The Mexican-American War

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Many people believe that the United States only fought for their freedom and worked through all the hardships to make it the country it is today. Polk claims, “The world has nothing to fear from military ambition in our government.” In other words, Polk believes that a country must not be afraid of their own military strength and what they’re capable of because they can accomplish many achievements and create an empire. Before the Mexican-American war, the United States had just won it’s freedom from the British Empire and acquired many more states to the thirteen colonies. They had experienced many hardships, but the Americans never gave up and kept fighting for what they want. During the Mexican-American war, the United States made it’s country …show more content…

Even though the United States was admitting many new states, the North and South were having issues deciding whether the state should be free or a slave state. This angered many southerners and northerners because both sides had different beliefs about slavery and freedom. This excerpt says, “The Missouri Compromise (actually a set of congressional acts passed in 1820 and 1821) settled the sectional crisis triggered by Missouri's application to join the Union as a slave state. It permitted this while prohibiting slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase north of 36° 30′(parallel)”. By this we can see that the North and South would agree to admit any state, but it depended on which side of the parallel it was on. Although, this compromise would later be renewed because the South would not be pleased and other states would not want to become slave states or a free state, but rather decide it on popular …show more content…

Polk. He strongly believed that Mexico had violated many terms of peace against the United States. He wrote a war message to Congress in effort to convince them of the need of war with Mexico. Polk says, “As war exists, and, notwithstanding all our efforts to avoid it, exists by the act of Mexico herself, we are called upon by every consideration of duty and patriotism to vindicate with decision the honor, the rights, and interests of our country” (75). This citation indicates that Polk believes that Mexico had violated many sections of the U.S. Constitution and there was need for retribution. He would declare war with Mexico and the United States would benefit greatly because the country would double it’s size by acquiring California and other new

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