preview

The Mexican War : The Causes Of The Mexican American War

Decent Essays

When many hear of the Mexican American War, mix feelings and controversies arise.
During the start of the battle in 1846, when James K. Polk declared war against the Mexican’s, the nation was divided. One part of the war and the other half against. While slave owners saw it as “ a place to extend slavery,” others such as Frederick Douglas saw it as “robbing Mexico of her territory.” The Mexican American War rose out of the desire of expansion and resulted in new discoveries. The cause of the war and the reasons American became involved are two vital questions that must be addressed before examining any other issues. The birthing forth of the conflict came through the Presidential election of James K. Polk, who promised to bring forth unity by bringing both Texas and Oregon into the union. After Congress voted to annex Texas into the union Texas became a state. During this time President Polk began negotiation with Britain about Oregon also becoming part of the U.S., but the British were unwilling to surrender without a compromise in which a territorial dividing line was implemented by extending the already existing boundaries between the U.S. and Canada to the West Coast. However, the negotiation with Texas was overruled and although Mexico could not prevent Texas from claiming dependency, the Mexicans, with absolute certainty would not allow Texas borders to reach into the river of Rio Grande and so war was declared. “A military historian named John S.D. Eisenhower

Get Access