Was The United States Justified in Going to War With Mexico? One question that is frequently asked between countries is whether the Mexican-American War should have even happened. This question has led many Mexicans and Americans to butt-heads with each other on who is right. Did the United States really have enough reason to go to war with Mexico? The United States was not justified in going to war with Mexico because there wasn’t enough reason, lack of communication, and unreasonable leaders. There were many things that helped both sides. The Mexican War began March 9, 1846 and it took place on Rio del Norte, also known as the Rio Grande. The main reason why the war occurred was because both countries wanted land to grow bigger in size …show more content…
Mexico and the US went to war because their were no communications on where the borders location truly was. “US historians refer to this event as “The Mexican War”, while in Mexico we prefer to use the term “The American Invasion”.”(Velasco-Marquez 327). No one spoke before they went to war which could have resolved the problems before hand. Speaking beforehand could have also saved many lives and prevented the loss and confusion. “The idea was… that this extensive province ought to become a part of the United States…”(Sumner 329). Both sides have their excuse, Mexico and America, but Texas’s point of view is never reviewed and; if the countries spoke, they could have made a better plan other than fighting. The war was caused because no one spoke up and shared their perspective which led to many …show more content…
President Polk thought that America’s “manifest destiny” was more important than other countries and that he was supposed to help America grow bigger. Santa Anna, the Mexican president at the time, forced people of his race and others off of their own land because he wanted it and they didn’t deserve it. “It is time for opposition to the Annexation of Texas to cease…. Texas is now ours…. Let their reception into the “family” be frank, kindly, and cheery….” (Sullivan 323). Both leaders of their countries were selfish and risked so many of their own people’s life just so they could do what they believed was right. “In the eyes of the [Mexican] government, the mobilization of the US army was an outright attack on Mexico….” (Velasco-Marquez 327). Not only did these national leaders risk lives, they gambled some of their country, in which Mexico would soon lose a lot of it. The leaders did not care about who’s lives they were risking, as long as they were following their thoughts and doing things without
The Mexican-American War of the 1840s, precipitated by border disputes and the U.S. annexation of Texas, ended with the military occupation of Mexico City by General Winfield Scott. In the subsequent treaty, the United States gained territory that would become California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and parts of Wyoming and Colorado.
Later they wanted to annex it but Mexico said that any attempts to annex Texas would be an act of war. The Mexican War started in 1846, when Mexicans attacked a group of United States soldiers, under the command of Zachary Taylor, in a disputed zone on the border of United States and Mexico, killing about a dozen American soldiers. President Polk told the U.S. Congress that the “cup of forbearance has been exhausted” which means the Mexicans hit the last straw and it is time for war. President Polk sent General Zachary Taylor to Nueces River vs. Rio Grande to poke the Mexicans to shoot and they did. The Mexicans have shed “American blood upon American soil.” The United States wanted war with Mexico now they have a reason to declare war ( History.com
In President James Polk’s War Message to Congress, he states that the Congress of Texas had declared the Rio Grande to be the official boundary between Mexico and Texas. James Polk said, “Sixty-three men and officers, were. dispatched from the American camp up the Rio del Norte, on its [North] bank, to ascertain whether the Mexican troops had crossed, or were preparing to cross, the river. [They] became engaged with a large body of these [Mexican] troops, and, after a short affair, in which some sixteen [Americans] were killed and wounded, appear to have been surrounded and compelled to surrender.” The invasion was almost like a ticket to declare war against Mexico for James Polk.
The United States was unjustified to go to war with Mexico because the U.S provokes the war and starts the war, the only reason they had the Mexican war was to gain land and lastly Texas was stolen from Mexico by southern slave owners. The U.S. definitely had an advantage, they were stronger and better. So they could easily go to war with Mexico and
the land and yet it had such a weak economy and could use the money
United States started the war with Mexico due to its imperial ambitions and need for territorial expansion. America was modernizing itself and getting ready to engage in competition with Europe. Capitalism and modernization fueled the competition for resources to feed the industries, and the markets to sell the manufactured goods. A country in this world was either an exploiter or the exploited by that order of things. Being neither one of those was the hardest to achieve. Americans decided to be exploiters; therefore, they needed to engage in competition with Europe, a group of empires dominating the world. To successfully compete with Europe, America needed the natural resources and advantage over trading routes Asia to engage profitable in business with Asian territories. Another reason Americans engaged in war with Mexico was to avoid domestic instability and chaos that would slow down its imperial progress. Issues of economic crisis and slavery were vital to solve. The U.S needed to justify their actions; thus, they put the blame on Mexico for starting the war. The War with Mexico was a significant event since it was the largest U.S military expansion for the reasons of modernization covered up as an act of self-defense.
