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Manifest Destiny And The Mexican-American War

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In 1846, the United States Congress declared war on Mexico after a request from President James K. Polk. President Polk had accused Mexican troops of attacking Americans on U.S soil, north of the Rio Grande. Polk’s plan was to claim California, New Mexico, and land near the disputed southern border the Texas (Rio Grande River). The Mexican-American war fulfilled America’s Manifest Destiny. Polk was a strong supporter of Manifest Destiny, he believed it was God’s plan for America to extend it’s territory all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Polk did not just want to annex Texas. Polk also had his eyes on California. The U.S Army invaded the Mexican heartland and captured Mexico City in September 1847. Although the U.S army had won the victory of the Mexican-American War of 1846, The War officially ended on February 2, 1848. Mexico had lost about a third of its territory, California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. …show more content…

Manifest Destiny was the idea that Americans were divinely ordained to settle the continent of North America. It also inflamed sectional tensions over slavery, which led to the Civil War. America wanted to expand from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean but Mexico and Great Britain stood in between. Manifest Destiny was brought into the Mexican-American War because, the southern wanted to find more land for cotton and that could expand slavery. Manifest Destiny gained more than 520,000 square miles of land, Arizona, California, Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico. The last piece of Manifest Destiny was the Gadsden Purchase that gained the land needed for the southern route railroad across the southwest to

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From 1820-1860 Manifest Destiny played a major role in American Politics. Manifest Destiny was the expansion of American settlement onto Western land, and the belief that it is God-given land. Manifest Destiny impacted America politically because Americans felt they had a right to all Western land, so this resulted in the creation of the Missouri Compromise of 1820,and the Mexican American War of 1846. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 created a border line between free-soil states, and slave States in Western territories. The Mexican American War of 1846 was a war between the Mexicans, and Americans for Western land.

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Manifest Destiny is a unique, yet mysterious fundamental series of events in American history. No other country’s history contains such an eventful history as the United States. Amy Greenberg’s book, Manifest Destiny and American Territorial Expansion, provides documented evidence that settlers believed they were destined for expansion throughout the continent. In other words, many religious settlers believed that it was a call from God for the United States to expand west. On the other hand, people believed that Manifest Destiny vindicated the war against Mexico.

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President James K. Polk asked Congress for a declaration of war against Mexico because, as he said, “American blood had been shed on American soil”. President Polk wanted to gain some of Mexico’s territory. He decided to send someone to Mexico with an offer. The offer was that the United States would pay Mexico for the Texan boundary of the Rio Grande, New Mexico territory, and California. Mexico was not interested in the offer or selling the territory and refused the offer, which ended with an angry president Polk after learning their response.

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The Mexican War of 1846 started because the U.S. had this idea of that they had to possess land from the Pacific to the Atlantic destined by God also known as “manifest destiny.” During this time, the U.S. President, James Polk, had the leadership and wanted to expand land and had in mind to annex Texas, occupy Oregon, and take control of California. The reason why the Mexican War began was due to Polk’s idea that he wanted to expand land west and he had also in mind to obtained Texas, Oregon, and California. In Texas there was a dispute over where the border line would be between Texas and Mexico.

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Mexico thought that the border was the Nueces River, while on the other hand, US believed it to be the Rio Grande which left a chunk of disputable land in-between. After Polk saw how the Mexicans had killed the Americans that he had sent to build forts [between the Nueces and the Rio Grande], he went to congress and asked congress into declaring war on Mexico (O'Brien). Mexico and the US went to war and since the US had settled the Oregon dispute it was easy for the US to end the war quickly. Both signed the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and Mexico also had to surrender control of New Mexico and California. Polk had successfully completed his first two action goals that he had made after his inauguration by getting both Oregon and

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During the year leading up the war with mexico the united states used major disputes and reasons for going to war being manifest destiny, Rio grande boundary dispute, and slidell 's mission. Manifest Destiny was the word used throughout the 1840s which is the belief that Americans had the right and the duty, to expand westward across the North American, from the Ocean to Ocean. In order to have this destiny, Americans would have to go to war with Mexico. so in 1844, James K. Polk who won the election, He and the Democrats went with Manifest Destiny, a concept that stated that the U.S. was destined to expand across the continent and get as much land as possible. In Polk prestindestce he promised in his four step plan to get land westward and he did getting california and oregon.

