The Mexican-American War

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What do states like California, New Mexico, and Arizona all have in common? They all used to belong to Mexico before being admitted to the United States after the Mexican-American War. There had been years of tension between Mexico and the U.S. due to boundary disputes and the annexation of Texas. Soon, Congress officially declared war against Mexico after being persuaded by President Polk. Although the United States war against Mexico resulted in the gaining of America’s most valuable land, the war itself was unjust because Texas was wrong from the beginning, the war was based on false pretense, and expanding slavery was the goal. To start, Texas was wrong from the beginning for going against Mexico’s laws, which was the spark that led to …show more content…
As said by Joshua Giddings in the U.S. Congress Debate on War with Mexico, “What aggressive acts toward a foreign power could our army commit while on our own territory? While the army was within the United States they could not commit violence upon Mexico.” Giddings questions the president’s statement where U.S. citizens were killed on their own territory. How could the U.S. commit acts on Mexico when they were on their own territory? Giddings implies that President Polk lied to Congress because the disputed territory was actually Mexico’s. Giddings added, “The order was also to obtain from all aggressive acts towards ‘Mexican Citizens.’ It seems that the president expected General Taylor to find Mexican citizens located within the United States…” Giddings adds on to his statement that the territory belongs to Mexico because Mexican citizens lived there. Why would Mexicans live in the U.S.? Giddings explains that the only way for Mexicans to live on the disputed territory is if the land actually belongs to them. Adding onto his statement, evidence of previous Mexican treaties show that the land between the Rio Grande and Nueces belongs to Mexico. In summary, the war was unforgivable due to President Polk’s inaccurate accusations towards Mexico and their …show more content…
However, treaties from Mexico clearly show that the land these Americans died on was actually Mexican territory. Anyone, specifically Mexicans, can see that the act of Mexican troops was an act of self-defense. This claim is illegitimate because the Mexican troops were trying to protect their citizens that lived in this territory, for it is their obligation to do so. As stated by Giddings, “What aggressive acts could our army commit while on our own territory?” That is to say that many Americans still questioned whether they even owned the area between the Rio Grande and Nueces. Opponents will also argue that the Mexican government ignored any propositions the U.S. government asked. In Polk’s Address to Congress Calling for a Declaration of War, he said, “The Mexican Government not only refused to receive him, or listen to his propositions…” The Mexican government did not listen to propositions, but without a doubt, they chose to do this because they know what is best for their country. Furthermore, the government has a right to listen or deny any proposals that they do not see fit for their country. These are weak reasons for the war being reasonable because all these actions Mexico did was to help their
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