...Mexican American War 1846-1848 Some wars fall between the cracks. That appears to be what happened with Polk’s War. James K. Polk was our eleventh president. He is often listed as the worst president we’ve ever had. Polk’s War was actually the Mexican War of 1846-48. Before and during that war, most Americans including congress were not in favor of a war with Mexico. The war was launched on questionable pretexts. Why invade a smaller, poorer neighbor just for land? Mexico’s border with the Republic of Texas was the Nueces River near Corpus Christi. New Mexico, Arizona, California along with other territory belonged to Mexico, having won them from Spain some 25 years earlier. There were debates in Congress that the invasion of Mexico was unconstitutional. America had never invaded others (except the American Indians). A young congressman, Abraham Lincoln, began his move into the national limelight as an avowed opponent to the war. Polk saw America as having a manifest destiny to control the entire continent. The great American attitude of “can do” was increasing in strength. Arrogance was never been in short supply in our brief history. President James K. Polk sent troops to Corpus Christi to move the border to the Rio Grande. This was not something the Mexicans wanted. They responded with some strength and were not the push-over Polk and the war hawks thought they would be. For such a...
Words: 912 - Pages: 4
...THE MEXICAN - AMERICAN WAR 1846-1848 BY: Clarence Pino One of the most interesting movements in history. The Mexican- American provided the United States of America not only with 500,000 plus square miles of land. But impact of our country playing a very important role of shaping it to the most successful economic country today. The Mexican- American War was interesting to me because of all the moving pieces. In Mexico you had the Federalist going against the Consecutives. The whole time this was going on you had the Abolitionist opposing the war, thinking that America wanted Mexico just to add more slave states. At this time the term “MANIFEST DESTINY” was coined . In August 1843 Santa Anna threaten war with America if they were to incorporate Texas into the Union. Herrera (new president of Mexico) didn’t take this stance. With the encouragement from Great Britain President Herrera decided to resolve the issue of Texas with diplomacy rather than war. President Herrera then told America to send an ambassador to negotiate the Settlement of the Texas boundary. America sent Ambassador Slidell to negotiate for Texas, but his intensions involved more than just the State of Texas. When Ambassador Slidell went into Mexico he had every intention to buy California and New Mexico from Mexico. United States made an offer of 25 million dollars for The Rio Grande border in Texas and another...
Words: 2102 - Pages: 9
...candidate in the Election of 1844. He became the 11th President of the United States of America by defeating Henry Clay, from the Whig party, by promising to annex the Republic of Texas. This topic came from, previous president, John Tyler’s pursuit of the Texas annexation as a slave state to weaken the unity of the Whig and Democratic parties in his attempt stay in the White House. The newly elected president made a proposition to Mexico to purchase the disputed lands. Mexico rejected the offer because Mexico...
Words: 934 - Pages: 4
...Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo On February 2, 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. With the stroke of a pen, the Mexican-American War officially came to an end. The signing of the treaty ended the territorial disputes that caused the conflict between both countries. In the treaty, the United States government was obligated to pay Mexico fifteen-million dollars. In return for the compensation, The United States expanded its territory. The territory that was obtained via the treaty eventually became New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, and some of Utah.[1] This treaty, especially in the long run, benefited both the United States and Mexico, but there are many arguments about why the war started. Some argue that the United States was power hungry and was continuing its “bulling” of the continent to fulfill their belief that it was God’s will for the United States to control the land from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. This has now become to be known as Manifest Destiny.[2] Then there are the counter arguments that the dictatorship of Mexico sent troops to invade the United States and killed Americans. In a message to congress on May 11, 1846, President James Polk said, “Mexico invaded our territory and shed American blood upon the American soil.”[3] There are many arguments that say the United States is a racist nation and that this war, like many others, was because of white racism. Whether the battles were all racially motivated will never be...
