The Mexican-American War: Was Manifest Destiny Justified?

The Mexican-American war took place from 1846 to 1848. The war was fought between the United States and Mexico over the issue of disputed land, as well as past conflict. Even though heavily supported by the American people at the time, the reasoning behind the war as well as its justification is often questioned. Many people believe that Manifest Destiny was not an adequate excuse for the taking of over 500,000 square miles of land from the Mexican people. Additionally, the taking of Mexico’s lands was by no means justified by the self-proclaimed, entitled ideology of the American people Manifest Destiny was a very prevalent axiom in the 19th Century to the inhabitants of the United States. It was thought to of provided justification for the

Not only were they growing exponentially in population, but also economically. This is why the idea of Manifest Destiny found itself so appealing to the United States citizens. The citizens saw Manifest Destiny as an opportunity to expand its “boarders of freedom” across North America. However, they did not realize their “boarders of freedom” were not wanted by all. Mexico was a free state; they had abolished slavery years ago and lived in a time of peace. To be absorbed by the United States would be to revert some of Mexico’s fundamental ideas of freedom that apply to all

At the time before the outbreak of the war, Mexico was given two options; give into the United States and sign over much of their land to the U.S, forever branding Mexico as cowards, or to do whatever was necessary to defend their land and their people. This ultimatum gave Mexico no fair choice, ultimately forcing them into the war. This angered many people including Americans at the time, and is still used as a key argument today. The unjust taking of Mexico’s land and the ideas of Manifest Destiny are often looked down upon in today’s society. Most Americans realize the barbarity of what we did as a nation, as well as our entitlement attitude towards the taking of land across North America. This is primarily why the Mexican-American War is not taught in depth as much as it once was. It was a shameful period in American history and does not reflect upon our nation in a positive manner. It reflected on America as a power hungry super power with no regard for the lives of