal and security reasons, Thus, when the Mexican government learned of the treaty signed between Texas and the United States in April 1844, it… would consider such an act “a declaration of war.” Yet, another reason the United States was justified in going to war with Mexico. Texas wanted to be annexed from the U.S., the only problem with this was that Texas wanted to be a regarded as a slave state. The northerners denied that request because it

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