Polk became one of the most aggressive and productive men to hold the U.S presidency. During his reign, a major event in his administration was the Mexican war that fit neatly with his expansionist policies. He was considered the last strong pre-Civil war president. Polk is widely noted for his successes in the foreign policy. Furthermore, he threatened Britain with war over an issue, in which the US owned the Oregon Country, after backing away over ownership of the Oregon region with Britain. Hence, during his tenure, the Oregon issue was solved between the US and Britain in which both states agreed to do partitioning of the Pacific Northwest at the 49th parallel. Eventually, the territory of the US extended to the Pacific Ocean.…
Soon after gaining independence, Texas elected Sam Houston as their first president and voted for annexation. Andrew Jackson decided to wait a few years before adding Texas to the United States. Texas, being a slave state would upset the balance of slave states. He also knew that the addition could spark a war with Mexico. The annexation of Texas immediately caused tensions between the Mexican government and the United States. With the desire to acquire California and New Mexico, President James Polk sent troops to disputed territory to further upset the Mexican government. The American troops were quickly attacked, and the Mexican- American War was ignited. General Zachary Taylor led his men to victory at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma,…
The New Western Territories after the Mexican War (1846-1848) American President James K. Polk intended to invade and hold the territories he wanted, so he sent General Stephen Kearny west from Fort Leavenworth with 1,700 men to invade and hold New Mexico and California. Kearny captured Santa Fe and then divided his forces, sending a large contingent south under Alexander Doniphan. Doniphan would eventually take the city of Chihuahua. Meanwhile, the war had already begun in California.…
James Knox Polk was born near the Little Sugar Creek in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina in 1795. His childhood was tumultuous and unconventional, and several events and themes in his childhood undoubtedly helped shape the powerful personality of the future president. One thing is certain, however- his early life was highly influential in his political beliefs; they initially mirrored that of his family, but then matured into their final form- Jacksonian Democracy. (Seigenthaler 11)…
“President Polk as a Southern Sectionalist” in A Companion to the Antebellum Presidents, 1837-1861. Edited by Joel Silbey (Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, Forthcoming 2012)…
Polk knew better than to start a war over it, though. He suggested to the British that they split the Territory at the 49th parallel (White House). He annexed Texas and, after a 2-year war, forced Mexico to sell the land that is now Utah, Arizona, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, and Wyoming (White House). He kept his campaign promise of only serving one term in office (A+E). During his presidency, the U.S. Naval Academy, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Department of the Interior were all formed, and Texas, Iowa, and Wisconsin joined the Union (A+E). He was extremely dedicated to the presidency. His health poor from overwork, Polk died in June 1849 at the age of 53 (White House).…
There were three main causes Texas’s annexation, the boundary dispute, and monetary claims against Mexico. The decisions that the U.S. and Mexico made leading up to, or in response to these issues brought about the Mexican War. It can be argued that the election of President James Polk on December 4, 1844 was one of the events that led to the Mexican War because Polk campaigned for the annexation of Texas and believed in the manifest destiny of the U.S. After Polk was elected, the U.S. annexed Texas in 1845, an action the U.S. had originally declined to take previously mostly because of internal politics, but also due to that it could lead war with Mexico, who still did not recognize Texas’s independence or its annexation. Polk knew this,…
Around the 1840s, the US aspired to annex Texas and incorporate it as a state within the Union. However, gaining Texas had its consequences as it lead a war with Mexico. William Ellery Channing, an abolitionist and pacifist, saw that the policy regarding obtaining Texas would led the “nation into war” as it severed as “encroachment,” and a way “to propagate the curse of slavery.” (Doc 2) The annexation of Texas was seen invading Texas’ link to Mexico as in document one, the American Review stated the annexation “shall dissolve the slight bounds that now link the province to Mexico” (Doc 1) This served as a situation for Mexico, who had refused to recognize Texas’ independence and its takeover by the United States, although President James Polk, a strong supporter of the annexation of Texas as seen in his Inaugural Address- where he stated “none can fail to see the danger to our safety and future peace if Texas remains an independent states,” attempted to aid Mexico in coming to an understanding. Therefore, the Mexican War broke out, out of the effort for Texas to break free its bond to Mexico. Eventually, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war, and came to an agreement that included setting boundaries for Texas and the acquisition of new territory- California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona,…
