The Mexican-American Polks War - Research Paper Example

? Polk’s war affiliation The Mexican- American War (Polk’s War) The Mexican-American war is also known as the Mexico war,the Invasion of Mexico, U.S. Intervention or the United States War against Mexico. This is a war which took place in 1846 to 1848. It was a war between the United States and Mexico over Texas and California. It was a fortified conflict between the United States of America and the United Mexican States over the annexation of Texas. America’s main aim of the war was to expand their territories to the Pacific Ocean. They also had an ambitious desire on the Mexican lands in the West and this brought conflicts which later led to the eruption of the Mexican-American war. This war was very important to the United States for land expansion; they wanted to expand their territories by acquiring huge masses of land from Mexicans. Many people lost their lives during this war. It is estimated that, around 30,000 lives were lost during the conflicts.1 The Mexican-American war was a very short war but it left behind long lasting effects that are always remembered up to date. Causes of the Mexican-American war The Mexican-American war had several causes, some major and others minor, here are some of them: The Annexation of Texas The major cause of the Mexican-American war was the annexation of Texas. The root of the conflicts that led to the eruption of the Mexican-American war is traced back to the time Texas got its independence. The outcome of the revolution was the annexation of Texas into the United States. Primarily, Mexico had promised to wage war against the U.S. if they were to manage annexing Texas and when Texas broke up from Mexico, they stopped regarding it as an independent city but as a corrupted city2. Mexicans had believed that the annexation of Texas called for war. Furthermore, they became angrier after being offered 30 million dollars for New California and Mexico by President James Polk through John Slidell. The war was declared on Mexico after they attacked Zachary Taylor and his troops when they had come to maintain the Texas disputed border and also when they refused to negotiate with Slidell. Mexicans believed that the Rio Grande was the Nueces River while the U.S. believed that it was the Rio Grande so for Mexicans, they were defending their land which they thought Taylor and his men had invaded. The Westward movement of the U.S. citizens to the Mexican territory The United States citizens were relentlessly searching for land for farming and also to sell to the incoming farmers. Through their search, they found that Texas had easily accessible and available land for farming and so they started moving into the lands. Mexicans made an effort to stop them; nevertheless, they still moved into Texas and started to undermine the Texans and Mexican government’s authority. They farther went ahead to disobey the set Mexican laws and regulations especially the anti slavery laws. Due to these misbehaviors, the Mexican law makers and officials started disapproving the U.S. citizens and this led to the escalation of the Mexican-American war. The Ideal Manifest Destiny This was an American ideal whereby the United States was to extend its territories from coast to coast as one huge nation. Through the ideal manifest destiny, many U.S. citizens were able to advance as citizens into the west of the Mexican territory. They travelled across Mexico searching for economic gain that is why they infested the Mexican’s lands. This can be seen where the United States forcefully desired to acquire California to serve as an economic base for them and in order to establish markets. This led to the Mexican-American war because the Mexicans did not want to let go off California and wanted to fight against their invasion into their lands. Actions of the presidents in office at that time The presidents in office during the time of the tension between the Mexicans and the Americans provoked the war. Their motions highly contributed to the war. For example, President Taylor supported the annexation of Texas so as to be voted for in the upcoming elections3. And he made sure that it happened. Next is President Polk who advocated for the westward expansion and the ideal of manifest destiny. When Mexico declined to negotiate with Slidell who had been sent to negotiate with them and attacked the U.S. troops, Polk pushed the congress to declare war on Mexico. The presidents highly contributed to the escalation of the Mexican-American war. Lastly, there was the Thorton affair where his men were killed when he had been sent to go and investigate a hacienda that was in the disputed territory. Their attack provoked congress to declare war on Mexico. The Treaty of Velasco that was signed secretly also contributed to the war. The treaty recognized Rio Grande as the border and release of Santa Ana. However, Santa Anna was never released and so the border was never officially established and this was the bone of contention. Moreover the Mexicans claimed the Nueces River farther to the North while the Texans claimed the Rio Grande which worsened the situation. This led to both sides sending their troops to guard and maintain the area which later led to the Mexican-American war. Effects of the Mexican-American war As the war had several causes, so are its effects both negative and positive. The impacts of the war were very important since they shaped the Histories of the United States and Mexico. There were major and minor causes of the Mexican-American war. Territorial gains The first effect of the Mexican-American war was the territorial gains by the United States. They succeeded in acquiring New California and Texas to the United States through the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. They gained huge places of land which they