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Mexican American War Dbq Essay

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When you think about wars in American history, the first and probably only war you know of is the American Revolution. One war you might never think of is the Mexican-American War, the war in which America gained Texas from Mexico, but was it justified? The US was unethical in going to war with Mexico because of how the US robbed Texas from Mexico, they fought over disputed land, and gaining Texas would expand slavery. The Mexican-American war was unjustified because of the robbery of Texas from Mexico. Document C states, “...the annexation of Texas to the United States was inadmissible for both legal and security reasons. In the eyes of the government, the mobilization of the US army was an outrageous attack on Mexico.” In other words, Mexico didn’t feel that it was just …show more content…

To sum it up, the US essentially committed theft to Mexico because of some destiny they had. The US fighting over disputed territory also made the war unrighteous. Document D says, “... citizens of the United States had already begun to move into Texas... The idea was... that this extensive province ought to become a part of the United States.” Meaning that the United States didn’t own Texas, but already acted like they did. The United States is arguing that Texas belongs to them, while Mexico is arguing the same thing. Even though Mexico doesn’t own the land, they did have the right to protect the land that once belonged to them. The US fighting over undisputed territory doesn’t seem like the right reason to start a war. The final reason why this war was unwarranted is because of how it would expand slavery in the US. Document D states, “Certainly Mexico. might justly charge our citizens with disgraceful robbery, while, in seeking extension of slavery, our own citizens denied the great truths of American freedom.” The biggest debate about adding Texas was whether adding a slave state of the size of Texas would be a smart

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