...American Realities: Chapter Thirteen Susan Magoffin was an ordinary farm wife from Kansas. In 1946, Susan and her husband Samuel were preparing to go on the journey across the United States. President Polk had annexed Texas in 1845. During the next two years, America expanded even more and the journey was later known as Manifest Destiny. In 1845, they got married in Kentucky. A year later, the Santa Fe Trail was really busy. The U.S. Army was on its way to Mexico to help with the Mexican War. When Susan went to New Mexico in 1846, the U.S. was on the verge of changing and shaping its new cultural contact. The Santa Fe Trail was a well-known landmark at the time. People had had many things going on within the Santa Fe Trail area. On afternoon in 1846, an Army came into the city of Santa Fe. Soldiers stood in a plaza and raised the American flag. As that happened, word spread of what the Mexicans had done. American culture had reached parts of New Mexico and that is why the Mexicans had raised the American flag and began to express American culture within their Mexican roots. Susan heard that the Mexicans had raised the American flag and her views changed, enabling her to respect them. The Magoffins moved into a small Mexican house in the city of Santa Fe. The Americans did not want to seem as though they wanted to conquer New Mexico. They simply wanted to offer a new type of government. But the language barrier was something they could not get rid of. The Americans did more...
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...------------------------------------------------- Mexican-American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo The Mexican-American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe HidalgoSo far from God, so close to the United States – Old Mexican SayingOn September 14, 1847 the Mexican flag was not flying over the Mexican capital. Instead, Mexico’s neighbor to the north had captured the country. How and why did the United States defeat Mexico in the Mexican-American War? To the victors went what spoils? This essay will answer these questions in a nutshell.Throughout the 19th Century, the United States was increasing in power and population while Mexico was stuck in chronic “political unrest, civil conflicts, depleted treasuries, [and] separatist movements” (Oscar J. Martinez, Troublesome Border [Tucson: the University of Arizona Press, 1988], 51). The U.S. was also heavily influenced by Manifest Destiny—the idea that the U.S. had the natural right to rule North America from coast to coast. Consequently, various presidential administrations in the 1820s and 30s sought to purchase land from Mexico, with no avail.In 1835, Texas battled and gained independence from Mexico; Texas was a sovereign country for the next decade (the Lone Star Republic). In the Treaty of Velasco, the Texas-Mexico border was established along the Rio Grande. Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (pronounced “Santana”) signed the treaty but the problem lied in the fact that the Mexican Congress did not ratify it, nor did Mexican presidents after Santa...
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...Mexican Cession By Hannah Wilson What is Cession What does Cession Mean? It means to give up or surrender something Mexican Cession means that Mexico gave up large amounts of land such as California and New Mexico to the United States. History behind Mexican Cession In December 1845 the United States voted to make Texas the 28th State. Mexico thought that we had the boundaries wrong and that part of Texas still belong to Mexico. The United States thought the line was the Rio Grand River, but Mexico thought it was another river far inside of the Texas border. The United States President James K. Polk wanted to meet with Mexico and settle the argument about where the Texas line was and talk about buying more land from Mexico. Mexico refused to meet. Mexico had a new president Santa Anna who did not want to talk. What Happened Next… When Mexico refused to meet with the United States President Palk order our military to the border. On April 25, 1846 the Mexican Calvary crossed the Rio Grande river into Texas and began fighting with our military and that was the beginning of the Mexican American war. That event was very important in history because it would determine how much land Mexico would eventually have to give up. (Reference -Social Studies for Kids, website cited below) 1. Mexico gave up over 500,000 square miles of territory to the United States http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/wwww/us/mexicancessiondef.htm How did the War...
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...The Mexican War was the first battle of the Civil War. There are varied opinions as to which battle was actually the first battle of the Civil War. The most popular choice is the attack on Fort Sumter; however, this paper will argue that this is not the case. My main argument will be that because of the events leading up to and during the war, the reasons for the war, and the outcome of the war, the Mexican War laid the groundwork for the Civil War and made it inevitable. Although the Mexicans had recognized Texas independence in 1845, they rejected the Lone Star Republic’s claim to the unsettled territory between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. When the U.S. annexed Texas and assumed its claim to the disputed area, Mexico broke off diplomatic relations and prepared for armed conflict. Just before leaving office in early 1845 President John Tyler, a Virginian seeking to provide a new area into which slavery might expand, secured a joint resolution from Congress annexing Texas to the United States. Upon taking office, President Polk immediately turned to the acquisition of Mexico's northern territories. President Polk sent U.S. troops under the command of General Zachary Taylor to the Rio Grande River in January of 1846. Mexican officials believed that the Texas-Mexico frontier stood one hundred miles to the north, at the Nueces River, and interpreted Polk's move as a deliberate provocation. Mexican troops quickly arrived at the Rio Grande as well, and minor...
