Mexican-American War Dbq

The Mexican-American war had one of the highest mortality rates. With 79,000 U.S. troops taking part in the war, 13,200 died, making a mortality rate of 17 percent. Not only were the American casualty rates high, the amount of Mexican people that died was high too, with 25,000 troops and civilians dead. This shameful war began when Texas was annexed as the 28th state of the United States. Whether the war was justifiable is very questionable. Although the United States war against Mexico resulted in the gaining of America’s most valuable land, the war itself was unjust because the American settlers didn’t follow the rules in Texas, the president sent U.S. troops into the disputed area, and because of the Americans’ motivations. The

In the U.S. Congress debate on going to war with Mexico, congressman Joshua Giddings gave his argument saying, “It has therefore become necessary to extend our dominions into Mexico in order to render slavery secure in Texas.” His words show that the soul reason for American extending out to Texas is to spread the beastly act of slavery. Americans want to expand and bring slavery with it under any means possible, even if that is going to war with another country and killing other people. The pamphlet written by Benjamin Lundy stated, “The immediate cause and main goal of this war...has been to grab the large and valuable territory of Texas from the Mexican Republic, in order to re-establish the SYSTEM OF SLAVERY…” The pamphlet distinctly indicates that America’s objective for moving west and gaining Texas was strictly to spread slavery. The Americans wanted to keep expanding this hideous act and make it part of a typical American

However, this claim is invalid because it was the United States’ decision to send those people over there. Further on, Polk sent these troops into land that wasn’t his, and he knew it. Sure, the Mexicans shouldn’t have killed those people, but we were invading, acting as if Texas was ours. If we didn’t send those troops over there in the first place, they wouldn’t have died then and there, but guess what, we did send them there. How would you expect Mexico to react to an invasion like that? Would they role with the punches or defend their country and