Logical or Foolish
The Mexican-American war is a conflict in history that can be interpreted in contrasting viewpoints. The battle between America and Mexico in 1846, was about the two countries going into war with each other over tensions that arose over time. Even though some may say that the United States war against Mexico resulted in the gaining of America’s most valuable land, the war itself was corrupt because the Texans defied Mexico’s laws, the war was engineered by President Polk, and the belief in Manifest destiny was hard-driven. The Texans are are at fault for igniting the unforgivable American Invasion, because they avoided following Mexico’s laws. According to the letter being sent to a military commander, written by
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In the letter to the U.S Congress on the debate on war with Mexico, written by Joshua Giddings, it states,’’It seems that the President expected General Taylor to find Mexican citizens located within the United States…’’ To clarify, President Polk knowingly sent General Taylor to look for Mexican citizens in the disputed territory, because he was absolutely positive that Mexicans would be there. Polk sent his military soldiers to an area of land that was unofficially claimed by both America and Mexico. Yet in America’s eyes, this was American soil. And the U.S knew that the Mexican government thought that it was claimed by Mexico. By completing this action, President Polk understood that Mexico would see this as a threat to their country, and would react with violence. This would then lead to Mexican soldiers arriving on ‘’U.S territory’’. These intended actions ultimately resulted in an unethical war that was wickedly planned out by, the one and only, President Polk. Furthermore, in Polk’s address to the United States Congress, asking for a declaration of war, he says,’’...I had ordered an efficient military force to take position ‘between the Nueces and Del Norte’. ‘’ To further explain, President Polk commanded armed military troops to the disputed territory. Polk specifically did this, because he was aware of the tensions that would arise between Mexico …show more content…
Although this may be true, The United States is the only one to blame, because they intentionally provoked Mexico into attacking their troops. In Polk’s address to Congress-where he’s calling for a declaration of war- it states,’’...Mexico has passed the blood upon the American soil…’’Regardless of what others may see as an act of war from Mexico, the U.S is totally accountable for Mexico’s outrage. When President Polk purposefully sent military soldiers to the disputed territory, he knew that Mexico would see this as an interrogation to their country. So when Mexico responded violently towards the U.S, it was only out of self-defense to protect their
The fact from document c that proves this is “ Troops commanded by General Zachary Taylor arrived at the Rio Grande across from the city of Matamoros thus occupying the territory in dispute… in the eyes, the Mexican government the mobilization of the United States Army was an outright attack on Mexico as a consequence the Mexican government reaffirms the instruction to protect the border”. This fact from document c proves that in 1846, President James K. Polk ordered American troops to move into the disputed territory between the Rio Grande and Nueces Rivers. The Mexican government saw this as a violation of its sovereignty and responded by attacking American troops. The United States then declared war on Mexico. The United States had no reason to move troops into the disputed territory, and its actions were seen as aggressive by
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war between the U.S. and Mexico. This war was initiated by the United States and resulted in Mexico 's defeat and the loss of nearly 60 percent of its territory in the north. In the U.S. the war is termed the Mexican–American War, also known as the Mexican War, the U.S.–Mexican War or the Invasion of Mexico. In Mexico names for the war include Primera intervención estadounidense en México, Guerra de la Invasión estadounidense, and Guerra del 1847. Nonetheless, the Mexican American War was unjust because of President Polk’s thirst for more territory.
However, their other possible reasons why the U.S. declared war on May 13, 1846, despite no official declaration of war from Mexico. According to Jennings, “If the war against Mexico demonstrated the potential for the Army to lead multifaceted teams to decisively win on distant and unfamiliar terrain, future endeavors in far-flung theaters will surely provide the opposite, and ultimately crucible, to do so once again” (48). If the U.S. were to be victorious in this campaign, then they would feel confident in future war endeavors. During this campaign, even though the U.S. was winning over the ill-prepared Mexican army, President Polk was blindsided by exiled General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana who claimed that he was able to make peaceful negotiations with Mexico; if he was able to return.
