The war between Mexico and the United States was a controversy between each of the sides. The United States perceptive termed it as the Mexican war while the Mexicans referred to it as the United States invasion. The war had emerged as a conflict between the two states over the issue if land that had been annexed. The war started when The Mexican units attacked troops from the United States in a disputed territory between Mexico and Texas. This was during the period between1846-1848, which was characterized by the popular imagination of the United States civil war that followed. The war had erupted over the issue of Texas which was initially a province in Mexico but the turn of events portrayed that the dispute had emerged across the zone (Van, 2012). Texas had initiated a policy of colonization where they allowed English speaking families to settle if at all they had agreed to abolish slavery. This was also maintained for those who had agreed to convert to Roman Catholicism. However, colonists flooded the region and ignored the policies all over the American southeast. There were differences between the Liberal and conservative political parties (Van, 2012).
However, the war between Mexico and the United States was a controversy where some people believed that it was intentionally provoked. This paper will focus on discussing the issues that emerged in order for the United States to provoke the war on Mexico. It will also bring out the controversies that led to the war and the events that occurred in order for the war to start and how it ended. To start with, President Folk began the war by pushing Mexico into a negotiation through his will to create a threat of war. He had planned to have a short war that guaranteed him of a quick recovery. He never anticipated the war to last as his army had never participated in any war away from home. This divided the country and Polk was engaging in a risky affair in his stand on Mexico. President Polk did not consider other measures of negotiations that would have worked (Winders, 2002).
During this time Mexico had become an independent state but Mexico declined recognizing it or even the annexation by the United States (Winders, 2002). When the annexation occurred relations between the two states broke where Mexico even withdrew their minister from Washington. President Polk wanted to ensure that there was diplomacy in the way they related where he even sent special temporary envoys to Mexico (Winders, 2002). This ensured that the Mexicans accepted the envoy that was under John Slidell where they offered him indemnity in order to solve the issue of Texas. It would also ensure that they made him or anybody else the permanent minister (Winders, 2002). However, President Polk instructed or rather mandated Slidell to become the Permanent minister who would initiate negotiations the purchase of California regardless of what the Mexicans thought (Winders, 2002). In order to prevent any form of resistance, President Polk sent troops to Rio Grande to accompany Slidell. Similarly, the United States took advantage of the fact the Mexican President, Jose Herrera was new in power and did not engage in oppose in any way for fear of being overthrown. In addition to this, the war was provoked by the United States through the way the opposition press had branded the new president as a betrayer who wanted to sell the state to the Mexicans (Winders, 2002).
These events gave President Polk the advantage of declaring war with expectations that there would be few casualties on the Rio Grande that would result to negotiations (Dawson, 2006). This was followed by an ambush set up by the general commanding the troops in Mexico where they attacked some detached Americans and captured and killed all of them. In turn, the Americans through their general Zachary Taylor perceived the attack as the initiation of a war. This brought about a declaration of war made by President Polk and his cabinet (Dawson, 2006). The Congress was torn between whether to support the war or maintain peace but in the end they had to support the American Soldiers who had been attacked. They sent them supplies and reinforcements where the Democrat supporters declared their will to engage in the war as one. President Polk saw the war as a minor war to an extent that he told off his brother from Europe who wanted to participate (Dawson, 2006).
The main issues that led to the provocation of the war occurred as a result of the motives made by President Polk as he tried to compromise settlement without alienating the Western Senators and Congressmen. He needed their votes for the other programs maintained by the legislative. The Texans had initiated plans to expand their territory where they had sent military troops to conquer Santa Fe. They were defeated by the Mexicans who had tried to take back Texas but to no avail. President Polk initiated his support for the Texans where he made promises to protect them from Mexico. These issues brought to the provocation of the Mexicans where they believed that they would conquer them if they went to ar.
The war between Mexico and the United States occurred after the United States had provoked the Mexicans to leave Texas. They made attempts of pushing them away by sending troops to mark boundaries and protect ministers that were put in place by the U.S government without even considering the Mexicans.
Works Cited
Dawson III, Joseph G. "Leaders for Manifest Destiny: American Volunteer Colonels Serving in the U.S.‐Mexican War." American Nineteenth Century History. 7.2 (2006): 253-279. Web.
Van, Wagenen M. Remembering the Forgotten War: The Enduring Legacies of the U.s./mexican War. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2012. Print.
Winders, Richard B. Crisis in the Southwest: The United States, Mexico, and the Struggle over Texas. Wilmington, Del: SR Books, 2002. Print.
