Manifest Destiny

I believe that the United States, in 1846, was not justified in going to war with Mexico. There was no need for the United States to act hostile towards the Mexican government. The key factor that caused the war with Mexico was President Polk’s gluttony to confiscate as much new territory as he could. He was very angry and dissatisfied over the rejection of the sale of California. Everything came down to the idea of manifest destiny. Manifest destiny was the number one cause of the war. In my eyes, Mexico was clearly provoked leading them to attack the US’ armed forces. The United States had no good reason for calling a war with Mexico, especially being it concerned territory that legally belonged to Mexico. The most accepted reason the majority of the population, in the United States, supported the expansion westward was manifest destiny. John O’Sullivan created the idea of manifest destiny. It basically was the belief that God had given the US the right to expand. What they failed to understand was that it did not give them the right to go onto someone else’s territory and seize it, just because they wanted it. Manifest destiny may have been the reason the public supported the war, but little did they know they were supporting an unfair war.

Texas had just recently joined the States, after being on their own for ten years, but that was not enough for President Polk. Polk craved more of Texas and California. In an attempt to gain California, Polk appointed John Slidell to put forward $25 million to the Mexicans, in exchange for the land. Mexico declined the offer, and Polk was very upset. He began trying to find new ways to get the Mexicans to give him the land he so desperately wanted. President Polk was so gluttonous that he was willing to risk the lives of his citizen’s in order to make his campaign promises and the idea of manifest destiny come