The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico that occurred during the American presidency of James K. Polk. The war officially began on May 13, 1846, when the United States Congress declared war on Mexico at the request of Polk. Throughout the conflict, the United States possessed several advantages over Mexico due to its superior firepower, preferable quality of junior officers, and excellent logistics command. Additionally, Mexico experienced a series of lawlessness throughout the country as its government lacked control of its territory and was chronically indebted due to its inability to extract resources from the population (Levin and Miller, 2011). This led to Mexico experiencing difficulties …show more content…
As a result, “states in the international system aim to maximize their relative power positions over other states” (Hamilton and Rathburn, 2013). Offensive realism is representative of Polk’s desire for territorial expansion because increased territory and resources are typically associated with power. When states compete to expand their territory, they often do so with the intention of expanding their sphere of influence within the globe. With the increased wealth, resources, and trade opportunities that accompany the acquisition of territories, states will be better equipped to increase their security by developing innovative technologies and expanding and improving their militaries. Additionally, with the increased populations that accompany land acquisition, there will be more workers present to stimulate the economy, creating a cycle of wealth and granting states a greater potential to become regional hegemons. Therefore, Polk’s expansionistic ideals are supported by offensive realism. Between defensive realism, constructivism, and offensive realism, offensive realism offers the greatest explanation of why Polk decided to declare war on