Mexican War Dbq

The United States in 1846 was not justified in going to war with Mexico. The United States did not have proper justification to respond with violence against the Mexican government. The war with Mexico was also a product of the United States’ belief of Manifest Destiny. Polk’s over ambition to seize new territory from the Mexicans and disappointment over their refusal to sell him California also possibly played a factor in his willingness to wage war against Mexico. The United States under the leadership of President Polk clearly provoked Mexico into attacking US troops.To no extent was the Mexican War a justifiable war.

All these reasons show that the US had no business starting a war with Mexico for territory that was rightfully theirs. The war with Mexico came at a time when much of the country had strong feelings of Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny is the belief that fate had preordained the US to expand from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans and from Canada to the Rio Grande. “the nation of many nations is destined to manifest to mankind the excellence of divine principles…. it shall be a hemisphere – its roof the firmament of the star-studded heavens…” (Document 1).This ideal had strong influence and was one reason that there was so much popular support for the US expansion west.

This ideal, while nationalistic, did not give Polk the right to go into Mexico and seize land which was rightfully theirs. The US vision of manifest destiny helped to win the public’s support for the Mexican war (Doc 2). Yet the public was misled by this sense of Manifest Destiny and those that did support it supported an unjust war. During his presidency, President Polk lusted for more land than the country had ever dreamed to control.

The land Polk desired the most was California. While attempting to gain California through peaceful means, he sent John Slidell to Mexico City to offer the Mexicans up to $25 million dollars for California but was rejected by the Mexicans. This frustrated Polk and led to his willingness to try backhanded and sneaky new ways to get the Mexicans to give him the territories that he desired (Doc 5). This showed that Polk was consumed with greed for new territory. He no longer cared how he claimed the territory as referenced in his inaugural address (Doc 4).

Polk was consumed with a need to make his campaign promises a reality and to fulfill the prophecy of manifest destiny. His greed for land is evident in his behind- the- back tactics that he attempted to employ against the Mexicans. “A party of dragoons of 63 men and officers were on the same day dispatched from the American camp up the Rio del Norte, on its left bank, to ascertain whether the Mexican troops had crossed or were preparing to cross the river became engaged with a large body of these troops, and after a short affair, in which some 16 were killed and wounded, appear to have been surrounded and compelled to surrender” (Doc 6).Polk was so greedy for land that he was willing to risk bloodshed and death of his citizens for revenge against the rejection of a proposed treaty and his desire for Manifest Destiny. Quite possibly, the strongest of all reasons that the US was unjust in going to war with Mexico in 1846, was that the US forces were in the disputed territory baiting Mexican forces to attack the Americans.

The US troops were commanded to cross over the Nueces River to the banks of the Rio Grande.This was a move to get the Mexicans to attack US troops on land that was claimed by both countries. His cry for war was quickly echoed in congress and soon the declaration of war was passed. Yet this provoked attack was unjust and should have been seen as such by the US congress. This was clearly an act of aggression that was provoked by the US and was indeed “Polk’s War” (Doc 7). To conclude, the United States was unjust in its declaration of war on Mexico in 1846.

The US was clouded with dreams of Manifest Destiny.It had a president that was obsessed with fulfilling campaign promises and greed for new land. Also Polk was looking for revenge for the denial of the proposal for buying California as was evident in his original reasons for declaring war on Mexico. Also the US provoked this boarder dispute into the two-year war that it became by purposely inciting the Mexicans into a fight.

All these reasons are the evidence that the US was not justified in declaring war on Mexico.