The Mexican WarThe United States in 1846 was not justifiedin going to war with Mexico. The United States did not have properjustification to respond with violence against the Mexican government. The war with Mexico was also a product of the United States’ belief ofmanifest destiny. Polk’s over ambition to seize new territory fromthe Mexicans and disappointment over their refusal to sell him Californiaalso possibly played a factor in his willingness to wage war against Mexico.
The United States under the leadership of president Polk clearly provokedMexico into attacking US troops. All these reasons show that theUS had no business starting a war with Mexico for territory that was rightfullytheirs. The war with Mexico came at a time whenmuch of the country had strong feelings of manifest destiny. Manifestdestiny is the belief that fate had preordained the US to expand from theAtlantic to the Pacific oceans and from Canada to the Rio Grande river. This idea which was coined by John O’ Sullivan was very popular in the1840’s.
This ideal had strong influence and was one reason that theirwas so much popular support for the US expansion west. This idealwhile nationalistic did not give us the right to go into Mexico and seizeland which was rightfully theirs in the first place. They had theright to expel any US citizens that were living on their country’s landespecially if they where not abiding by their laws. This alone makeseven the annexation of Texas not completely just. The US vision ofmanifest destiny helped to win the public’s support for the Mexican war. Yet the public was misled by this sense of manifest destiny and those thatdid support it supported an unjust war.
President Polk during his presidency lustedfor more land than the country had ever before controlled. Not onlydid he capture Texas but also California and Oregon. While attemptingto gain California through peaceful means he sent John Slidell to MexicoCity to offer the Mexicans up to $25million dollars for California yetthis offer was rejected by the Mexicans as insulting. This led Polkto frustration and his willingness to try backhanded and sneaky new waysto get the Mexicans to give him the territories that he desired.
This showed that Polk was consumed with greed for new territory. He no longer cared how he claimed his no territory. Polk was consumedwith a need to make his campaign promises a reality and to make the prophecyof manifest destiny a reality. His greed for land is evident in hisbehind the back tactics that he attempted to employ against the Mexicans.
He also was seeking a form of revenge for the deaths at the Alamo and therefusal of his proposal to buy California from the Mexicans. Polkwas so greedy for land that he was willing to risk blood shed and deathof his citizens for revenge against the rejection of a proposed treatyand his want for manifest destiny. Quite possibly the strongest of all reasonsthat the US was unjust in going to war with Mexico in 1846 was that theUS forces were in the disputed territory too purposely insight the Mexicansinto starting the conflict so the US would look like they were the goodguys in the incident. The US troops were commanded to cross overthe Nueces river to the banks of the Rio Grande.
This was a moveto get the Mexicans to attack US troops on land that was claimed by bothcountries. This did not work out as planned at first and the Mexicanswouldn’t attack. This worried Polk so he went to his cabinet. He told them on May 9, 1846 that he was to propose to congress that hewanted them to declare war on Mexico on the grounds that one: unpaid claimsand two: Slidell’s rejection. These reasons were flimsy at best. But luckily for Polk word of the blood shed he had been waiting for arrivedthat evening.
His cry for war was quickly echoed in congress andsoon the declaration of war was passed. Yet this provoked attackwas unjust and should have been seen as such by the US congress. This was clearly an act of aggression that was provoked by the US. To conclude the United States was unjustin its declaration of war on Mexico in 1846. The US was clouded withdreams of Manifest Destiny. It had a president that was obsessedwith fulfilling campaign promises and greed for new land.
Also Polkwas looking for revenge for the denial of the proposal for buying Californiaas was evident in his original reasons for declaring war on Mexico. Also the US provoked this boarder dispute into the two-year war that itbecame by purposely inciting the Mexicans into a fight. All thesereasons are the evidence that the US was not justified in declaring waron Mexico.
