Was The Mexican War Justified Essay

Words: 1205
Pages: 5

Was the Mexican War justified?

In the mid 1800’s, the United States of America was a relatively new country, eager to expand its land. America had already bought the Louisiana Purchase, and was looking for more suitable land to settle into. America’s reason for increasing its land was Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was a belief that it was God’s plan for America to expand its territory across the continent to the Pacific Ocean, and spread democracy. Once Mexico declared itself independent from Spain, it encouraged U.S. citizens to settle onto the northern part of their land, increasing Mexico’s population. Mexico was Catholic (anti-slavery), and American settlers living in Texas were mostly Protestant (pro-slavery). Just those differences caused fights, including a bloody fight at Alamo, Texas. These battles resulted in Texas gaining
…show more content…
would result in the expansion of slavery, and the United States of America was wanting warfare with Mexico to gain Mexico’s land. These causes are why America was not validated to go to war. Although Mexico did attack America, they kept any fights on disputed territory. The outcome of America winning the war would be the U.S. gaining land, which would mean the spread of slavery. Spreading slavery would increase the power of the southern United States. In the end, America did go to war with Mexico, and won. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo finished the war, giving the United States the Mexican Cession, including present-day Arizona, Nevada, parts of Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado. The Texas border was also moved to Rio Grande. While the U.S. remembers the war as “The Mexican War,” Mexico refers to the war as “The U.S. Invasion.” This shows that even now, there is disagreement between the two countries. So, even though America won the war, and slavery is no longer a part of the nation, how the U.S. gained that land was not