Causes of the Mexican-American War - Essay Example

Causes of the Mexican-American War While many have called the Mexican-American War "Mr. Polk's War", to point the finger at James K Polk as the cause of the war is an over-simplification. Like many international conflicts, the Mexican-American War had several causes, of which America's eleventh president was just one. While Polk's promise to add the Oregon Territory and California to the expanding United States did contribute to tensions in the west, it was the combination of the westward migration of Americans, the concept of manifest destiny, and the inevitable disagreements over slavery as Texas was brought into the United States of America. In addition, if one is to point the finger of blame at someone, at least a basic examination of who that person was, should be done first - as, even if the situation was that person's fault, an understanding of that person's motivation will surely give a greater understanding of the conflict itself. That is where this examination of the causes of the Mexican-American War will start - with a brief look at American's eleventh president himself. We will then deal with the westward expansion of the American population and the concept of Manifest Destiny. Only then will enough information be avalible to make a preliminary determination of how much each cause (including Mr. Polk) actually contributed to the start and continuation of the Mexican-American War. 2.0 James K. Polk: Who He Was and How His Political Career Began James K. Polk was born in North Carolina in 17951. His father was of Scottish and Irish background, and his mother was Scots as well. Hi father was a Democrat who supported Jefferson, thus Polk was brought up as a Jefferson Democrat.2 One of ten children in a successful farming and slave owning family, James was often ill, which delayed his formal schooling3. In 1806, his family followed its relatives in a move to Tennessee, where they became quite well to do plantation owners, and, in addition, his father became a county judge. Growing up in a successful slave owning family quite probably affected Polk's presidential policies, especially those concerning slavery and territories that strongly supported slave-holding. Through family connections, James Polk was accepted and attended the University of North Carolina. It was there that he first developed the skills that he would use in his political career - as both a speech maker in the Dialectic Society, and as the Society's first two term president. After graduating from the University of North Carolina, Polk moved to Tennessee to study law, and to be a the Clerk with the state Senate simultaneously from 1819-18224. In 1822, Polk left his position as Senate Clerk to run for office. His strong speech making skills won him the seat, and soon the reputation of one of the senate's great orators.5 Polk was a very strong leader who, by the time he became president in dominated the American government of the day. It was the seven years that Polk spent in congress starting in 1828, as the speaker of the house and as Tennessee's governor that developed the strong leadership skills he employed as America's eleventh president6. It was these skills that Polk employed when war broke out after the annexation of Texas, which forced him to adapt his peacetime leadership skills to those of Commander in chief of the American Forces7. A similarly volatile situation with Great Britain over the Oregon Territory, was resolved by Polk though diplomacy alone. Thus, James K. Polk was able to employ both military and diplomatic means to solve conflicts and international disagreements. 2.1 Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny Manifest Destiny is an expansionist view where one country or people expands by pushing the other out of the way - "elbowing owners of property rudely to one side" while "making away with their possessions."8 It was "a policy of imperialism rationalized as inevitable (as if granted by God)"9. It's proponents saw the expansion of the United States as an obvious destiny, though it was a concept not followed by all Americans. According to Merk the concept of Manifest Destiny reached its peak in 1845 during the end of Tyler's days as president10. Polk aggressively prescribed to and pursued the need for westward expansion, especially in adding California to the United States. At first glance, this would be the obvious cause of the Mexican-American War - the aggressive expansionist policies of President James Polk. But, once a deeper examination is done, it is evident that the seeds of war were sown by Polk's predecessor Tyler11. Tyler was equally unpopular with both the Democrats and the Republicans, so in an effort to win a second term, Tyler attempted to have the voters link his name to the process of American expansion. When, despite his efforts, he lost the election to Polk, Tyler still moved ahead with his expansionist plans. He made a joint resolution of Congress regarding the annexation of Texas and on his last day in his presidential term he communicated his desire for immediate annexation of Texas with the Lone Star State. This ment that Polk took office with already strained tensions with Mexico who were greatly displeased with the