Words: 3628 - Pages: 15
...In this battle analysis, I will analyze the Mexican-American war, discuss when the battle occurred, where it took place, the principle adversaries, review the settings of the battle operationally, and discuss the different areas of operation, such as the weather and terrain. I will also describe and analyze the American and Mexican armies in leadership, size and composition, technology, logistical systems, command, control and communications, intelligence, tactical doctrine and morale, the battle chronologically, followed by the significance of the battle, addressing the effects of the war and how lessons learned from this war affect the way our military operates today. So first, lets start by discussing the Mexican-American war. During April 25, 1846 to February 2, 1848 the Mexican American War occurred. This conflict happened between the Centralist Republic or Mexico and the Unite States. The war consisted of four campaigns as follows, the Texas, California, Pacific Coast and Mexico campaigns. President James K. Polk, who was elected in 1844, believed the United States had a “manifest destiny” to spread across the continent to the Pacific Ocean (Frazier, 1998). At first, the United States declined to incorporate Texas into the union, because northern political interests were against the addition of a new slave state. The Mexican government encouraged border raids and warnings that if any attempt to annex Texas it would lead to a war. As time went by Polk had his eyes on the...
Words: 3262 - Pages: 14
...The Mexican American War also known by many Mexicans as the War of the Northern Invasion lasted from 1846-1848. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed on February 2, 1848. This Treaty gave the United States well over 500,000 square miles of territory. That was more than half of Mexico’s national territory. The war happened due to U.S. wanting to expand further into western territories and Texas wanting to succeed from Mexico. However, the struggle of Latino (Mexicans) descent is much more important to the history of Latino Americans. Tens of thousands of Mexicans became foreigners of a land they once owned and were indigenous to. The treaty protected these now foreigners or at least they were supposed to be. The land the Mexicans had...
Words: 385 - Pages: 2
...Mexican vs American War The Mexican war between the USA and Mexico began with an attack by the Mexicans against the Americans troops along the Texas border line on April 25, 1846. The fight ended when the USA General Winfield Scott occupied Mexico-City on September 14, 1847. A few months later a peace treaty was signed on February 2, 1848 of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In addition to recognizing the annexation of Texas in the United States with the defeat, California is also allocated by Mexico and New Mexico. Similar to all the events that are important in history, the interpretations referred to the Mexican war may vary. The Mexicans with a government rule by dictatorial centralism, attack the USA due to the annexation of (1845) Texas,...
Words: 1100 - Pages: 5
...Mexican War The Mexican American war all started because the war between Mexico and the United States had its beginnings with the struggle over who would control Texas.The United States fought Mexico to make land equal from Texas to the Pacific Ocean.By the 1830's American settlers in mexico's Texas territory outnumbered native Americans. Tensions had been high between Mexico and Americans since 1836. Mexico has tried to invade Texas and take it back , but it didn't work. The war lasted until 1846 through 1848. April 25,1846 the Mexicans attacked a group of United States soldiers , the Mexicans killed about 13,283 people. So the Americans had to fight back , they planned out how to protect themselves they had to mobilize,equip, and transport a large force. On March 9,1846 the president James K. Polk began to prepare a war message to congress. James K. Polk sent one army to capture New Mexico and then March on to California. Junior officers were a great importance , many had trained at the Military Acedemy at the West Point. In 1847 ,...
Words: 575 - Pages: 3
...The United States, from 1846 to 1848, did not have a proper justification to the acts of violence against the Mexican government after being teased by Mexico through conflicts, which further created turmoil and provoked the initiation of the Mexican-American War. Although the leadership of President Polk over the United States was one reason Mexico had to provoke the war, in the end, the beliefs of Manifest Destiny, the Texas annexation, and the weakness of the Mexican government during this time period were some of the factors which led the United States to provoke the Mexican-American War. These factors are considerably important because they show how the United States was focused on Westward expansion seeking to claim the territories of...