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James Polk was elected in 1845 and had an expansionist viewpoint. He accomplished all of his presidential campaign goals which included gaining Texas, California, Nevada, Utah, most of New Mexico, and Arizona including a few more territories on the southern border, therefore, expanding America's territories. In addition, Polk began a period of Manifest Destiny. This was a phrase used to describe America’s goal to grow from “sea to shining sea”. Also, the Mexican-American War in 1846 acquired new lands for America in the southwest from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

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However, because he was so stubborn, he was willing to go to war to obtain it, thinking that the Mexicans would not put up much of a fight. Polk had, at first, hoped he could gain California from Mexico the same way he had gotten Oregon from Great Britain--with what is called “eyeball diplomacy,” staring at the opponent and expecting he would blink first. This tactic obviously did not work, which angered him. Economically, the United States was not fit for a war, especially a war in a foreign country. Though the Americans did win the war, their relationship with the Mexicans became poor.

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With Polk’s narrow victory, the Democrats immediately called to admit Texas as a state, but was only successful by using a joint resolution,which included admitting Oregon as a state to satisfy Northern expansionist desires and balancing the number of slave-owning and free soil states. Not satisfied with these states alone, Polk turned to Mexico’s northern provinces (such as California and New Mexico) and endeavored to start a revolution in California. Polk’s audacious move to incite a revolution in California--done by sending Thomas Oliver Larkin to influence famous Californios to seek independence, seizing San Francisco Bay, and employing John Slidell to try to buy California--was met with greater tensions between the U.S. and Mexico for a war. These acts led to Polk utilizing more aggressive tactics to expand U.S. territory; Polk sent General Zachary Taylor to occupy disputed territory and “provoke a fight” (Pg. 419 Henretta), and the war concluded with American triumph. The war had started with patriotic expansionism, but soon divided the nation: the Whigs, who were against the war and did not support “this wretched cant about a ‘manifest destiny’”

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President Polk, first tried to get that land for the U.S by offering Mexican money for the land. The Mexican government said no. President Polk tried to provoke a war with Mexico. He finally got congress to declare war with Mexico in 1836. When he talked about “Shedding American blood on American soil.”

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Manifest Destiny was a big stepping point in America. When American settlers wanted more land, they decided to take Natives land, so they could expand their own land. This caused them to retaliate causing the Civil War. This made the Native Americans and Americans relationship to be worse. It made the Native American population decrease drastically.

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policy towards the Mexican War of 1846. Dominated by the editors who strongly believed the concept of Manifest Destiny, the United States Democratic Review justified the war with Mexico. In the article titled, The Mexican War - Its Origin and Conduct, the author listed several reasons to war against Mexico such as the annexation of Texas, boundary dispute, the threat to the U.S. economic interests in the region and above all, the U.S. expansionist policy towards the West. Deeply influenced by the ideas of Manifest Destiny, President Polk framed his foreign policy in his presidency and successfully fulfilled the God-given mission to stretch the U.S. territory as far as the Pacific region, negotiate with the Great Britain to acquire the Oregon territory and sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with Mexico in 1848. Without the ideas of Manifest Destiny, the U.S. expansionism would not thrive, the newly born democratic nation would not increase his territory astronomically and the young republic would not have enough political and economic power to be a giant at the stage of international

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The president at that time was Polk, he promised that he would annex Texas and Oregon; and gain New York and California. He also wanted to serve one term as president and wanted to accomplish this. According to Document E written by Joshua Giddings, who was part of the U.S. congress debate on the war with Mexico. This debate was between the House of Representatives on May 13, 1846. “The order was also to abstain from all aggressive acts toward citizens.

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Then James K. Polk and congress has declared war with Mexico. James K. Polk was a huge fan and strongly supported “Manifest Destiny.” It was a theory that America was told by God to spread out west to become a nation that connected the two great oceans. Doc A: John O’Sullivan feels that we did well in taking Texas and letting them join

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The United States war with Mexico continues to be a divisive topic among many people because of its background. The Mexican-American war was a fight between Mexico and America for land. America’s belief at the time was Manifest Destiny, which meant that they believed that America should extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific ocean. In the end, America benefited from the war and got the land. The United States expanded its size, achieving their dream of Manifest Destiny.

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