In 1845 the U.S attempted to Annex Texas. Basically America wanted Texas to become one of the states rather then and independent nation by itself. At this time Texas was an independent nation that was not a part of America or Mexico. Mexico wanted to keep Texas neutral if not a part of its own country. When the U.S attempted to annex Texas Mexico became outraged, " In November 1843 Mexico had warned that if the United States should commit the 'unheard-of aggression' of seizing an integral part of 'Mexican territory' Mexico would declare war " (Bound for the Rio Grande, 62). Despite the warning the U.S attempted to annex Texas. In doing so Mexico retaliated by breaking off all diplomatic relations with the U.S. Mexico felt that the U.S was insulting them by not taking them seriously when they threatened with war. So at this point America showed a very large interest in possessing Texas. America was very close to actually acquiring Texas when they made their first mistake in the war.
The residents of Texas had a different plan. Mexico had made Texans change religion to “fit into” the their culture. The inhabitants had enough. The South wanted to add Texas because it would create another slave state but the North said that annexing this country would create a war with Mexico. The Mexican leader at the time even said that if President James Polk did go through with adding Texas as a state, it would be like declaring war on Mexico. Even though President Polk thought the border of Mexico and the U.S. was the Rio Grande but the president of Mexico complained it was the Nueces river. On April 25th 1846, Polk sent troops to the Nueces River to intimidate the Tejanos (or mexicans living in Texas at the time) and this is how the Mexican-American war started. In theory, the North was right. Adding Texas did create a war but it also helped the United States conquer Manifest Destiny. More and more people wanted to finish getting all of the West and South coast of the U.S. Another plus is that Texas added more land and increased the population of the U.S. At the end of this war, we had captured Mexico City in 1848 which forced the Mexicans to surrender. This created the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty stated that the Rio Grande was now the official border of the United States and Texas. With this, the treaty gave parts of what is now known as Arizona, California, Nevada,
The Franco-Mexican War The Franco-Mexican War was a war fought by two very different countries than they are today. The war was fought over reasons that seem very unlikely to arise ever again. between these two countries. The war was fought over gaining territory, group thinking, and pure human. Nature.
was not justified to declare war with Mexico because of the ignorance of Mexican authority, the robbery of disputed/Mexican-owned land, and the order from Polk which provoked the war. The U.S. were allowed by Mexican government to settle into the provenance of Texas. After settling in the nutritious and fertile farmland, the U.S. settlers rebelled against Mexican law and established slavery in Texas. The U.S. robbed disputed/Mexican-owned land, which led to confusion spreading into Mexico and the U.S. because of unofficial borders. Polk provoked a Mexican attack by ordering soldiers onto Mexican borders, which led to the Mexicans attacking out of pressure.
The war on Mexico was started with careful consideration and was anything but a rash decision. The tension between America and Mexico has already been around for months before the war started and it was started by Mexico. Mexico was another country located in North America along the southern boarder of the United States. Back then, Mexico had territories in the Untied States. Due to Mexico’s bad government the United States felt that certain territories, including present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, should be a part of the United States and not
The war on Mexico was started with careful consideration and was anything but a rash decision. The tension between America and Mexico has already been around for months before the war started and it was started by Mexico. Mexico was another country located in North America along the southern boarder of the United States. Back then, Mexico had territories in the Untied States. Due to Mexico’s bad government the United States felt that certain territories, including present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, should be a part of the United States and not
War is inevitable, but the Mexican-American War could have been avoided when determining borders. The controversial Mexican-American war is often talked and argued about. The big question about the war that everyone argues about is, Was America justified in going to war with Mexico? Well, were they? The United States was not justified in going to war with Mexico because Americans invaded Mexican land, The United States already has lots of land, and the Americans ignored Mexican laws and regulations. In 1821, Mexico declares independence from Spain. Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836 to join America. This War (1846-1848) marked the first U.S. armed conflict chiefly fought on foreign soil.
The Mexican war started, because Polk offered Mexico a fair price for their land, Mexico refuse the offered. Polk sent the U.S. Army to the border of Bregion. The Mexican War started in 1846-1848. The battle of Santa Fe was led by United States leader Stephen Kearney. Kearney won that battle because the people of Santa Fe surrendered. Another threat was in Mexican territory of California. California was populated by Mexicans, but a lot of American live there (page 84). John Fremont, a pro-American forces, and Californians had proclaimed their territory as a free, independent and sovereign republic. Californians want to join force with the United States. As the United States arrived at in California, they lowered the Bear flag and hoisted the American flag. This event was called the Bear Flag Republic (page
The Mexican-American war determined the destiny of the United States of America, it determined whether or not it would become a world power and it established the size of the United States of America. Perhaps the war was inevitable due to the idea of Manifest Destiny - Americans thought they had the divine right to extend their territory. The Mexican-American War started mainly because of the annexation of the Republic of Texas (established in 1836 after breaking away from Mexico). The United States and Mexico still had conflicts on what the borders of Texas was, the United States claimed that the Texas border with Mexico was the Rio Grande, but the Mexicans said that it was the Nueces River, so the land in between were disputed and claimed by both the United States and Mexico.