Words: 800 - Pages: 4
...Period/Date(s) in column B, and the Description and Significance of the People/Event(s) to American History in column C. See complete instructions in the Syllabus for the Module 1 assignment entitled, “Timeline Part I.” NOTE: The timeline project does not need to be submitted to turnitin. NOTE: Please write your answers in a clear and concise manner. Limit your submission of the Timeline Part I up to 250 words per topic/subtopic. For example, if a topic is divided into 3 subtopics, you may write a maximum of 250 per subtopic listed. Be sure to cite all sources. Major Event/Epoch in American History | Time Period/Date(s) | Description and Significance of the People/Event(s) to American History | 1) Describe three different American Indian cultures prior to colonization. | Before 1492 | Three different cultures are hunting and gathering of wild plants and animals which food was obtained; fishing, as they used materials available to them to apply methods for catching fish; and cropping corn, squash, and beans were planted which was also used for ritual and spiritual offering. | 2) The effects of British colonization on the Native Americans. | 1600’s | The Native Americans taught the British to survive on land. They introduced the Indians to various diseases that killed them off, they lost their land, and laws were enforced against them which forced them to be removing from the home they had created for themselves several hundreds before the British arrived. The...
Words: 1360 - Pages: 6
...To start of with, in 1821, Spain accepts Mexican independence. Following that date, Texas was begging to be annexed from Mexico, and it finally happened in 1845. During the following years of 1846-1848, the Mexican-American war took place which clearly disputable. The controversial war between Mexico and the United States can be seen in multiple perspectives however, the the war was just due to Mexico having the wrong idea of Manifest Destiny, Mexico was not fit to govern , and Mexico showed inhumane violence towards Americans. Due to repeated failing actions made by the Mexican government, the United States was forced to insist war upon Mexico. John L. O’Sullivan, columnist and editor, promoted the annexation of Texas stated in a magazine...
Words: 693 - Pages: 3
...Life During the Westward Expansion Westward Expansion was a time where people migrated west, because Thomas Jefferson believed that it would significantly enhance their country. In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase took place, which meant that the United States almost doubled its size. Throughout the 1840s, settlers and Mormons began to go west. Over 7 million Americans lived in the Appalachian-west by 1840. The effect this migration had been overall negative. People who had just come to America, had to leave their new homes and start completely over. In 1846, James Frazier Reed and some other men led the pioneers to start a better life. Many different tragedies happened along the way, but that didn't withhold them. They went...
Words: 359 - Pages: 2
...In following of the War of 1812 and Madison, President James Polk thirty-four years later, found himself in a conflict involving the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). The Mexican-American war marked the first U.S. armed conflict chiefly fought on foreign soil. It pitted a politically divided and militarily unprepared Mexico against the expansionist-minded administration of U.S. President James K. Polk, who believed the United States had a “manifest destiny” to spread across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. Soon after gaining its independence in 1836 from Mexico, the United States rejected annexing the newly freed Texas, due to the political interests of the north who were against the addition of a new slave state. The Mexican government...
Words: 525 - Pages: 3
...Mexican Cession By Hannah Wilson What is Cession What does Cession Mean? It means to give up or surrender something Mexican Cession means that Mexico gave up large amounts of land such as California and New Mexico to the United States. History behind Mexican Cession In December 1845 the United States voted to make Texas the 28th State. Mexico thought that we had the boundaries wrong and that part of Texas still belong to Mexico. The United States thought the line was the Rio Grand River, but Mexico thought it was another river far inside of the Texas border. The United States President James K. Polk wanted to meet with Mexico and settle the argument about where the Texas line was and talk about buying more land from Mexico. Mexico refused to meet. Mexico had a new president Santa Anna who did not want to talk. What Happened Next… When Mexico refused to meet with the United States President Palk order our military to the border. On April 25, 1846 the Mexican Calvary crossed the Rio Grande river into Texas and began fighting with our military and that was the beginning of the Mexican American war. That event was very important in history because it would determine how much land Mexico would eventually have to give up. (Reference -Social Studies for Kids, website cited below) 1. Mexico gave up over 500,000 square miles of territory to the United States http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/wwww/us/mexicancessiondef.htm How did the War...
Words: 698 - Pages: 3
...|regional scenary of northamerica | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |“The New Poor Class of USA: Hispanics” | |A new way of life and traditions… | | ...
Words: 699 - Pages: 3
