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Annika Young

AP US History

Ms. Spencer

5 December 2016

DBQ: Mexican-American War & National Interests

The Mexican-American War began after the U.S. had decided to annex Texas. Mexico

was originally content with Texas having its own independence, but did not want the U.S. to take

the land. Once the U.S. annexed Texas, it was only a matter of time before Mexicans crossed into

land the U.S. recognized as their own, and begin a war. This war helped the U.S. to expand its

economy through land gains, allow for the growth of our population with more land to expand

into, and perpetuating the expansion of the U.S.s form of government while simultaneously

somewhat ruining our relationship with Mexico and creating tensions within the U.S. itself.

With the land gained through the Mexican-American War, the U.S. was able to expand its

economy and spread out the population. Document A states that the annexation of Texas was

necessary as it would allow for an expansion of our government and the liberties and freedoms

that come with it. This would allow the U.S. to promote its dreams for expansion and spread of

ideals. From Document B, an expansionist mindset can be seen, where the author believes it is

the God-given right of the U.S. to expand and occupy the continent from coast to coast. This

widespread belief, perpetuated by newspapers, artwork, and other mediums helped to justify the

desire to expand the nation as it became rooted in the ideals of citizens.

Many also justified the war and the land acquired by the U.S. as a result of the war

through the belief that Mexico, a tyrannical, incapable nation could not utilize the land the way

the U.S. and its citizens could, as seen in Document C. This perpetuated the ideal that the U.S.
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was superior, and deserved the land that Manifest Destiny convinced the people they deserved.

The U.S. was able to use these land gains to improve the economy, as Document D shows. The

land was not as important as the access to the Pacific and its waterways. These allowed the U.S.

to explore into Asia, expand trade markets, and develop relationships with those Asian countries

that were now part of the U.S.s trade partners. All of these factor are able to justify the Mexican-

American War, as we benefited greatly as a country, expanding our government, population, and

economy.

While the Mexican-American War benefitted the U.S. in many ways, it also hurt the

young nation. Having just repaired relationships or being in the midst of healing relationships

with many European countries such as England, the U.S. ruined a relationship with a

neighboring power, Mexico, through this war. As Document H shows, the U.S. essentially

bullied Mexico out of Her land, making unfair land claims, and using them to justify going to

war. This document shows the idea that Mexico will never forget how a powerful nation such as

the U.S. took half of Mexicos land through violence. This shows the new bitterness between the

young nations, showing that the war, although benefiting the U.S. also muddled the relationship

with Mexico. The war also showed some of the racial predilections of the United States, as they

decided rather than take all of Mexico and govern the peoples, they solely took the land that they

wanted, and isolated Mexico. This was shown in Document I as it is explained that the U.S. was

simply hungry for land, and did not want the relationship with Mexico.

The war with Mexico also created some separation in the American peoples, with

religious, slavery, and power conflicts. Document E shows the religious conflicts, as Albert

Gallatin believed that rather than take the land of Mexico simply to take the land, we should only

have a right to their land as a way to show them the way of Christianity. This created a divide as
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many people would like to spread their religion, especially to the Mexican people, while many

others simply wanted the land for their own purposes in expansion. The next conflict that arose

with the war was the reigniting of the argument about slavery. In Document F, James Russell

Lowell insists that the war against Mexico was a power grab of those who supported slavery,

wanting more land to spread the tradition. While disputes had been somewhat settled after the

Mississippi Compromise, the addition of Texas and other territories from the Mexican-American

War created new cause for the dispute, which would inevitably lead to the Civil War. One final

division that the Mexican-American War introduced into the people of the United States was an

argument over government power. In Document G, Abraham Lincoln speaks of the fact that the

war against Mexico was unjustified and unconstitutional as Mexico had not been harming the

U.S. or invading, and the declaration of war should have gone through Congress, not the

President. Polk had simply sent soldiers to wait at the U.S. declared border, and once any

Mexican had crossed the border, consider it an act of war. Despite the U.S. annexing Texas,

which Mexico had decided they would treat as an act of war, Mexico had been peaceful. This

created tensions within the U.S. as to whether or not the war was justified because Mexico had

not attacked the U.S., rather the U.S. attacked them over land that was technically not their own.

This yet again brings into question the powers of the president, and other parts of the U.S.

government.

The Mexican-American war created many benefits for the United States that would

continue to be seen as history progressed, while also muddying a relationship with Mexico, and

causing tensions within the U.S. itself. The benefits that the U.S. reaped from the war all have to

do with the acquisition of more land. With the country extending all the way to the Pacific

Ocean, there was more access to farmlands, natural resources, and waterways to help improve
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trade. This effect will be seen in situations such as the growing U.S. economy and its rise to

becoming a world power, seen in relationships with other countries to the East and West, and the

strength of the U.S. import and export economy. While all of these benefits will better the nation

through the present, there were also many issues that arose that have made the U.S. into what it

is today. The conflict over slavery led to the Civil War, and ended an era of using humans for free

labor, but also led to many of the institutions that affect slave descendants and other people of

color into the present day. While the Mexican-American War was short lived, it had huge, long

lasting impacts on the nation, and was truly a turning point in U.S. national interests.