Wars are a way to resolve conflict, and America has had lots of wars in the past American wars have often been very controversial, the Mexican-American war especially. It started in 1821 when Mexico declared itself free from Spain, and let American move into Texas to help increase the population. Mexico suffered with that decision because of the major differences between Mexico and America (Mexico being Catholic and against slavery and America being Protestant and for slavery). It took little time until one of the sides snapped and turned into a bloody battle between the two.
Like stated before, many American wars are controversial and have no reason to go to war. America was unjustified going to war with mexico because of manifest destiny, border dispute and not following the laws of Mexico. Forcing the idea of one religion onto another is unjust, but that’s exactly what President James K. Polk did. He believed that it was “God’s plan” for Americans to move west and to pursue the idea of manifest destiny, but since most Americans are Christian Lutherans and most mexicans are Catholic he was forcing an idea from his religion onto the Mexicans.
According to document A, “Other nations have undertaken… ostile 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) for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions. ” This document is stating that other nations have tried to prevent the US from achieving manifest destiny. Providence (God) is God’s interventions in the world, but when the President starts putting into action of what God would want in our government, it is unjust because the President cannot use religion as an excuse to start a war with Mexico.
Manifest destiny was an excuse to have westward expansion and eventually have a war with Mexico. The disagreement of where the border lies between Mexico and Texas was a sizable problem in the American Mexican war. Texas and the United states believed that the border between mexico and texas was the Rio Grande river, while Mexico believed that it was the Nueces River. Between those two rivers is hundreds of miles of disputed land.
The Annexation of Texas into the United States was considered a declaration of war to mexico, “When the Mexican government learned of the treaty signed between Texas and the United States… t would consider such an act “a declaration of war. ” (Document C). Document C also States, “The Mexican government reaffirmed the instruction to protect the border, meaning the territory located between the Rio Grande, and the Nueces River. ” Mexico was just trying to protect its land, but the president of the time, James K. Polk states, “Mexico has passed the boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon American soil. ” (Document B).
Document B also states, “I had ordered an efficient military force to take a position between the Nueces and the Del Norte (Rio Grande). When he says that the Mexicans have shed blood upon American soil, he is wrong. The territory that the Americans and the Mexicans were on was disputed, and both parties had disagreed on where the boundary of where Texas ends and where Mexico begins. President James Polk used the fact that Mexicans “attacked Americans on American soil” as a reason to go to war, but according to mexico it was there land. As every country should, Mexico had a set of laws of what someone could and could not do.
America broke those laws and Mexico was angered by that fact, and America took that as a sign to start a war with them. Before Texas was annexed into the United States, Americans had already started settling into Texas and bringing slaves with them. “Mexico, on achieving her independence of the Spanish Crown… decreed the abolition of human slavery within her dominions, embracing the province of Texas. ” (Document D). Not only did Americans start moving into Texas before it was even apart of America, but brought in slaves as well, breaking Mexico’s laws along with it.
Document D also states, “Slaveholders crossed the Sabine (River between Louisiana and Texas) with their slaves, in defiance of the mexican ordinance of freedom. ” Americans were purposefully breaking Mexico’s laws just to defy their freedom. “The American government acted like a bandit who came upon a traveler. ” (Document C). This proves that America treated Mexico badly, as a bandit would do to a traveler, and that if America treated Mexico differently things would definitely be different. Even though wars solve conflict it is not the only way to resolve an issue.
The war between America and Mexico could have been resolved in many different ways instead of combat. Many people are glad to have so much land from the war, but it was an uniust war. It is importa rtant for America to learn that in order to start a war, there has to be justified reason to go to war. The Mexican American war was unjust in so many ways including manifest destiny, border dispute, and Americans not following Mexico’s laws. Americans can now apply what happened with the Mexican American war to the future conflicts ahead, to know when to start a war and when to not.