Causes Of The Mexican War

Disunity among one another

The war between the United States and the newly independent nation, Mexico, in 1846 was referred to as the Mexican war. The primary cause for this war is stated in Foner’s text, expressed by James Polk and his party, the “reannexation” of Texas and “reoccupation” of all of Oregon. Trying to acquire California was more complex; hence it lead to a major dispute between the United States and Mexico which affected everyone, from whites to blacks and even Indians. This Mexican war was the first fight America had on the foreign soil since its independence. Numerous army forces from both sides died, and it just made matters tenser. Unlike the majority of the Americans who were in favor of the war, Abraham Lincoln was strongly opposing the action coming from President Polk.

The United States finally won the war after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo approved the annexation of several states. By now the United States once more had a massive increase in land size, almost one-third of Mexico’s total area. But, the outcome was not beneficial to everybody, for the nation split into two. The people living in those states were considered as being united for decades until it was disrupted by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which divided the families and altered the trading routes. As mentioned in Foner’s text, the Treaty

Yet still, this act was seen by Ralph Emerson, another politician, as contradictory to the meaning of freedom since any white would be able to take a slave to the jury and be accused as fugitive. Eventually, many cases were brought into recapturing slaves which caused the freed blacks to fear their future which resulted in them migrating into Canada. A newspaper from Toronto reported that “Families are separating” all because of this act. Therefore, not only were whites divided as a result of politics, but all the other