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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 the population with more land to expand

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

somewhat ruining its 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 the U.S. 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, and 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 idea that the
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U.S. 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. However, the land itself 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 factors are able to justify the Mexican-American War, as the U.S. benefited greatly as a

country, expanding is 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 Mexico’s land through violence. This shows the new bitterness between the

young nations, showing that the war, although benefitting 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 explained that the U.S. was

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

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

religion, 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 send 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 even the

U.S’s. 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 progresses, 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 would 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 descendant and other

people of color into the present day. While the Mexican-American Was was short lived, it had

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