"To Go to War with Mexico?" Topic

"On May 11, 1846, President James K. Polk sent a special message to Congress asking for a declaration of war against Mexico. In his message, the president outlined a series of grievances, including the complaint that the government of Mexico had refused to receive an envoy from the United States whom he had sent to try to negotiate a peaceful solution to the problems between the two countries. Worse, he said, the Mexicans, "after a long series of menaces, have at last invaded our territories and shed the blood of our fellow-citizens on our own soil." Polk pointed to an alleged attack made on American soldiers in southern Texas and argued that the Mexicans had started a war. Now the United States had no choice but to defend itself. Congress responded by declaring war two days later, but the debate over whether to fight Mexico had been going on for some time, and the conflict was not simply an American response to an unprovoked Mexican attack.

The question whether to go to war with Mexico was rooted in the American idea of Manifest Destiny. This concept had deep roots but flourished within the dynamic society and culture of the early American republic. It held that the United States was fated to spread across the continent of North America and extend the ideals of liberty, equality, and democracy into new territories. Different people pointed to different origins for this national purpose. Some believed it was God's plan for the country, whereas others preferred to see it as part of a natural design, and still others thought of it as continuing the historical march of progress. Manifest Destiny also stemmed from economic considerations. The United States had experienced rapid population growth in the decades after the American Revolution, and Americans had an insatiable desire for more land for agriculture. Thus, it seemed to many both necessary and right that a bigger population needed more territory…"

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Armand

Poor Mexico -- "So close to the United States, so far from God."

(smile)

Armand