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...Mexican American War 1846-1848 Some wars fall between the cracks. That appears to be what happened with Polk’s War. James K. Polk was our eleventh president. He is often listed as the worst president we’ve ever had. Polk’s War was actually the Mexican War of 1846-48. Before and during that war, most Americans including congress were not in favor of a war with Mexico. The war was launched on questionable pretexts. Why invade a smaller, poorer neighbor just for land? Mexico’s border with the Republic of Texas was the Nueces River near Corpus Christi. New Mexico, Arizona, California along with other territory belonged to Mexico, having won them from Spain some 25 years earlier. There were debates in Congress that the invasion of Mexico was unconstitutional. America had never invaded others (except the American Indians). A young congressman, Abraham Lincoln, began his move into the national limelight as an avowed opponent to the war. Polk saw America as having a manifest destiny to control the entire continent. The great American attitude of “can do” was increasing in strength. Arrogance was never been in short supply in our brief history. President James K. Polk sent troops to Corpus Christi to move the border to the Rio Grande. This was not something the Mexicans wanted. They responded with some strength and were not the push-over Polk and the war hawks thought they would be. For such a...
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...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. 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 river. This idea which was coined by John O’ Sullivan was very popular in the 1840’s. This ideal had strong influence and was one reason that their was so much popular support for the US expansion west. This ideal while nationalistic did not give us the right to go into Mexico and seize land which was rightfully theirs in the first place. They had the right to expel any US citizens that were living on their country’s land especially if they where not abiding by their laws. This alone makes even the annexation of Texas not completely just...
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...stroke of a pen, the Mexican-American War officially came to an end. The signing of the treaty ended the territorial disputes that caused the conflict between both countries. In the treaty, the United States government was obligated to pay Mexico fifteen-million dollars. In return for the compensation, The United States expanded its territory. The territory that was obtained via the treaty eventually became New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, and some of Utah.[1] This treaty, especially in the long run, benefited both the United States and Mexico, but there are many arguments about why the war started. Some argue that the United States was power hungry and was continuing its “bulling” of the continent to fulfill their belief that it was God’s will for the United States to control the land from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. This has now become to be known as Manifest Destiny.[2] Then there are the counter arguments that the dictatorship of Mexico sent troops to invade the United States and killed Americans. In a message to congress on May 11, 1846, President James Polk said, “Mexico invaded our territory and shed American blood upon the American soil.”[3] There are many arguments that say the United States is a racist nation and that this war, like many others, was because of white racism. Whether the battles were all racially motivated will never be known. It is impossible to know what was in the hearts of the Americans who fought in the war. What is know is...
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...In this battle analysis, I will analyze the Mexican-American war, discuss when the battle occurred, where it took place, the principle adversaries, review the settings of the battle operationally, and discuss the different areas of operation, such as the weather and terrain. I will also describe and analyze the American and Mexican armies in leadership, size and composition, technology, logistical systems, command, control and communications, intelligence, tactical doctrine and morale, the battle chronologically, followed by the significance of the battle, addressing the effects of the war and how lessons learned from this war affect the way our military operates today. So first, lets start by discussing the Mexican-American war. During April 25, 1846 to February 2, 1848 the Mexican American War occurred. This conflict happened between the Centralist Republic or Mexico and the Unite States. The war consisted of four campaigns as follows, the Texas, California, Pacific Coast and Mexico campaigns. President James K. Polk, who was elected in 1844, believed the United States had a “manifest destiny” to spread across the continent to the Pacific Ocean (Frazier, 1998). At first, the United States declined to incorporate Texas into the union, because northern political interests were against the addition of a new slave state. The Mexican government encouraged border raids and warnings that if any attempt to annex Texas it would lead to a war. As time went by Polk had his eyes on the...
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...To start of with, in 1821, Spain accepts Mexican independence. Following that date, Texas was begging to be annexed from Mexico, and it finally happened in 1845. During the following years of 1846-1848, the Mexican-American war took place which clearly disputable. The controversial war between Mexico and the United States can be seen in multiple perspectives however, the the war was just due to Mexico having the wrong idea of Manifest Destiny, Mexico was not fit to govern , and Mexico showed inhumane violence towards Americans. Due to repeated failing actions made by the Mexican government, the United States was forced to insist war upon Mexico. John L. O’Sullivan, columnist and editor, promoted the annexation of Texas stated in a magazine...
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...As wars go, the Spanish-American War (1898) was neither very long, nor extremely violent. It was nothing like the horrible Civil War (1861-1865) that the US had fought a few decades earlier, or the total warfare of World War I (1914-1918). Yet, the Spanish-American War had considerable historical significance. American success against Spain took many European powers by surprise, Demonstrating that the US had become a world power. For the US, perhaps the war was too successful or too easy, instilling an optimism about war in the American public, which was quick to forget just how horrible the Civil War had been. As a further result of the war, US national pride soared, and nationalism and jingoism peaked. The US took a first successful step...
