What were the causes of the Mexican-American war - Essay Example

Mexican American War The Mexican American war was a product of land purchase and negotiations in Texas. The negotiation was about the uptake Texas, and when the Mexican government realized of the deal of losing Texas to the US, there was a revolt. The revolt led to the removal of the Mexican president. The situation was compounded after the attack of the US patrol ships between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers. The attack led to war declaration by America on May 13 1846. Even though, the war was declared in May, several battles had already taken place between May 3 and 9 at fort Texas and Brownsville.

Before the war, several issues had occurred. First, Mexico got its independence from Spain in 1821, and it comprised of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama (Brands, Breen and Williams 222). The state under Mexico at independence owned states of California, Nevada, Utah, Texas and parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming. The negotiation between the US government and Mexican government led to complications. In 1835, the Mexican president took steps to change Mexico from the Federal Republic to Centralist Republic.

The move led to rebellion and cessation of Yucatan and Texas. However, the Mexican government waged war to recover the two states. Yucatan was recaptured, but Texas managed to become a state on its own by defeating the Mexican army. Mexican government warned the US against Texas Annexation (Brands, Breen and Williams 123). The US president John Tyler knew California had riches compared to Texas. In fact, the president valued the California because of the riches and stated the importance of the acquisition of the area.

The president was a strong believer of Manifest Destiny, which was translated to mean the annexation of all North America into the US. Despite the disliking of Texas by the president, he was pushed to accept it, and Texas was annexed. The successor President James K Polk ratified led to war with Mexico. The fear of losing Texas was the main propellant of the war. The Mexican government wanted to protect and win back Texas, but the war decreased their chances of winning the state thus massive loss for the government.

The Mexican American war was based on land and states. The association of some states in America led to aggression by the Mexican government. The success of annexation encourages development of the federal government of US while creating aggression by Mexico (Brands, Breen and Williams 145). During the 19th century, the war between Mexico and America was based on the territory and allegiance of the territories to one of the states. The government intervention and lack of trust between the two countries led to violence and border clashes with the state officials.

The failure to address the issues of regions such as Texas and Yucatan encourage the change of allegiance of the two regions and encouraged rebellion. Despite the autonomy of Texas from Mexico, Mexican government considered Texas as part of their country leading to clashes and war (Brands, Breen and Williams 67). The successful liberation of the state and annexing of the regions encouraged the creation of harmony and peace between the two countries. The two countries problems during the century were aggravated by the work of government leaders and desire for control.

Works CitedBrands, H. W. A., et al. American Stories: A History of the United States, Volume 1. New York: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print