had desired. And their citizens migrated and settled into the seized territories and started farming. Furthermore, they managed to establish the Rio Grande as the Texas southern border. The land exchange not only led to the expansion of the U.S, but also led to the eruption of further conflicts. Internal conflicts of slavery According to Goldfield, there was to be neither slavery nor forced servitude in the seized territories4. The Northerners wanted to maintain the Northern/Southern balance of antislavery and slavery. They wanted to outlaw slavery completely in the new territories and this led to a division of congress. Tension was ignited between the Northerners and the Southerners on whether slavery should be stopped. The Northerners were against slavery but the Southerners were in support of slavery and so they differed on the issue. They were always disagreeing because of the slavery issue and this is said to be one of the reasons that further led to the eruption of the civil war. The downfall of the Mexican government The war had negative effects on Mexico. They lost almost half of its territory to the United States. They gave up vast territories which are present California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. They also lost their stability due to the damages caused by the war. Moreover, Mexico experienced loss of life, economic ruin and damage of property during the war. It also led to internal problems in Mexico whereby different governments and uprisings were overthrown one by one. The war affected Mexico so bad in that even after its end, America still meddled with their issues and their government. Furthermore, they lost trust in the U.S. because they were angered by their territorial ideology and imperialism and this made them never to believe in anything the U.S. did. Lastly, the Mexican citizens who lived in ceded territories were promised U.S. citizenship and getting back their lands by the U.S. but this never happened. They claimed their former lands but were ignored as new immigrants stole it and settled it them. They tried regaining their lands through laws suits but their attempts were unsuccessful. The citizens from the Eastern U.S. migrated into the new territories and settled down in them. The U.S. was able to complete its Manifest Destiny and gained land from coast to coast5. In conclusion, the Mexican-American war was a war that shaped the history of the U.S and Mexico. The cause of the war were the crisis and arguments over land between the Mexicans and the Americans, the westward advance of the United States citizens in the Mexican territory, the ideal manifest destiny and the actions of the present presidents at that time. The war was very important to the U.S. since they wanted to expand their territories. It had massive effects on Mexico since they lost nearly half of their territory, loss of life and they also lost their stability due to the vast amount of territory they lost to the Americans. Conversely, the United States was the big gainer of the war since were able to expand their territories since they gained huge pieces of land from Mexico. They were also able to complete their Ideal Manifest Destiny. The U.S. in one way was hurt by the outcomes even though they were the big gainers. The territory they gained was equivalent to 66% of the U.S. but also the war led to disruptions of congress and hatred between the Northerners and the Southerners. It was a war that took a very short time but had massive effects on both the states. The Mexican-American war served as a training ground for soldiers who later fought in the civil war. Annotated bibliography Smith, F. (1991). The Mexican War Journal of Captain Franklin Smith. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi In this book the author identifies the journey of a captain who witnessed the events during the America Mexican war. According to Smith (1991) the United States made extreme efforts in acquiring the land from coast to coast. Goldfield, D. (1998). The American Journey. Upper Saddle Dale: Prentice Hall The American Journey highlights the happening in the United States towards liberating their land. The author effectively highlighted the Polk’s war as the greatest milestone in the journey towards liberation. Grant, S. (1885). Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant. New York: Charles L. Webster & Co Grant (2005) uses memoirs to highlight the internal operation and activities that were carried out during the war. The memoirs were mainly instructions and strategies generated from commanding forces. Winston, G. & Charles, J. (1968). Chronicles of the Gringos: The U.S. Army in the Mexican War, 1846–1848, Accounts of Eyewitnesses and Combatants. Albuquerque, New Mexico: The University of New Mexico Press According to Winston & Judah (1968) eyewitnesses and combatants had the most effective adventures from the war. Kendall, G. (1999). Dispatches from the Mexican War. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press The author highlights the impacts and the aftermath of the Mexican war. He points out that the casualty level to the Mexicans was much greater as compared to that of the United States (Kendal, 1999). Bibliography Goldfield, D. (1998). The American Journey. Upper Saddle Dale: Prentice Hall. Grant, S. (1885). Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant. New York: Charles L. Webster & Co Kendall, G. (1999). Dispatches from the Mexican War. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press Smith, F. (1991). The Mexican War Journal of Captain Franklin Smith. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi Winston, G. & Judah, C. (1968). Chronicles of the Gringos: The U.S. Army in the Mexican War, 1846–1848, Accounts of Eyewitnesses and Combatants. Albuquerque, New Mexico: The University of New Mexico Press Read More