Mexican War Dbq

At the height of the Gilded Age, the want of power outside of the American borders controlled the causes and ends of war, specifically the Spanish-American War. A war that lead a country whose history was founded on independence to seek dominance over its own colonies. There were two clear opinions to this imperialist stance, for and against. Both opinions were ironically based in the same general ideas only with different perspectives on them. Arguments and questions based on morality, economic stability, and God given purposes.

Wars are waged for one reason and one reason only: land. The Mexican War was a war fought between America is its weaker neighbor Mexico. It is often said that the person who started the Mexican War was President Polk. Growing up in Mississippi during the latter years of Spain’s reign in the Southern states, Polk came to despise the Spanish.

Although there are always two sides to a war, Mexico proved to be more at fault when it came to the Mexican War. While in captivity, Santa Anna was forced to agree to the independence of Texas, but when returning to Mexico he denies their independence, ruining his integrity as a leader. If Santa Anna would have been loyal and acknowledged Texas’ freedom, there would have been little to no discord between Texas or even America. Although Mexico denied Texas’ liberty, numerous European nations such as Britain and France had acknowledged Texas as independent. Therefore, when America annexed Texas, they inevitably believed that Texas was independent.

The video The Mexican-American War was interesting to watch. I understand that any country would like to extend its territories, but I think President Polk should not have gone to the extreme of war. I really like how in the video, the U.S. was portrayed as a bully, who technically forced Mexico to give up its territory, something that was, in my opinion, not fair at all. Besides this, I absolutely agreed with the idea of none of the countries winning due to the amount of casualties. It is true that the U.S. “won” the war and got the territory it wanted, but at what cost though?

The Mexican War, The United States offered Mexico, California and Mexico for thirty million dollars. They did this because they wanted to expand their land West. This war contributed to the Texas and Mexico War because America had to expand given Manifest Destiny but Mexico refused to give them a land of their own. Later the Americans finally gained the Northern half of Mexico. It soon became California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and

The Americans were more at fault for the start of the Mexican War. The Americans wanted to take land that was very valuable to Mexico. The land of Texas was very important to the Mexicans because that was where they lived. It wasn’t so forgotten plot of land that they owned, the Mexicans actually resided there. “At that time, only about 75,000 Mexican citizens lived north of the Rio Grande.”

I believe that the Mexicans caused the Mexican War because of their poor communication and they passed the boundary of the United States. The spot resolution say that Mexico has "invaded our territory, and shed the blood of our fellow citizens on our own soil. " This means that Mexico took the annexation the wrong way and they completely unmannerly of Americas property. Those whose blood was shed were the American soldiers defending the border of the new state of Texas. Also, there was so much miscommunication and Mexico kept blaming America for everything. "

Texas was part of Mexico, with the land being cheap Americans wanted to settle there and when Americans tried claiming it as their own he had to fight back just like anyone would. Americans were trying to take over and they disagreed with his laws therefore he was standing his ground. Later Santa Anna described in a letter that killing defenders of the Alamo was his only option. The letter blamed William Travis on the amount of violence that occurred. He stated that if Travis had not have been so disrespectful towards him that he would have allowed Sam Houston to establish a dominant presence

At that time, only about 75,000 Mexican citizens lived north of the Rio Grande. As a result, U.S. forces led by Stephen W. Kearny and Robert F. Stockton were able to conquer those lands. Taylor advancing, and captured Monterrey in September. With the losses adding up, Mexico turned to old standby General Antonio López de Santa Anna, the strongman who had been living in exile in Cuba. Santa Anna convinced Polk that, if allowed to return to Mexico, he would end the war on terms positive to the United States.

This war happened mainly because the U.S. wanted to expand to the Pacific Ocean to fulfill their Manifest Destiny, trying to take away Mexico’s land. Mexico refused to to give land to the U.S. The big question is whether the U.S. was justified in fighting Mexico in the Mexican-American War. The United States was justified in going to war with Mexico because Manifest Destiny, too much Mexican interference, and Texas was invaded. One reason the Mexican War was justified was Manifest Destiny. In Document A, John O’Sullivan writes: “Texas is now ours...Let their reception into the “family be frank, kindly, and cheerful….”

Manifest destiny also affected the relationship with Mexico. Several factors led to the Mexican- American War in 1846. The factors were that the U.S citizens were moving into California and Mexico. Since there were many revolutions happening in Mexico throughout this time period the Mexican government was not able to protect the U.S citizens in this region. Another factor was that Mexico was upset that Texas declared independence from them and then the U. S annexed Texas in 1845.

When Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, a string of ruthless dictators and weak presidents made Mexico an easy target for its powerful neighbor, the United States. The US swooped in to expand its territory and its popular institution of slavery. By doing so, the US started a war with Mexico that was justified for illegitimate reasons. The Mexican-American War was not justified because the US took Mexico’s land for the expansion of slavery, and justified their taking advantage of Mexico when it was politically weak by hiding behind Manifest Destiny.

Background Description On February 23, 1836 Santa Anna and his troops arrived at San Antonio and started planning their attack on the Alamo. This would become one of the most celebrated military battles of Texas. The Alamo was a Spanish Mission that was established in 1718 as church. It became a makeshift fortification for Indians and rebels.

The Mexican-American War changed the Unites States of America in a monumental way. This war changed The U.S.A.’s relationship with foreign powers and the economic standpoint of the nation. The Mexican- American war, and its strong ties to manifest destiny, shaped the nation in a country bordered by two seas with a chance for common folk and foreigners to have a sustainable life due to the gold rush. The war can also be accounted for the downfall leading to the Civil War over the conflict of slavery due to the land purchased in the wars treaty. Conflict between Mexico and the United States began when Texas, previously part of Mexico, became part of the United States.

The Mexicans were more responsible for starting the Mexican war for many reasons. First, Mexico breaks off all diplomatic relations with the US. Breaking off diplomatic relations is basically saying we want nothing to do with you guys anymore which brought a lot of tension between the two countries. Then John Slidell arrives in Mexico City, and when he gets there the Mexican government refuses to speak with him. This brought even more tension between the two countries because Mexico refused to compromise.