recent American actions to annex Texas12. However, Polk could have chosen a course of action that would have diffused the situation. If he had withdrawn the messengers carrying Tyler's messages to Texas, and if he had arranged a treaty with Mexico, tensions between the neighbouring countries would have declined13. As he did none of these things, tensions increased, and when Texas announced its annexation to the United States of America, Mexico declared that it was an act of war. It wasn't just the actions, or inactions of the president that affected the outbreak and course of the Mexican-American War. The westward migration of the American people, particularly beyond the boarders of the United States and into Texas had a profound impact on the outbreak and the course of the War. The motivation for the settlers' migration was economic14. As the concept of Manifest Destiny was so popularly known, many in America "knew" that it was only time till the United States spread all the way west to California. It didn't matter what the other nations - the French, the Spanish, the English, the Russians and the First Nations - were doing or wanted to do15. It was "America's destiny" to expand westward. More than a few moved west in anticipation of the American boarder moving at a later date to get a jump start on the projected land price increases16. Being the first on the scene for many trade opportunities was also a big economic motivation for the early westward migration. Roles and Motivations of Tyler and Polk With out a doubt, both Presidents James K. Polk and John Tyler played a significant role in causing the Mexican-American War, but what motivated them to carry out the actions that lead to the war What, besides for the desire for a second presidential term, influenced Tyler to push so strongly for the annexation of Texas Why did Polk publicly strive to include California and Oregon in the United States For Tyler, his motivations were the same as the settlers, economics and the "undeniable" manifest destiny of America to spread 'civilization' from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Polk promise to Americans to gain Oregon and California was a relatively easy political one to make, as Americans were already living in both future American states. Americans were also living in (and causing problems for the Mexican government) Mexico and Texas. Other Causes for the War Besides for Manifest Destiny, the actions and inactions of presidents Tyler and Polk, and the westward migration of the American people it is vital to identify and discuss other possible causes for the war. One of these other possible causes is the Mexican government itself17. Many people, especially Americans had immigrated to the northern part of Mexico in the 1820's and 1930's, but by the mid-1830s these new residents were displeased with the Mexican government's administration. A revolt occurred, and the Mexican president (who was a prisoner of the Texans) was forced to sign a treaty granting Texan independence in 183618. But numerous Mexicans refuted the legality of the treaty and violent disturbances along the border were common. The location of the boarder itself was a major contributing factor in the outbreak of the war. After the treaty granting Texas independence, Mexico claimed that the border lay as north as the Nueces River, while Texas and America asserted that the border lay much more south, along the Rio Grande River. During the Texan annexation process with the US, James Polk (by that time president), directed General Zachary Taylor to send military forces to the region north of the Rio Grande and South of the Nueces River19. Thus the Mexicans saw the Americans as invading their soil, while Americans believed that they were on Texan (and shortly to be American soil). When the US troops were attacked in this disputed area by Mexican troops, Polk considered that Mexico had "invaded our territory, and shed American blood upon the American soil"20. After this incident, Polk readily received the declaration of war with Mexico that he asked Congress for - one that he had been planning to ask for anyway21. The actual Declaration of War written by Polk is included as an image in Figure 1 before the conclusion of this paper. Instead of being the cause it was an effective reason for the politicians to use. The cup of forbearance had been exhausted even before the recent information from the frontier of the Del Norte [Rio Grande]. But now, after reiterated menaces, Mexico has passed the boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon the American soil. She has proclaimed that hostilities have commenced, and that the two nations are now at war."22. So while the Mexican government may have assisted with starting the war, the American government would have nonetheless declared war. Further dispelling the theory that the Mexican government was at fault was that, according to many, including Garraty and Gay, the Mexican government was in turmoil at this time23. Also, given that Mexico considered the American troops it attacked to be invading Mexican soil, it was really just trying to defend it's own land. As with many international conflicts, both sides could have behaved better and more peacefully. Mexico could have had