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Mexican American War Essay Thesis

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INTRODUCTION Throughout the 1840s and 1850s a major war happened called the Mexican American War which drastically changed the U.S. and Mexico and lead to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo to be signed and which established the Rio Grande and not the Nueces River as the U.S Border. This also lead to the U.S. annexation of Texas and lead to the Mexico agreeing to sell California and the rest of the territory for 15 million. So you 're probably wondering why the war was fought but you 'll find that out later. Here is just a little information about before we get started. According to History.com (2017) The Mexican American War which is marked the first U.S. armed conflict mainly fought on foreign soil. This scared a politically divided and …show more content…

soldiers in the disputed zone under the command of General Zachary Taylor, killing about a dozen. Taylor called in reinforcements, and with the help of superior rifles–were able to defeat the Mexicans at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. Following those battles, Polk told the U.S. Congress that the “cup of patience has been exhausted, even before Mexico passed the boundary of the United States, invading our territory, and shed American blood upon American soil.” Two days later, on May 13, Congress declared war, despite opposition from some lawmakers. No official statement of war ever came from Mexico. At that time, only about 75,000 Mexican citizens lived north of the Rio Grande. As a result, U.S. forces led by Stephen W. Kearny and Robert F. Stockton were able to conquer those lands. Taylor advancing, and captured Monterrey in September. With the losses adding up, Mexico turned to old standby General Antonio López de Santa Anna, the strongman who had been living in exile in Cuba. Santa Anna convinced Polk that, if allowed to return to Mexico, he would end the war on terms positive to the United States. At the Battle of Buena Vista in February 1847, Santa Anna suffered heavy loss and was forced to withdraw. Winfield Scott landed in Veracruz and took over the city. They then began marching toward Mexico City, essentially following the same route that Hernán Cortés …show more content…

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

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*One of the many reasons that the United States was justified to go to war with Mexico is that the Mexican soldiers shot 16 American soldiers. * This shooting was located at the North Bank of the Rio Del Norte River. [Document B, is a speech given by President James Polk, to try and convince congress to go to war with Mexico, and he gave his speech on May 11, 1846. ] In Document B, President

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The fact from document c that proves this is “ Troops commanded by General Zachary Taylor arrived at the Rio Grande across from the city of Matamoros thus occupying the territory in dispute… in the eyes, the Mexican government the mobilization of the United States Army was an outright attack on Mexico as a consequence the Mexican government reaffirms the instruction to protect the border”. This fact from document c proves that in 1846, President James K. Polk ordered American troops to move into the disputed territory between the Rio Grande and Nueces Rivers. The Mexican government saw this as a violation of its sovereignty and responded by attacking American troops. The United States then declared war on Mexico. The United States had no reason to move troops into the disputed territory, and its actions were seen as aggressive by

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forces quickly occupied Santa Fe de Nuevo México and Alta California Territory, then invaded parts of Northeastern Mexico and Northwest Mexico; meanwhile, the Pacific Squadron conducted a blockade, and took control of several garrisons on the Pacific coast farther south in Baja California Territory. Another U.S. army, under General Winfield Scott captured the capital Mexico City, marching from the port of Veracruz, virtually unopposed. The war ended in a victory for the United States. During this period, the leadership of the Mexican Army changed frequently. Political factionalism was intensely divisive and led at one point to open civil war in the capital.

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General Scott took the city after a twenty-day siege and was ordered by President Polk to begin the 260 mile journey southward to Mexico City. Along the way General Scott battled Mexican General Santa Anna and they fought a series of bloody, hard-fought battles from the coast inland toward Mexico City. In the Mexico City campaign in 1847, General Scott repeatedly maneuvered his opponents out of their defensive positions. His chief engineer, Captain Robert E. Lee, helped scout the route for some of these flanking maneuvers. Scott was not averse to using frontal assaults if necessary, but he preferred to win victories by siege craft or turning movements.

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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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The Mexican-American War occurred betweenstarted from April 25, 1846 - May 30, 1848. In the United States, the president James K. Polk. In Mexico the general is General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna or has General Santa Anna. In most of the battles that Mexico and United States had, the United States now won most of the battles. There were 13 battles in total that the United States and Mexico had before the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed.

