Mexican American War Research Paper

The Mexican American War, also referred to as the U.S. Mexican War, occurred from 1846 to 1848. It was a conflict between the United States of America and the United Mexican States. The conflict emerged from the United States’ decision to annex Texas in 1845 and from a dispute over whether Texas ended at the Nueces River or the Rio Grande. The conflict resulted in the United States acquiring more than 1,200 square miles of Mexican territory. Despite the quick annexation, dispute led to the formation of imperial and anti-imperial voices during the War. Although often overlooked, the controversy over the expansion of American slavery in Texas and Mexico sparked tension between imperialists, who favored the expansion of slavery, and anti-imperialists,

Texas was Mexico's northern-most territory, and at the time their government encouraged immigration, due to the mostly vacant land consisting of Hispanics and Indians. As a significant amount of Anglos were moving into Texas, in 1830, the Mexican government put a stop to further immigration from the United States. The issue of slavery in Mexico became a problem when the Mexican government feared losing control over Texas. In 1829, slavery was abolished in Mexican territories by the Guerrero decree. By 1835, there were over 30,000 Americans who had brought more than 2,000 slaves. These Anglos assertiveness lead to a rebellion overthrowing General Santa Anna, in an attempt to abolish the federation and impose military rule. As was established as an independent republic, and remained one for nine years. This was due to political fear of upsetting the balance in America between the free and slave states. In 1819, the Missouri Compromise left the United States with an even distribution of free and slave states. However, president John Tyler instigated a resolution to annex Texas in

An article titled “Then and Now.”, published in 1856, discusses the state of Texas before and after its annexation. The article quotes an imperialist, Mr. Webster, who states in favor of slavery expansion, “Texas is likely to be a slave-holding country”. Furthermore, the article goes on to quote others who emphasize that they are willing to do anything in their power to extend slavery to not only Texas, but to any other states that join the union. This article helps highlight how important slavery was to many in the United States. When Mexico abolished slavery, Anglos resented the law by considering it an infringement on their personal values. They were able to get around the law by turning their slaves into indentured servants. Since land in Texas was extremely cheap, it provided the perfect space for the spread of slavery. Those who wanted slavery to exist in Texas believed that the United States should expand its territory, thus shaping imperialist ideals. Many were able to justify this craving with the idea of ‘Manifest Destiny’. As interpreted in Ernesto Chavez’s, The U.S. War with Mexico A Brief History With Documents, Manifest Destiny is the idea that Americans had a “God-given right, based on racial superiority” to expand the United States to the pacific ocean. However, manifest destiny