What is Justification?
According to Merriam Webster justification is “the action of showing something to be right or reasonable.” I do not believe that the United States decision to wage war with Mexico was either right or reasonable. My reasons are that Mexico was provoked by the Americans because they didn’t respect the border, my second reason is that Mexico had a larger claim over the land according to Document C, and my third is that the United States didn’t engage in war for the right reasons, the United States engaged in war for the fulfillment of the Manifest Destiny.
Mexico was greatly provoked by the Americans. Proof of that lies in Document C,
A Mexican Viewpoint on the War With the United States, which states that America didn’t agree upon the border with Mexico, the previous owners of the land before Texas became a free nation. Then since the United States had General Zachary Taylor stationed in the disputed territory between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande, Mexico had no choice but to retaliate. Mexico was also provoked because the United States signed a deal to annex Texas whom had not officially broken away from Mexico yet. My second reason is that Mexico had a larger claim over the land than the United States. According to Document C, Texas had
…show more content…
According to Document A, Mexico has no real power and that conquering its territory would obviously greatly increase the size of the United States, which was the main goal of the Manifest Destiny. President Polk was also said to have been a firm believer in the Manifest Destiny hence his primary motive for waging war with Mexico would be to conquer the land, not to avenge the death of the fallen soldiers as he had said in Document B. I do not believe killing lives for a personal dream is right nor reasonable so in my eyes the war between the United States and Mexico will never be
The fact from document c that proves this is “ Troops commanded by General Zachary Taylor arrived at the Rio Grande across from the city of Matamoros thus occupying the territory in dispute… in the eyes, the Mexican government the mobilization of the United States Army was an outright attack on Mexico as a consequence the Mexican government reaffirms the instruction to protect the border”. This fact from document c proves that in 1846, President James K. Polk ordered American troops to move into the disputed territory between the Rio Grande and Nueces Rivers. The Mexican government saw this as a violation of its sovereignty and responded by attacking American troops. The United States then declared war on Mexico. The United States had no reason to move troops into the disputed territory, and its actions were seen as aggressive by
America’s Justification War happens in the world, because of a good reason or bad reason. America went to war with mexico for many reasons, many justifying their acts. Texas had become independent from mexico and was to be annexed into America. America then claimed some of the land and there was dispute over where the border was. America thought it was Rio Grande, Mexico thought it was Nueces river.
Mainly due to the event involving the Mexicans who killed sixteen Americans on disputed territory. Americans were angered that blood was shed on this land they wanted dearly. As a matter of fact, Mexico denied $10 million dollars from the US in exchange for Texas. President Polk said that the Mexicans brought this on themselves and the war was inevitable. Within “Jesus Velasco- Marquez, Instituto Technologico Autonomo de Mexico, “A Mexican Viewpoint on the War With the United States,” Voices of Mexico, Issue #41, Center for Research on North America (CISAN), National Autonomous University of Mexico, 2006.”
As mentioned earlier, Polk was a strong supporter of “manifest destiny”, but the concept was merely a belief that stemmed from religion. It wasn’t strong enough to act as a foundation of international decisions. In addition to its lack of strength, it increased the gap between the two nations because Mexico was Catholic and the US was Protestant. The religious and personal beliefs of Polk caused the US to become egoistic. To prove this point, John L. O’Sullivan stated, “Other nations have undertaken… hostile interference against us,… hampering our power, limiting our greatness and checking the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence (God)...”
Mexican War, the misinterpreted situation, full of thievery of land and of lives. In 1846 the U.S went to war with Mexico, most people know it this way, but they did not know the actions that led to it. The U.S was not justified in going to war with Mexico. Some people think otherwise, but the facts are in the documents. These is what I think are the best 3 reasons, the land hunger of the U.S, the transgression of Mexican rules, and the amount of casualties left by the acts of the U.S.