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Polk at this time looking at mexico with no opposition turn to congress to declare war. congress did not want to because of the reasons Polk wanted war were invalid, but congress did say if they shot at us we would have no choice than to go to war with mexico. So frustrated Polk now forced a showdown, and on Jan. 1846, he ordered men under Zachary Taylor to march from the Nueces River to the Rio Grande, provocatively near Mexican troops. As events would have it, on April 1846, news of Mexican troops crossing the Rio Grande and killing of wounding 16 Americans came to Washington, and Polk pushed for a declaration of war. so with the Push by Polk, Congress declared war, and so began the Mexican-American War which mexico was trapped in fighting.

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However, their other possible reasons why the U.S. declared war on May 13, 1846, despite no official declaration of war from Mexico. According to Jennings, “If the war against Mexico demonstrated the potential for the Army to lead multifaceted teams to decisively win on distant and unfamiliar terrain, future endeavors in far-flung theaters will surely provide the opposite, and ultimately crucible, to do so once again” (48). If the U.S. were to be victorious in this campaign, then they would feel confident in future war endeavors. During this campaign, even though the U.S. was winning over the ill-prepared Mexican army, President Polk was blindsided by exiled General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana who claimed that he was able to make peaceful negotiations with Mexico; if he was able to return.

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The Mexican- American war was indeed a turning point for the slavery issue going on in the United States of America. America had become very self-conscious and their interests became antagonistic in the future of determining the future for the new land gained from Mexico (Document 2). Before the Mexican-American war the president during the time, Polk wanted to acquire California after signing a treaty for half of Oregon. He tried to get California as part of the United States in a peaceful manner but failed. Soon after failing to get California he turned to war.

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The United States war with Mexico was over 160 years ago and still continues to be a divisive and widely debated topic, was it justifiable or not? The first war to be fought mostly on foreign land, was the Mexican-American War that started in 1846. America, lead by President Polk, who believed the U.S had a “manifest destiny”, fought against Mexico who had a weak military and was politically divided. After the war ended in 1848, Mexico lost one-third of its territory which included present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. Although the United States war against Mexico resulted in the gaining of America’s most valuable land, the war itself was unjust because their goal was to expand slavery, Texas was wrong from the beginning, and the war was based on false pretenses.

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When the Mexican forces fully arrived they quietly began to occupy San Antonio and surrounded the Alamo. The final assault began on the morning of March 6th, at 5:30 A.M. Santa Anna had stopped the cannon fire the night before to allow the Texans to sleep and then interrupted their slumber with an early morning attack. Later an estimated 1,800 Mexican troops took part, attacking at 4 different points. Santa Anna had waved the red flag prior to beginning this battle, and in doing this he meant that anyone who wished to fight would receive certain death as he would take no prisoners alive (except for women and children).

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When the Mexican-American War ended in February of 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was created to settle the dispute between the United States and Mexico. The United States had defeated Mexico, which gave them the obligation of establishing post-war terms. During this time, the Mexican government was threatened with disintegration, so Polk tried to take advantage of the situation. Initially, Polk sought to pay Mexico $30 million for the upper and lower regions of California, New Mexico, and permission to travel through Mexico’s isthmus of Tehuantepec. Recognizing that he could acquire more land at a cheaper price, Polk issued an order to Nicholas P. Trist, his chief negotiator.

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The war with Mexico happened in 1848 because the annexation of Texas happened, it caused tension, and Mexico had boundary issues between Texas and Mexico. President Polk declares war against Mexico, and the rangers joined in on the fight. The rangers and troops defeat the Mexican army. A treaty was signed at the end of the war it was called the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and in that treaty It states that the U.S. will agree to pay 15 million for a half a million square miles between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers, and parts of what is now California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona & New

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The Mexican-American War changed the Unites States of America in a monumental way. This war changed The U.S.A.’s relationship with foreign powers and the economic standpoint of the nation. The Mexican- American war, and its strong ties to manifest destiny, shaped the nation in a country bordered by two seas with a chance for common folk and foreigners to have a sustainable life due to the gold rush. The war can also be accounted for the downfall leading to the Civil War over the conflict of slavery due to the land purchased in the wars treaty. Conflict between Mexico and the United States began when Texas, previously part of Mexico, became part of the United States.

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The United States went on to be victorious in battles due to superior American technology. Additionally, the U.S. set up blockades around major Mexican ports to block Mexico from receiving supplies. Despite the successes, many American soldiers were unaccustomed to the different environment and died from heat and disease. After capturing Monterey, Polk attempted renegotiations with Herrera, but was met with contempt, and in February 1847, the two armies met at the Battle of Buena Vista. The battle ended with no victor which meant Herrera failed to meet his goal of destroying Taylor’s wounded army.

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