a more diplomatic response to Texas's desire for annexation, as well as America's aspirations to buy parts of the Southwest, including California24. An additional reason for the outbreak of war with Mexico is the inclination of the Southern Slave holding states to add more slave states, rather than more free states to the United States of America. To do so would extend the slave-holding states political powers. Even though there was a restriction on owning slaves in Texas, many of the American born Texans disregarded these25. Residents in the free states to the north were concerned that since Texans already owned slaves that Texas would be a new slave state when it formally joined with the US26. When this theory is tested in terms of numbers of volunteers for the war with Mexico it doesn't pan out. Most of the military volunteers came from the American west and the territories, not from the South27. Newhouse suggested that if the slave holding states were so interested in adding another slave holding state to the country, there would have been more volunteers from the South28. One wonders what impact Polk's being a slave holding, plantation owner president had on his desire to pursue the war. A Few Details of the War The incident between Mexican and American troops that was the first armed conflict of the war occurred in the evening on April 25, 184629. A mere seventy United States Dragoons, lead by Captain Seth Thornton were investigating an area in the contested region between the Rio Grande and the Nueces River happened across two thousand Mexican soldiers. Sixteen of the Americans lost their lives, while the remaining fifty-four surrendered30. This incident is referred to as the Thornton Affair. So, America actually lost the first battle of the Mexican-American War - even before it had formally declared war. The Mexican American War, which lasted until February of 184831, had a few important consequences for the United States. The most obvious is America's gaining more territory in one 'instant' that it had and has ever done since. This included land of the current "states of California, Utah, and Nevada, as well as parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado."32 This land was granted to the United States in The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Also in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was Mexico's forfeiting any future claim to the State of Texas. Conclusion While it is an oversimplification to place the entire blame for the outbreak of the Mexican-American War on America's eleventh president, James K. Polk, the causes of the war are relatively straightforward and easy to understand. Americans were moving west, into Mexican territory, well in advance of the actual borders of the United States. This caused tensions between Mexico and its newer, northern neighbour. The concept of Manifest Destiny, which Polk and his predecessor Tyler subscribed to greatly contributed to this westward migration of American settlers, as well as their respective expansionist political policies. Finally, a major cause of the outbreak of the Mexican-American war is a classic reason that two or more nations take up arms against each other - a disputed border and the desire for the territory inside the disputed zone. So, although Polk could have,and had the political and diplomatic skills and experience to approach the conflict and rising tensions with Mexico with amore peaceful attitude, he was not solely, nor mostly responsible for the start of the war. Rather, James K. Polk was one of the several major causes of the war - he did not act in isolation. Bibliography Bergeron, Paul H. 1987. The presidency of James K. Polk. American presidency series. Lawrence, Kan: University Press of Kansas. Borneman, Walter R. (2008). Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America. New York: Random House, Inc. The Columbia History of the World. Ed. John A. Garraty and Peter Gay. New York: Harper and Row, 1981. Combs, Jerald A. The History of American Foreign Policy. New York: Knopf Publishing, 1986. The Diary of James K. Polk. Ed. M.M. Quaife. Library material. Hickman, Kennedy. Mexican-American War - Roots of Conflict. About.com:Military History. 2001. New York Times Company. http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/mexicanamericanwar/a/Mexican Cause.htm Lavender, David. The Mexican War: Climax of Manifest Destiny. Palo Alto: American West, 1968. Messages and Papers of the Presidents. Ed. J.D. Richardson. Library material. Merk, Frederick, Lois Bannister Merk, and John Mack Faragher . Manifest Destiny and Mission in American History (Boston, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995) Polk, James. Proclamation of War With Mexico. An American Time Capsule: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera [Jpeg image]http://memory.loc.gov/cgi- in/ampagecollId=rbpe&fileName=rbpe19/rbpe198/19800400/rbpe19800400.db&recNum=0&itemLink=rammem/rbpebib:@field(NUMBER+@band(rbpe+19800400))&linkText=0 The Story of America. Ed. Elizabeth L. Newhouse. Washington, District of Columbia: The National Geographic Society, 1984. Van Der Linden, Frank Dark Horse: American Politics and the Texas Question A Hundred Years Ago (1944; repr. Kessinger 2005) Read More