US History and Society - Mexican War - Essay Example

The Mexican War What was the Mexican War about? What did the United s achieve, if anything, as a result of this war?For all practical purposes as discussed by Bauer (1974), The Mexican war was essentially about American expansion and a vision of America which depended on the understanding of manifest destiny as it was taken to mean by different individuals. While the war lasted from 1846 to 1848, the seeds of war had been laid much earlier and the effects of the war continued to be realized till many decades after it was over (Heidler & Heidler, 2006).

The seed of war was the American decision to annex the state of Texas in 1845 as a part of the United States while the government of Mexico did not recognize this annexation. The Mexicans considered Texas to be a province in a state of rebellion while America considered Texas to be a part of its growing western frontier (Heidler & Heidler, 2006). The war was also a party issue as Whigs in the American congress opposed the war while the democrats supported the war by taking it a sign of the manifest destiny of the Americans to have dominion over the entire continent as discussed by Thoreau (1998).

While America had previously offered to purchase the territory of Texas in a manner similar to the Louisiana Purchase, the Mexican government did not want to part with any territory belonging to it. Texas also had internal issues of control for the Mexican government as Americans who had moved to Texas were accustomed to the freedom of religion which was present in America but not in Mexico since it was a largely Catholic country. The Texas rebellion led to the creation of an independent republic which quickly established diplomatic ties with other countries but these ties and the status of Texas as an independent country were not recognized by Mexico (Heidler & Heidler, 2006).

The political situations in all three regions made war inevitable and after many battles between forces from both sides, America stood victorious and brought Mexico to the negotiations table. Mexico not only lost Texas in the war but also lost large portions of other parts of its dominion in the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo signed in 1848 (Bauer, 1974). While the war was over with this treaty, the after affects of the treaty only became clear when the dust had settled. America gained new states which were formerly controlled by Mexico and these included regions which are known today as California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Wyoming.

Mexico was given $15 million and some debts which the Mexicans owned to Americans were assumed by the United States government. This settlement was actually less than half of what the Americans had offered when they were still trying to buy these territories from Mexico. In fact, the Mexicans lost nearly half their country while failing to prevent Texas from joining the United States (Heidler and Heidler, 2006). In fact, America would have been a very different place today had the Mexican war not taken place when it did.

Works CitedBauer, J. 1974, The Mexican War, 1846-1848, Macmillan.Heidler, D. and Heidler, J. 2006, The Mexican War, Greenwood Press.Thoreau, H. 1998, Civil Disobedience, Solitude and Life Without Principle. Prometheus Books.