Henry David Thoreau's Manifest Destiny

At the conclusion of the Mexican-American War, more than 30,000 troops were killed between the United States and Mexico; the Mexican Cession of 1848 provided the victorious United States with resourceful land, and the accomplishment of the country’s Manifest Destiny dream it had for so long envisioned. From their unthinkable, motivated victory in the American Revolution, to the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the citizens of a young, determined United States knew that it was in God’s plan for the people of the country founded on principles of liberty, to expand west to the Pacific Ocean as part of the Manifest Destiny. Through the disease, famine, and death incurred during the Mexican-American War, the people of the United States now held a reality …show more content…
These northern abolitionists argued that a war with Mexico would only lead to increased slavery, including further social division among the country and its people. In response to the war effort, writer Henry David Thoreau, author of “Civil Disobedience”, failed to pay his taxes as he knew they were being transferred to the war fund; Thoreau ended up in prison as a result of his actions. In addition to Thoreau’s audacious, rebellious actions, other northern reformers argued that “Such a war of conquest must be regarded as a war against freedom, against humanity, against justice, against the union, and against the free states”.Furthermore, these individuals claimed that Mexico was being punished for an unworthy reason under the United States Constitution. Unfortunately for those in opposition to the war, President James Polk was a southern United States native, becoming one of the greatest advocates for the Mexican-American War; Polk’s actions would inevitably spark controversy, forcing the northern and southern United States down a path which would lead to

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