Americans were killed on what was regarded as American land, which led to Polk receiving support from the Senate and the House of Representatives and enabling him to declare war on Mexico. Second, the United States breached the line Mexico had drawn into what Mexico deemed its territory. Velasco-Marquez asserted that Texas' annexation was unacceptable for security concerns, as was specified in document C. The pact between the United States and Texas was
However, this is an invalid argument. The land that Polk tried saying was invaded was actually land that was being disputed between Mexico and America. As, at the time they were having disagreements on where their borders were. Joshua Giddings wrote, “the army was within the United States they could not commit violence upon Mexico… It seems that the President expected General Taylor to find Mexican citizens located within the United States.”
Secondly, President Polk was the president of the United States during the Mexican American war and he believed that Mexico invaded part of Texas that belong to the U.S and killed American’s on American soil. He also doesn’t feel sorry for them, Polk says, "As war exists, and notwithstanding all our efforts to avoid it, exists by the act of Mexico
The Mexican-American War The contentious Mexican-American War is a topic that is frequently discussed and debated. Was America's decision to go to war with Mexico justified? The Mexican-American War, which occurred from April 1846 to February 1848, was a clash between the United States and Mexico. It resulted in the U.S. obtaining more than 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 square km) of Mexican land spanning westward from the Rio Grande to the Pacific Ocean.
While describing that America was purposefully sending troops into the disputed war which greatly increased the chances of a war to begin, the author states,”In early 1846, on Polk's orders] the troops commanded by General Zachary Taylor arrived at the Rio Grande, across from the city of Matamoros, thus occupying the territory in dispute and increasing the possibilities of a confrontation.... ”This proves that the Mexican American war wasn’t justified because AMerica was sending troops to try and start conflict in the territory. This is important because AMerica was deliberately trying to start conflict by being in the disputed war. While describing that Mexico believed America was going to try and attack so they responded by protecting their land and country from the invaders, the author states,“In the eyes of the [Mexican] government, the mobilization of the US army was an outright attack on Mexico.... As a consequence, the Mexican government reaffirmed the instruction to protect the border, meaning the territory located between the Rio Grande and the Nueces River - an order which led to the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma....
and Mexican forces had taken place in U.S. territory.” “Further, legislators were at odds over whether Polk had the right to unilaterally declare that a state of war
In Document B, President Polk said, “I had ordered and efficient military force to take a position...to meet a threatened invasion of Texas by the Mexican forces….invasion was threatened solely because Texas had determined….to annex herself to our Union,... it was plainly our duty to extend our protection over her citizens and soil.” President Polk then mentioned the attack at the Rio del Norte, where the invasion in Texas happened. This evidence shows the US was justified in going to war with Mexico because Texas was invaded by Mexico, meaning that the U.S. should protect Texas by fighting
Thirdly, a second reason the Mexican War was not justified because US soldiers were in a disputed area. According to Jesus Velasco Marquez from “A Mexican Viewpoint on the War With the United States,” he states that “From Mexico’s point of view, the annexation of Texas to the United States was inadmissible for both legal and security reasons.” As well as, “The American government acted like a bandit who came upon a
As stated before, the US was justified in going to war with Mexico because of three reasons, Americans were killed, Texas was already annexed, and Manifest Destiny allows it. The United states had many superb reasons for going to war with Mexico. This essay is significant because it helps explain the United States’ choice to go to war with
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.
The United States of America has been through many wars, wars concerning many things such as land oil, pride and respect. However, when the United States went to war with Mexico, it was planned over greed. The Mexican- American war was a war provoked by the United States, in efforts to expand the coasts of the country. Mexico was a small underprivileged country who had previously to the war had already lost part of their country (Texas). Needless to say this war was cut throat and violent, it was however one of the smartest business decisions America has ever made.
Although the United States war against Mexico resulted in the gaining of America’s most valuable land, the war itself wasn’t legitimate because of the revolution in Texas, motivation for superiority, and the U.S. government’s actions. To begin, the Texans began an unreasonable war because they didn’t follow Mexico’s laws and conditions. When Mexico started selling cheap land, they set conditions for the people moving in. The people had to convert to Catholicism, learn Spanish, become a Mexican citizen, and have no slaves. Many Americans didn’t like being told what to do, and disobeyed the rules and laws.