As a Democrat, I believe that President Polk was justified in starting the Mexican-American War. Also, as a strong supporter of Manifest Destiny, also known as Western expansion, I furthermore find reason to believe Polk was justified in initiating war with the Mexican people; being that the Mexican government refused peaceful negotiation. The Americans were the just owners of this western land, and we intended to get it. The Mexican government refused a meeting with our representative to establish the border between Texas and Mexico, along with an offer of 30 million dollars for Western territory. These western territories would provide substantial economic growth for the United States, as well as the obvious: making our nation larger as
The United States war with Mexico was over 160 years ago and still continues to be a divisive and widely debated topic, was it justifiable or not? The first war to be fought mostly on foreign land, was the Mexican-American War that started in 1846. America, lead by President Polk, who believed the U.S had a “manifest destiny”, fought against Mexico who had a weak military and was politically divided. After the war ended in 1848, Mexico lost one-third of its territory which included present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. Although the United States war against Mexico resulted in the gaining of America’s most valuable land, the war itself was unjust because their goal was to expand slavery, Texas was wrong from the beginning, and the war was based on false pretenses.
In this time, Spain recently gained their independence from Spain in 1820.The new country invited settlers from the United States. Since Mexico was a brand new country at the time, problems arose between the settlers and the government, eventually leading to conflicts during that time period. “Throughout the 1820s, Americans settled in the vast territory of Texas, often with land grants from the Mexican government”(Pike). Before the secession of Texas, Mexico was made up of over one million seven hundred thousand square miles. But in 1832 settlers began a war for independence.
Because the US took Mexico's territory to advance slavery, the Mexican-American War was not justified. The Americans believed that the best course of action for obtaining the territory was to go to war with Mexico due to the belief in Manifest Destiny. Although there were many negative effects, Manifest Destiny claimed that it was God's intention for people to take and settle on new territory all the way to the Pacific Ocean. The reality that the war ended up causing the slavery debate and the Civil War was the main result that had the biggest effect. The Mexican-American War's historical context is provided here.
This war happened mainly because the U.S. wanted to expand to the Pacific Ocean to fulfill their Manifest Destiny, trying to take away Mexico’s land. Mexico refused to to give land to the U.S. The big question is whether the U.S. was justified in fighting Mexico in the Mexican-American War. The United States was justified in going to war with Mexico because Manifest Destiny, too much Mexican interference, and Texas was invaded. One reason the Mexican War was justified was Manifest Destiny. In Document A, John O’Sullivan writes: “Texas is now ours...Let their reception into the “family be frank, kindly, and cheerful….”
Was the United States justified in going to war with Mexico? The United States was not justified in going to war with Mexico because they did not respect their laws, culture, and their beliefs. Second of all, this evidence shows that the US was not justified in going to war because it was useless to fight if the Mexicans were going to lose Texas if it was not now, it would be later on. Truly, it was very clear that the Americans won the war because Texas wanted to become part of the US, and the United States wanted to adopt Texas into their union.
As stated before, the US was justified in going to war with Mexico because of three reasons, Americans were killed, Texas was already annexed, and Manifest Destiny allows it. The United states had many superb reasons for going to war with Mexico. This essay is significant because it helps explain the United States’ choice to go to war with
When Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, a string of ruthless dictators and weak presidents made Mexico an easy target for its powerful neighbor, the United States. The US swooped in to expand its territory and its popular institution of slavery. By doing so, the US started a war with Mexico that was justified for illegitimate reasons. The Mexican-American War was not justified because the US took Mexico’s land for the expansion of slavery, and justified their taking advantage of Mexico when it was politically weak by hiding behind Manifest Destiny.
The next reason The United States was not justified is that the United States straight-up attacked Mexico. Doc C shows that The United States was not justified. This shows that Mexico was attacked by the United States document C says, “In the eyes of the Mexican government, the mobilization of the US army was an outright attack on Mexico… As a consequence, the Mexican government reaffirmed the instruction to protect the border” This tells us that it wasn’t justified as it says that Mexico was attacked by the United States when Mexico was trying to protect the Texas
The United States war with Mexico continues to be a divisive topic among many people because of its background. The Mexican-American war was a fight between Mexico and America for land. America’s belief at the time was Manifest Destiny, which meant that they believed that America should extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific ocean. In the end, America benefited from the war and got the land. The United States expanded its size, achieving their dream of Manifest Destiny.