Did you know that Texas used to be part of Mexico’s land, and because of the U.S. wanting to take Texas from Mexico and giving Texas citizens their independence, it ignited a spark and started the Mexican-American war. The Mexican-American war took place in early 1846. The battles took place between the Rio Grande and The Nueces River.The U.S. crossed the Mexican border which caused the Mexican government to think that the Americans were attacking them so the Mexican Government sent troops to defend the border. So did the United States have the right to go to war with Mexico. The U.S. was not justified in going to war with Mexico because American soldiers crossed the border, stole some of Mexico's land (Texas), and accused Mexico of sending Mexican troops onto America's land and attacking American soldiers. …show more content…
In the Mexican Pro-Newspaper it specifically states that “The Americans have invaded Mexican land”. On maps of Mexico at the time, it shows that the American troops crossed the border onto Mexican land. The only reason why the Mexican troops attacked the Americans is because the Mexican government saw that American soldiers were crossing the border onto mexican land so they sent Mexican troops to go defend their land. This evidence shows that the U.S. was not justified in going to war with Mexico because not only did they cross the border onto Mexican land without the Mexican government's permission, they also lied about Mexican troops randomly ambushing American soldiers on American
A third reason the Mexican War was justified was Americans supported going to war. Evidence of this claim is in Document D where Charles Sumner said, at the time, citizens had already started to move to Texas from Massachusetts. Also, in Document B, the note following the letter says that Congress, over killingly, voted 214 votes for “yes” and 16 votes for “no”. This evidence shows the US was justified in going to war with Mexico because it shows support from American citizens and the American
This book by Otis A. Singletary deals with different aspects of the Mexican war. It is a compelling description and concise history of the first successful offensive war in United States military history. The work examines two countries that were unprepared for war. The political intrigues and quarrels in appointing the military commanders, as well as the military operations of the war, are presented and analyzed in detail. The author also analyzes the role that the Mexican War played in bringing on the U.S. Civil War.
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
Sixteen are killed from the Mexican attack along the Rio Grande! In 1821, Mexico freed itself from Spain. Mexico was equal in size to the United States. Mexican government wanted to increase population, so they invited Americans to settle in Texas. These settlers did not want to abide by Mexico’s rules and laws. Texas then won independence from Mexico in 1836. In the year 1844, James K. Polk was elected as president. He was a strong believer in manifest destiny. Congress decided to annex Texas into the United States. Mexico felt that America stole Texas from them. This caused conflict between the two countries. Was it right for the United States to declare war against Mexico? America was justified in going to war with Mexico because they could
So, is the United States justified in going to war with Mexico? I think the U.S. was unjustified to go to war with Mexico because, the United States provoked the war and started 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 land and yet it had such a weak economy and could use the money
The Mexican-American War - Debate The Mexican-American war began in 1846, but reasons for the war began much earlier when Mexico made the crucial decision to entice settlers to Texas, with the promise of affordable land grants, actions which eventually led to the annexation of Texas by the United States. All they had to do was accept Mexico 's requirements of becoming citizens, speaking Spanish and converting to Catholicism, this to people who were use to a government that people had rights and freedoms, not experienced in Mexico. Mexico wanted them to develop these long uninhibited lands of Texas, in hopes that it would promote development in the area.(Nardo, 1991, p. 16). The selling of land grants started in the 1820s and the Mexican-American James W. Fannin took over the garrison at Goliad manning it with 350 untrained volunteers with guns, who would be considered pirates to Mexico.
“largely ignored Mexican authority”(roden,317). The Texans(Mexicans) let in the Americans in without having to pay for land and they still broke the laws.“ Certainly (Mexico)... might just charge be citizen”(summers,329).The Anglos came in and disobeyed the only laws they had to follow. They made slavery illegal, then the anglos brought 38000 slaves(summers, 329). They knew slavery was illegal, but they brought them anyway. Texas welcomed them in if the Americans followed the laws(alamo, Background). They broke most of the laws. This evidence shows the U.S. was not justified in going to war because they disrespected the authority of Mexico. America was allowed to settle in Texas and they ignored everything they
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.
Beginning in 1845 and ending in 1850 a series of events took place that would come to be known as the Mexican war and the Texas Revolution. This paper will give an overview on not only the events that occurred (battles, treaties, negotiations, ect.) But also the politics and reasoning behind it all. This was a war that involved America and Mexico fighting over Texas. That was the base for the entire ordeal. This series of events contained some of the most dramatic war strategy that has ever been implemented.
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.
One reason that the Mexican War was not justified was because the Americans invaded Mexican land and went beyond approved borders. “The congress of Texas, by its act of December 9, 1836, had declared the Rio de Norte to be the boundary. ” This quote shows that there were set boundaries and Americans made up their own without Mexico’s permission. “Polk sent John Slidell to Mexico City to try
Lots of events took place before the war, involving the Mexicans and the Americans, and there was also a few interesting facts about why the war took place. The place where it all began was at the Rio Grande in Texas. Before
When is it right to take a stand? When you believe in it? But what if you were wrong? The purpose for what you stood for was unreasonable, unjust. What then do you make of your actions? In 1836, Texas became tired of Mexico’s rule, so her citizens fought against Mexico for their independence. Texas finally declared herself independant after an army of Texan soldiers ambushed the Mexican army, killing more than half of them and forcing General Santa Anna to sign a treaty for Texas’ independence from Mexico. 10 years later, Texas was annexed into the United States of America. However, Mexico was not in favor of this, and eventually a war broke out between the two nations. Although the United States war against Mexico resulted in the gaining of America’s most valuable land, the war itself was unjust because Texas had no right to rebel, Polk instigated the fight, and the war was fought to extend slavery.
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. Hostilities started on April 24th, 1846, 2000 Mexican cavalry crossed the Rio Grande and attacked an American troop of 63 men.