Was The United States Justified Dbq

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Rodeos to your left and cowboys to your right, Texas makes America a whole, but the history of its annexation is often discarded. In 1821, Mexico was freed from Spain, Mexican leaders welcomed Americans into Texas. Different views caused revolt, and in 1836, Texas won their independence from Mexico. America marched into the Rio Grande in an attempt to buy Texas. At the scene, Mexico fired shots. After this, President Polk declared war on May 9, 1846. Was going to war a sensible decision made by the United States? No, the United States was not justified because of the U.S. trying to expand slavery, the fact that they knew about the annexation, and they made manifest destiny. To begin, the United States wanted to expand slavery into Texas if …show more content…

At that same time, Mexico was declaring slavery illegal. Also, Mexico had already declared slaves illegal. According to Charles Summer, “...decreed the abolition of human slavery within her dominions...” (Document D, 1). As the author explains, Texas being part of Mexico would lead to not having slaves. However, the United States still wanted to go to war with Mexico, which would obviously make it unjust. As American slaveholders moved to Texas, they angered Mexico even after knowing what it would do. Secondly, the United States knew all along that they were going to annex Texas, even after Mexico had been so kind to them. An example of the United States knowing is when Polk sent troops to Mexico in 1845 in the disputed area of Texas. Mexico fired a way to defend.Delighted, Polk finally had a reason to go to war. Background essay on the topic. The way Polk had sent the troops angered the Mexican government, most likely to the knowledge of Polk. Based on the wording, Polk had been waiting for a moment in time where he could finally declare war on Mexico while making it seem like it was their …show more content…

Mexico’s ordinance of freedom clearly states that slaves were declared illegal, but America needed a way to provoke Mexico. Some people may believe that Manifest Destiny was a credible reason for the United States to go to war with Mexico, since it was God’s plan everyone around them had to comply with. It was clearly never real and was made up by the United States in order to gain more land. This can be seen by the sheer definition of Manifest Destiny, “...God’s Plan that America extends its territory all the way to the Pacific Ocean.” (Background Essay, 5). By definition, it is said that God encouraged Americans to extend their territory; however, this statement raises questions such as who did God send as an envoy, or why would God encourage the country’s extension. An answer to any of these arising questions would be that it never happened and was never factual in the first place. Using the logic of Manifest Destiny would signify that God wanted to extend slavery, as that was the United States' plan all along. Furthermore, Polk was a supporter of this “He [Polk] was a strong supporter of Manifest

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