Have you ever wondered what the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo actually was? It was a treaty that both America and Mexico signed in order to end a conflict between the 2. Why did President Polk go around Mexico and dock in Mexico instead of going through Texas and Mexico? He did this to have the element of surprise over Mexico instead of attacking them straight on.…
In chapter three of “Occupied America, A History of Chicanos,” Acuna explains the cause of the war between Mexico and North America. Eugene C. Barker states that the immediate cause of the war was “the overthrow of the nominal republic by Santa Anna and the substitution of centralized oligarchy” which allegedly would have centralized Mexican control (Acuna 39). Texas history is a mixture of selected fact and generalized myth. The expansion and capitalist development moved together. The two Mexican wars gave U.S. commerce, industry, mining, agriculture, and stock rising. The truth is that the Pacific Coast belonged to the commercial empire that the United States was already building in that ocean. In the Polk-Stockton Intrigue, Americans found it rather more difficult than other people to deal rationally with their wars. Many Anglo-American historians attempted to dismiss it simply as a “bad war”, which took place during the era of Manifest Destiny. Most studies on the war dwell on the causes and results of the war, and dealing with war strategy. The attitude of Mexicans toward Anglo-Americans was obviously influenced by the war and vice-versa. In the end, by late 1847 the war was almost at an end. Scott’s defeat of Santa Anna in a hard fought battle at Churubusco…
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is an agreement, signed on February 2, 1848, at Guadalupe Hidalgo, which is a city north from the capital of Mexico, between the United States and Mexico that marked the end of the Mexican War. With the defeat of the troops and the fall of the Mexican capital on September 1847, the Mexican government surrendered to the United States and wanted negotiations between the United States to end the war. Signing the treaty was only the beginning of the process because it still had to be approved by the congresses of both the United States and Mexico. No one could tell how the Polk administration would receive a treaty negotiated by an unofficial agent, and could they know the goods and the negative things of the Mexican political scene for the next few months. In both the U.S. and Mexican governments there was opposition to the treaty. In the United States, the northern abolitionists opposed the annexation of Mexican territory. In the Mexican congress, a sizable minority was in favor of continuing the fight. Both countries ratified the document. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo marked the end of the war.…
Texas took the victory for its independence from Mexico in 1836, the Mexican president General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna promised, “that any move by the Unites States to annex Texas” would face with military force. Nevertheless, Texas became the 28th state of the United States, state officials demanded that the actual border between Texas and Mexico was the Rio Grande River. Mexicans, yet contemplate the Nueces River to be the border. Polk decided that the United States had a duty to protect Texas's grounds and he placed U.S warships off the coast of Texas. Nonetheless, Mexico refused to answer militarily. So, November 1845, Polk removed another approach, trying to force Mexico into selling not only Texas but also California and New Mexico…
Webster argued that the war with Mexico and the admission of new states would be horrible. This was his own opinion, but many individuals during this time period felt the way that he did. Webster talks of what the president has his mind set on and how that mindset cannot be changed. This is viewed as a problem that Webster can not get over, he feels that the president should listen to the people and not be caught up in his own mindset. The mindset of the president was one that was given to him by many of the people of the United States, but was it the majority of the people? Webster never discusses this with his readers. This may be for certain reasons; maybe the majority did feel the need for expansion. Webster would have hurt his own argument for him to put that in this article.…
James K. Polk had a large contribution to the history of the United States, especially its growth. He added more than a million square miles to the existing land of the United States. He got all of this land through treaties and war. The territories of Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, and Oregon, Idaho, Washington, much of New Mexico, Parts of Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado were all acquired by the United States during his presidency. This is mostly because Polk strongly supported Manifest Destiny. Polk obtained most of the United States…
The Mexican War had numerous causes, some of which were extensive and others that were petty. The most essential, however, were the Texas crisis, westward American movement, the ideal of Manifest Destiny, and the behavior implemented by the President Tyler and President Polk. The fundamental cause of the war was Texas and California. When Texas split from Mexico in 1836, Mexico did not distinguish it as a self- government but as a depraved province. Mexico still considered this a part of their territory, but the United States regime differed. Mexico was exasperated as Texas entered the Union as the 28th state and thought that the takeover of Texas was a call for the necessity of war. Additionally, when President James Polk had John Slidell…