War With Mexico Justified Dbq Research Paper

Between the years 1846-1848 the U.S. was at war with Mexico over the conflict of Texas. In 1824 a group of Americans known as The Old Three Hundred, led by Stephen Austin, traveled to Texas to create a U.S. settlement under Mexican conditions. These people brought with them their culture and language, but Mexico did not approve. Mexico got even angrier when, after gaining independence in 1836, Texas annexed into America in 1845. This made Mexico furious and conspiracy theories started to brew saying that this land grab was America’s plan all along. The U.S. was aware of this anger so in 1846 troops were sent to the border to watch for invaders, but they were shot at and forced to surrender. President James K. Polk saw this as a brutal attack

was justified in going to war with Mexico was because Texas was no longer a part of Mexico. Mexico should have understood what gaining independence from a country meant since they had just broken away from the Spanish Crown. In 1836 Texas gained its independence from Mexico and became an independent republic. The problem was Mexico kept trying to rule over them even though it was not their land to rule over. America came in to try and help Texas stay separated from their former country. Also, Texas annexed into America in 1845 with a “reception into the ‘family’ [that was] frank, kindly, and cheerful” (O’Sullivan, 8). Mexico argued that America illegally stole Texas, but even if that was true it did not

was justified in going to war with Mexico was because they were protecting Texas from the Mexican threat and the American citizens within the state. Firstly, after gaining its independence in 1836, Texas annexed into the U.S. This means the Texans living in this territory were citizens of America. The U.S. was worried that Mexico would invade this new southern American land, so President James K. Polk “ordered an efficient military force to take a position between the Nueces and the [Rio Grande]. This had become necessary, to meet a threatened invasion of Texas by the Mexican forces” (Polk, 10). He was right to be concerned because in 1846, Mexico barbarously fired upon U.S. troops at the Thornton Affair. General Zachary Taylor and his troops had only been sent to patrol the borders, not attack. Mexico had opened fire because they believed that the U.S. had tried to encroach their land, but the troops did not cross the Texas-Mexican border. Mexico thought that the border was the Rio Nueces, while the U.S. and Texas disagreed and thought it was the Rio Grande. The U.S. was behind what they thought was the border and if they had crossed, it would have been rightfully seen as a threat, but the troops did not. Instead 16 American soldiers were murdered on American