Mexican American War Essay Thesis

The Mexican-American War

The Mexican-American War was a conflict between the United States and Mexico in which Mexico fought to defend itself from the U.S, while the Americans wanted to annex Texas and gain some more land from Mexico. This was a very important war because it determined whether the U.S. would become a powerful nation, and be on par with France, Great Britain, and Russia. Also, it determined how big the U.S. would be. At the start of the war, the president at that time was James K. Polk, and he strongly favored U.S. expansion. He, like many other Americans, believed in Manifest Destiny, which is the belief that it was the God-given right of the U.S. to spread across the continent. It was because of the Manifest Destiny that

the conflict with Mexico got started, and would later cause tensions that will rise into a war, leaving devastating consequences for Mexico.
Before the war even started, the U.S. already had a fever for expansion across the continent, and the president, James K. Polk, was a strong believer in the Manifest Destiny. The U.S. was already advancing as a nation, and many Americans believed that by expanding the U.S., they would be contributing to the progression of their country. Sam W. Hayes, author of the article Manifest Destiny, says that, “Some supporters of Manifest Destiny favored rapid expansion and bold pursuit of territorial claims, even at the risk of war with other nations” (Hayes 1). What is meant by this is that basically many people would do anything, and happily go to war, as long as the U.S. gained territory. This is basically an element of Manifest Destiny, and people with this type of mentality will contribute to the U.S. waging war against Mexico, all just for land expansion.
Mexico, on the other hand, had problems of its own, and was recently out of a revolution with Spain. Thus, Mexico was in a weak state. All of this and the separation of Texas from Mexico made Mexico not want to fight again, but instead look for some type of agreement. The U.S., however, was with its Manifest Destiny mentality, and an agreement wouldn’t be an easy task, unless Mexico was ready to give up some of their land. To make matters worse, many Americans had little regard for Mexico, and saw them as an inferior race. This is evident when Walt Whitman, a famous American poet, says, “What has inefficient Mexico….what has she to do with the great mission of peopling the new world with a noble race? Be it ours, to achieve that mission!” (A Go-Ahead Nation). The fact that the Americans had a bad view on Mexicans only made matters worse, and couldn’t care less if they went to war with them. They had little regard for Mexicans and believed that it was their right to take land away from them in order to expand the U.S., and to improve the world with a better race. Again, an element of Manifest Destiny can be seen in this example.
In the American viewpoint, the war was viewed as a good thing because they would be gaining new territory. For them, the war was about land expansion. For the Mexicans, however, the war was about defending themselves from the tyranny and aggression of the U.S. They viewed it liked this because the U.S. was strong, while Mexico was in a weak and unstable state, and so the U.S. took advantage of the opportunity and attacked them, taking a good portion of their land away from them. David J. Weber, from the article The Borderlands on the Eve of War, says, “Mexico was fighting for its survival against the unlawful acts of usurpation and injustice. The war was started be the U.S., and Mexico had no recourse but to defend itself” (Borderlands). This explains why the Mexicans view the war so negatively and why they see it as an act of oppression and hypocrisy by the U.S. The Mexicans view it as an act of hypocrisy because the United States was formed so that the Americans could escape their oppressors, who were the British. Also, when the Americans formed the U.S., they vowed to treat everyone equally and protect them, but now they are being aggressors towards another nation, which is Mexico.
The impact of the Mexican-American war was devastating for Mexico, and helpful to the United States.

It was devastating for Mexico because land was being taken away from them against their will. Also, those lands, like California, were rich in resources and gold mines, and could have potentially helped Mexico to improve their economy and their nation as a whole. Sadly, this future was denied by the Americans, who, with their belief in Manifest Destiny, snatched it away from them forcefully. Many people lost their fortunes, and Antonia I. Castañeda, from the article A War of Violence and Violations, says, “Families were literally split in half, and people who owned land and homes in Mexico lost all of it” (A War of Violence). In addition to this, the war also left tens of thousands of orphans, cripples, and widows out to suffer. The war changed lives in a negative way, and left Mexico scarred for generations to come. For the U.S., however, the war brought lots of wealth and land. The discovery of rich gold and silver deposits in California contributed to the national economy and westward movement of the population. The negative effects of the war on the U.S. were that many lives were lost, and although the new territory made them a continental power, it also upset the balance between free and slave states, which helped to bring the catastrophe of the American Civil

War.
Today, the effects of the war continue to live on. Mexico is still scarred with the psychological trauma left by the war, and Mexicans refer to it as the “U.S. Invasion” rather than the Mexican-American War. Many believe that it was the U.S. that started it, and some historians today say that James K. Polk provoked the war with Mexico by placing an army in Mexican territory to provoke an attack. James then used this as an excuse to go to war. It is also very important to take into account that many Americans believed in Manifest Destiny, and that the period that they lived in was a period of American Romanticism. According to Robert W. Johansson, from the article A Go-Ahead nation, American Romanticism “was a very optimistic attitude that emphasized feeling and emotion and sentiment as opposed to reason” (A Go-Ahead Nation). This means that many Americans were basically in a blind pursuit of expanding their nation, while failing to realize the consequences or who might be affected. In other words, they acted without thinking of the consequences, and all they thought of was expanding the United States, regardless of anything else that might happen. Today, there is a lot of talk whether the war was even necessary in the first place, and many people look back on it and believe that it wasn’t. It was just that the U.S. was being too aggressive and displaying no morality towards Mexico that caused the war to happen. David M. Pletcher from the article A hypothetical Question: Was the U.S.-Mexican War Necessary? Says, “Many American Expansionists wanted Mexican territory, including California, and thought they could take it by force” (A Hypothetical Question). Here is another example of Manifest Destiny, since the Americans wanted to expand their country, even if it meant taking land from another country. Mexico had nothing to do with wanting to start a war, but had to defend itself from the U.S., who was the aggressor. The U.S. satisfied its scruples, or actions, with a suitable rationalization. This rationalization was the idea of Manifest Destiny, and the Americans thought that it was good to attack because they believed that it was their divine right to do so, and that they would be helping their nation. It was because of Manifest Destiny that this all started, and left devastating consequences for Mexico, a nation that could have prospered to become a world power.