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One reason the Mexican war was justified was that it was America's manifest destiny to expand. In Document A, America claims it is their manifest destiny to expand west. President Polk Believed it was God's plan for American territories to expand west. He wanted to Expand coast to coast. He didn't just want Texas he also wanted California.
Manifest destiny also affected the relationship with Mexico. Several factors led to the Mexican- American War in 1846. The factors were that the U.S citizens were moving into California and Mexico. Since there were many revolutions happening in Mexico throughout this time period the Mexican government was not able to protect the U.S citizens in this region. Another factor was that Mexico was upset that Texas declared independence from them and then the U. S annexed Texas in 1845.
The Mexican-American War was an important turning point for the institution of slavery in the U.S. due to the acquiring of the states such as California, New Mexico, and the recognition of Texas’s annexation. With the new land acquired many disputes rose up on whether the states should be slave states or not, due to the good land and weather conditions in California and New Mexico perfect for farming (Doc.1). Manifest Destiny seemed like it was the most important for the south because of the better land but many Northern Democrats believed that slavery could not further expand (Doc.1) The Mexican-American war was a complete victory for the United States but the states gained became free states out numbering the number of the Southern slave
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.
The Mexican-America war was often viewed as an impactful event of the annexation of Texas. However, events during the Mexican-American war such as a disagreement over where the Mexican-American border should be located at, declining the unions incorporate, and the northern political were against of having a new slave state. Therefore, the actions during the Mexican-American war prove that Texas gained independence from Mexico, which was a positive effect for the United States because it gained land by winning the war. The Mexican-American war began of the idea if Manifest Destiny because they believe that god gave the United States the right to spread through the Pacific Ocean.
The decision that the United States made in going to war with Mexico in 1846 was justified because we had to defend our territorial interests and expand westward in accordance to manifest destiny. With the belief that it was America’s destiny to expand across the continent, manifest destiny pushed America to annex more land. In 1845, the annexation of Texas created greater tension between Mexico and the USA, as Mexico believed Texas belonged to them, the US thought otherwise. With no agreements over the Texas-Mexico border and Mexico’s refusal to talk, war became very likely as the US desired to protect their interests in expansion and to declare their dominance in that area.
President James K Polk massively believed in the Manifest Destiny, the belief that the American people had a duty to expand westward across North America. This idea sparked a fire that believe it or not most didn’t want. The result: The Mexican-America war. While the war gained America five different states and was one of the largest territorial expansions in United States history, many critics believed that America was headed down a bad path. That we were going to end up like most great conquerors in the world, dead or with innocent blood on our hands that God will never forgive us for.
“Mexico attacks U.S territory, sixteen Americans were either wounded or killed” read the headlines on U.S weekly. After winning their independence from Mexico, Texas wanted to become a part of the U.S.A and not be an independent country anymore. Mexico did not like this, thinking it was their territory because of the agreement they made with the Texans in 1821. This agreement said that American settlers could move into Texas for a cheap price but they had to convert to Christianity and had to follow the rules of the Mexican government. The Texans did this for a little bit but then wanted their independence to become a new, free country.
When Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, a string of ruthless dictators and weak presidents made Mexico an easy target for its powerful neighbor, the United States. The US swooped in to expand its territory and its popular institution of slavery. By doing so, the US started a war with Mexico that was justified for illegitimate reasons. The Mexican-American War was not justified because the US took Mexico’s land for the expansion of slavery, and justified their taking advantage of Mexico when it was politically weak by hiding behind Manifest Destiny.
The Mexican-American War was started because the president Polk strongly believed that “Texas… was just a first step towards the realization of a far greater, God-given goal: that of a United States stretching from shore to shore, taking its place in the world as Europe’s equal.” This goal of a United States that has taken over a large portion of the North American continent is the idea of Manifest Destiny. It was a very common Democratic idea during that time, with many people agreeing with it and wanting to act upon it. So when Polk became president, he took the opportunity and it was a driving force behind the start of this war. But it was also a driving force behind the ending of this war.
The fight between Mexican and American troops officially opened fire on April 25, 1846. It was a war that was fought for land where Mexico battled to keep what they thought was their property. The war consisted of eight major battles that were fought in different locations and with different Mexican and American officers. The first battle fought was the battle of Palo Alto on May 8, 1846. The war took place between Fort Texas and resulted in the American troops winning and Zachary Taylor protecting the Rio Grande.
After the Mexican-American war, America claimed an expanse of land in the west. The question of whether this new land would be slave-states or free soil, was a hot topic and highly controversial and was in fact, the main cause of the Civil War. Even some of the other issues that may have led to the war can relate back to slavery. For instance: The south wanted to succeed from the union and have less control from the federal government, because they were trying to outlaw slavery not only in the southern states, but also keep the newly acquired land slave-free. Lincoln, in the beginning of his presidential campaign attempted to tone down slavery position and said the war was to “preserve the union” which was part of the cause of the war, however,
Since its establishment and even in the present, the United States’, specifically (and it is not secret), white population has been a fraction of society drenched with a feeling of superiority over its foreign or unfamiliar counterparts. Situations such as the first British citizens that sailed to the colonies insisting that the Native Americans’ way of life was “wrong” and “savage-like” or the literal proclamation that Africans were inferior to the white man served as justification for the allowance of the U.S. to be able to did what it had done and been doing for years. The Mexican-American war was no different as once again Americans (whom at this time only referred to white men essentially) demonstrated their entitlement to take what they felt was not being put to good use.
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.
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.