Argument #1: The United States and Mexican War was unlawful. America acted supreme over Mexican land and their rights without a valid reason. The US government used Manifest Destiny as excuse to expand borders and go to war with Mexico. The term “manifest destiny” was born by John O’Sullivan and was thought of a year before the war began. During the year 1846, people were moved by manifest destiny and seeked influence from the government to push west.
Print. Meed, Douglas V. The Mexican War, 1846-1848. New York: Routledge, 2003. Print. "Mexican-American War".
The United States knew that Mexico was a weaker nation so by using their military force they were hoping to coerce Mexico into giving up the lands because Mexico stood no chance against the might of the United States military force. Often times its easier to push others or convince those to submit to your subjection when one is of lesser strength; big guy tells little guy what to do. Either using diplomacy or the show of military force the United States was going to claim the disputed land one way or another. So as a result the United States gained lands almost three times the size of France and it opened the door to an industrial profit. Vast amounts of resources now became available for profit and sea trade was now available on both sides of the United States; eastern and western ports.
America gained lots of land and also revived the thought of slavery. The US gained the regions of California Nevada and Utah. They also acquired most of Arizona New Mexico and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. Many historians believe the Mexican war wasn't needed and was an unnecessary attack on a weaker country. Works Cited "Chapter 8: The Mexican War and After."
Mexican war”. Last modified March 14 2006, http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/war/. Bauer, K. Jack. The Mexican War, 1846-1848. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. Inc., 1974.
American-Mexican War The Mexican-American War marked the first American military battle to be fought on foreign soil. The Mexican American War was mainly driven by the idea of “Manifest Destiny”; the belief that the United States had a right to spread across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. The motives that were really behind Manifest Destiny was the acquisition of new territory ,and the Americans wanted territories which were relatively uninhabited by people they considered inferior, such as Indians, blacks and Mexicans. President Pork provoked war with Mexicans with the aim of pushing Mexico into negotiating with Americans. To achieve this, he was willing to threaten them with war.
“The US-Mexican War.” PBS KQED 9. 14 Mar. 2006 KERA. Web. 7 Apr.
Edited by Howard Zinn, and Anthony Arnove. New York, NY: Seven Stories Press, 2009. Bauer, K. Jack. “Mexican War,” Handbook of Texas Online, last modified June 15, 2010, accessed May 2, 2014, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qdm02 Douglass, Frederick. Address to the New England Convention.
The Mexican–American War, also known as the Mexican War, the U.S.–Mexican War, the Invasion of Mexico, the U.S. Intervention, or the United States War Against Mexico, was an armed conflict between the United States and the Centralist Republic of Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas, which Mexico considered part of its territory despite the 1836 Texas Riot. Through this time, supply ships from San Blas continued to be unpredictable and the missions—with their native workers—were worried to provide for the population. When the native groups began to resist the bigger demands, they were placed under firmer military control. Also, additional tribes were gathered, mixed, and combined into dense groups in order to serve the payment.