Week 3 Discussion: Manifest Destiny and the Mexican War of 1846
How did the ideology of Manifest Destiny contribute to the Mexican War of 1846? Why did the
Mexican War of 1846 take place? Was the war necessary? Was it beneficial to the United
States? What does this war tell us about this period of American history? Was it God’s plan that
the United States extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific, or were imperialists looking for a way
to defend what they planned to do anyway? Elaborate.
The Manifest Destiny was “A term coined by editor and columnist John O’Sullivan to
describe his belief in America’s divine right to expand westward” (Keen, Cornell, & O’Donnell,
2012, p. 338). This ideology was strongly supported by James Polk, who won the presidency in
1844 (Keen et al., 2012). James Polk was a strong supporter of slavery and expanding west as a
“necessity and inevitability” (Keen et al., 2012, p. 328) which was a contributing factor to the
Mexican War of 1846.
After the annexation of Texas in 1845 into the Union, there was debate between the
boundaries separating Mexican and Texas which was now United States territory. Mexico
believed the southern border of Texas to be the Nueces River and not the Rio Grande which
would give more land to Texas. Polk had sent John Slidell to Mexico to settle the dispute on the
boundaries and debt owned by Mexico to America (Keen et al., 2012). Polk was also interested
in acquiring California and New Mexico which was owned by Mexico. However, Mexico was
not interested in this as they were still upset over losing Texas when they claimed independence
from Mexico in 1836 (Keen et al., 2012). Schmidt (2004), also suggests that the annexation of
Texas by the United States “… raised tensions between the United States and Mexico, and
precluded diplomatic alternatives to war” (p. 565). Polk’s aggression and decision to send
General Zachery Taylor and soldiers to the debated area between the two rivers, and Mexico’s
response by attacking them on April 25, 1846 was the spark that lit the fuse. Keen et al. (2012)
states “Congress formally declared war on Mexico on May 13” (p. 329) after Polk riled up
congress.
I don’t think the Mexican War was necessary as the United States had plenty of territory
and were thriving economically on all the other land they acquired. War, in my opinion, is never
necessary. However, I do believe that it was inevitable due to Polk’s strong determination on
expanding westward. The United States benefited greatly from this war in the sense that they
showed their dominance over Mexico and gained new territory as they “… had seized 55 percent
of Mexico’s territory” (Keen et al., 2012, p. 330). However, looking forward in history and how
the acquisition of all this new territory created conflict amongst the United States when it came
to beliefs on slavery, this war may have not been beneficial at all. Some may say it was a
contributing factor to the Civil War as there was much argument about the expansion of slavery
to these other newly acquired territories which “…would alter the balance of free and slave
states” (Bombay, 2012).
The whole ideology of the Manifest Destiney fueled many American’s thoughts on what
they felt were their God given right. This war shows just how greedy and pretentious a lot of
This study source was downloaded by 100000834306259 from CourseHero.com on 02-02-2022 08:11:09 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/49696633/Week-3-Discussion-Manifest-Destiny-and-the-Mexican-War-of-1846docx/
How did the ideology of Manifest Destiny contribute to the Mexican War of 1846? Why did the
Mexican War of 1846 take place? Was the war necessary? Was it beneficial to the United
States? What does this war tell us about this period of American history? Was it God’s plan that
the United States extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific, or were imperialists looking for a way
to defend what they planned to do anyway? Elaborate.
The Manifest Destiny was “A term coined by editor and columnist John O’Sullivan to
describe his belief in America’s divine right to expand westward” (Keen, Cornell, & O’Donnell,
2012, p. 338). This ideology was strongly supported by James Polk, who won the presidency in
1844 (Keen et al., 2012). James Polk was a strong supporter of slavery and expanding west as a
“necessity and inevitability” (Keen et al., 2012, p. 328) which was a contributing factor to the
Mexican War of 1846.
After the annexation of Texas in 1845 into the Union, there was debate between the
boundaries separating Mexican and Texas which was now United States territory. Mexico
believed the southern border of Texas to be the Nueces River and not the Rio Grande which
would give more land to Texas. Polk had sent John Slidell to Mexico to settle the dispute on the
boundaries and debt owned by Mexico to America (Keen et al., 2012). Polk was also interested
in acquiring California and New Mexico which was owned by Mexico. However, Mexico was
not interested in this as they were still upset over losing Texas when they claimed independence
from Mexico in 1836 (Keen et al., 2012). Schmidt (2004), also suggests that the annexation of
Texas by the United States “… raised tensions between the United States and Mexico, and
precluded diplomatic alternatives to war” (p. 565). Polk’s aggression and decision to send
General Zachery Taylor and soldiers to the debated area between the two rivers, and Mexico’s
response by attacking them on April 25, 1846 was the spark that lit the fuse. Keen et al. (2012)
states “Congress formally declared war on Mexico on May 13” (p. 329) after Polk riled up
congress.
I don’t think the Mexican War was necessary as the United States had plenty of territory
and were thriving economically on all the other land they acquired. War, in my opinion, is never
necessary. However, I do believe that it was inevitable due to Polk’s strong determination on
expanding westward. The United States benefited greatly from this war in the sense that they
showed their dominance over Mexico and gained new territory as they “… had seized 55 percent
of Mexico’s territory” (Keen et al., 2012, p. 330). However, looking forward in history and how
the acquisition of all this new territory created conflict amongst the United States when it came
to beliefs on slavery, this war may have not been beneficial at all. Some may say it was a
contributing factor to the Civil War as there was much argument about the expansion of slavery
to these other newly acquired territories which “…would alter the balance of free and slave
states” (Bombay, 2012).
The whole ideology of the Manifest Destiney fueled many American’s thoughts on what
they felt were their God given right. This war shows just how greedy and pretentious a lot of
This study source was downloaded by 100000834306259 from CourseHero.com on 02-02-2022 08:11:09 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/49696633/Week-3-Discussion-Manifest-Destiny-and-the-Mexican-War-of-1846docx/