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...The United States of America was justified to go to war with Mexico for various reasons. One reason going to war justification is contained in Document A. Written in this primary source document it states that Mexico was limiting our expansion of land and limiting the development of our nation. This was a conflict because at this time the United States was expanding its territory at a constant rate. Another major movement of this time was manifest destiny. During this time many people moved west for religious freedom however it was extremely dangerous during that time period to move to land already occupied from another nation. In result to this people were moving into Mexico as well as along the border of Mexico. When American soldiers had...
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...Polk ended up being nominated by the Democrats for president. He defeated Whig leader Henry Clay in the general election and became president in 1845. When Polk became president, his main goal was to expand the borders of the United States all the way to the Pacific Ocean. He also wanted to settle border disputes with Great Britain regarding the Oregon Territory. Polk threatened Great Britain with war over the northern boundary to the west. He said that the U.S. wanted the territory all the way to the 54-40 line, just south of Alaska. Britain later agreed to a border at the 49thparallel, which is today the border between the U.S and Canada. Polk threatened Great Britain with war over the northern boundary to the west. Polk was happy about this settlement as he never really wanted to go to war with Britain. Mexican- American war one of the first things Polk did when he became president was to grant Texas states hood. This made the Mexican government angry. Tensions began to mount at the border and it wasn’t long before the Mexican-American War broke out. The Americans dominated the war and eventually took over much of the land that became the Southwest of the United States including New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Polk decided not to run for a second term president. He felt that he had accomplished his goal of expanding the territory of the U.S to the Pacific Ocean and there was no need for another term. Polk had worked very hard at being president and was exhausted and sickly;...
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...THE MEXICAN - AMERICAN WAR 1846-1848 BY: Clarence Pino One of the most interesting movements in history. The Mexican- American provided the United States of America not only with 500,000 plus square miles of land. But impact of our country playing a very important role of shaping it to the most successful economic country today. The Mexican- American War was interesting to me because of all the moving pieces. In Mexico you had the Federalist going against the Consecutives. The whole time this was going on you had the Abolitionist opposing the war, thinking that America wanted Mexico just to add more slave states. At this time the term “MANIFEST DESTINY” was coined . In August 1843 Santa Anna threaten war with America if they were to incorporate Texas into the Union. Herrera (new president of Mexico) didn’t take this stance. With the encouragement from Great Britain President Herrera decided to resolve the issue of Texas with diplomacy rather than war. President Herrera then told America to send an ambassador to negotiate the Settlement of the Texas boundary. America sent Ambassador Slidell to negotiate for Texas, but his intensions involved more than just the State of Texas. When Ambassador Slidell went into Mexico he had every intention to buy California and New Mexico from Mexico. United States made an offer of 25 million dollars for The Rio Grande border in Texas and another...
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...The Mexican-American War Samuel Lebron HIST/110CA June 18, 2015 Dr. J. Randall III Introduction The Mexican-American war according to many has a lot of controversy behind it. Many believe that the war was really initiated and provoked by the United States, and President at the time, James K. Polk. Polk envisioned a much larger America (territory) that would one day reach from the east all the way to the west (Pacific Ocean). Amid the controversy of whether it was Mexico or the United States that started this conflict, one thing is for certain, the end result of this war would help shape the U.S. in more than one ways than one. It is believed by many that newspaper editor John O’ Sullivan came up with the term Manifest Destiny, which really was a time when American families started looking west in search of new lands and opportunity, and while many were motivated by religious beliefs and the movement of the second awakening, thinking they could reach the natives and convert them to Christianity, others were simply motivated by the economic potential (e.g. fur trade) the west had. Unfortunately many Americans, mostly from the south also sought new lands but for the wrong reasons, reasons such as acquiring more lands for the expansion of cotton cultivation, thus also spreading more slavery. One of the main events that lead to the war was the dispute of boundaries between Mexico and the United States and the union of Texas with the U.S. Mexico did not...
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...good things Grant is known for was creating the first park – Yellowstone National Park – bringing together federal lands in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. I think the 15th amendment was a good idea because it overturned the preexisting statute prohibiting African-American citizens of the United States from suffrage so any previous station of servitude or slavery undertaken by any individual was immaterial with regard to the right to vote. The third reason I think that both the 15th amendment and Grant are good is because he successfully carried out his plan to integrate blacks, guarantee their rights, and support equality may be this: during Grant’s eight years in office, the South went from being half Republican to nearly entirely Democratic. The reason I support the 15th Amendment is because it was difficult to pass due to racism and prejudice in the south and Grant’s presidency, which he thought that having the votes of African Americans was more important for the future of the republican party, especially if it was able to be passed and he ran for a second election he’d win for sure, because he supported equal rights among voters although the abolishment of slavery started not long before its’ ratification. (The civil war and its aftermath: Civil Rights Laws and Constitutional Amendments, pages 121-122 by O’Conner, Sabato, Yanus) reason I support President Ulysses S. Grant is because saw his fathers’ efforts in being a Whig party supporter and abolitionist. He started off in...
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