The Mexican War

The Mexican War

The Mexican War: Imperialism or Manifest Destiny

Liana R. Prieto (Fall 1995)

In the 1840s American pioneers were settling further west than they previously had. Congressman J.E. Belser of Alabama, when speaking of our westward expansion, said, "They might as well try to stop Niagara." ( Nevin, 19 ). The country was in agreement with this statement when, in 1844, it elected James K. Polk to the White House. Lieutenant Colonel Ethan Allen Hitchcock wrote an eerily prophetic entry in his journal soon after Polk's election. He wrote that Polk's presidency would be "a step towards the annexation of Texas first and then, in due time, the separation of the Union" ( DeVoto, 169 ). While campaigning, Polk had promised to follow the call of Manifest Destiny to wherever it may lead him, including into foreign territory.

When Polk took office he was facing the possibility of two wars. We were jointly occupying the large area of Oregon with Great Britain. We wanted control of the whole of Oregon to the 54° 40' parallel line. Neither nation was willing to compromise. At that time, Mexico controlled what is today the western United States. We desired this land for ourselves. There was also the dispute over Texas. Texas considered itself an independent republic and wanted to be annexed by the United States, but Mexico had never recognized its sovereignty. If we annexed a part of 'their' nation, they threatened a war. By not compromising, Polk was deliberately provoking two nations into war because he thought we wouldn't have to fight either one in the end. Eventually we agreed to make the 49th parallel the dividing line between British and American Oregon. The threat of war with Great Britain had been dissolved, but we were still unable, or perhaps unwilling, to peacefully resolve the Mexican conflict. I will prove that the Mexican War was not an example of Manifest Destiny but a result of our nation's hunger for an empire.

Most of the actions of the Mexican War were...