James K. Polk's Manifest Destiny

By the 1900s, the word Manifest Destiny was everywhere. Every American believed that the expansion of the US was a “God-given right.” America had already doubled its size through the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, but it had gotten another opportunity to expand in 1846. Texas had declared independence from Mexico in 1845, and applied for statehood. Ten years later, it was accepted into the Union and became one of the US states (province). Around this time, James K. Polk was president. Polk wanted much more of Texas, plus, he had his eye on California as well. Polk was a strong believer in Manifest Destiny and that was why he wanted to declare war on Mexico. The majority of Congress voted to declare war and it was put into action. The one question

The US soldiers, who were commanded by General Zachary Taylor, arrived at the Rio Grande River. The land between the Rio Grande and Nueces Rivers were disputed because the Mexicans believed that the border between Texas and Mexico was the Nueces River and the Texans and Americans believed it was the Rio Grande River. This created confusion and conflict. Polk sent the American troops all the way past the Nueces River to the Rio Grande River. It was there that the American troops confronted the Mexican troops and they became engaged in a fight. After a while, “... sixteen [Americans] were killed and wounded…” (Doc B: War Message of President James Polk). Jesus Velasco- Marquez, a Mexican historian, stated that, “... In the eyes of the [Mexican] government, the mobilization of the US army was an outright attack on Mexico… As a consequence, the Mexican government reaffirmed the instruction to protect the border, meaning the territory located between the Rio Grande and the Nueces River” (Doc C: “A Mexican Viewpoint on the War With the United States”). The Mexican government was just protecting its borders and the soldiers were provoked, so they attacked the US soldiers. An article in the daily newspaper, El Tiempo, stated, “ The American government acted like a bandit who came upon a traveler” (Doc C: “A Mexican Viewpoint on the War With the

The US has fought many wars, but this war was different. Even though the US expanded through the war, there was no reason for the war to occur. The only thing that the US got from this war was disrespect. The US got disrespect because there was no reason for a war to occur. There could have been a peaceful negotiation, but that didn’t happen. The US won many wars and has gained global recognition for it. It became a national power and it has had many victories, but the Mexican-American War was one of its