Important People: James K. Polk
JamesK.Polk(1795-1849)wasthe
eleventhpresidentoftheUnitedStates.Hisname
isperhapsmostcloselyassociatedwithManifest
Destiny,asthetermwascoinedbyafellow
Democratin1843,theyearbeforehebeganhis
presidency.ManifestDestiny—thebeliefthat
AmericansweredestinedbyGodtoconquerthecontinenttothePacificOcean—sooncame
torepresentthegoverningphilosophyofthePolkadministrationanditsexpansionistaims.
Polksuccessfullycampaignedforpresidenton
anexpansionistplatform.Hepromisedtobothannex
theindependentRepublicofTexasandacquirethe
OregonTerritory,aNorthwesternterritoryclaimed
bytheBritish.Twodaysafterhetookoffice,
however,diplomaticrelationsbetweenMexicoand
theUnitedStateswereseveredovertheAmerican
annexationofTexas.Tensionscontinuedtoescalate
asPolksettledtheOregonboundarywithBritainat
49ºN,farsouthoftheinitialdemandedborder
54º40'.
Polk,believingtheterritorialclaimsofOregonandTexaswereinsufficientin
reachingAmerica’sgoalofManifestDestiny,thensethissitesontheMexicancontrolled
stateofCalifornia.PolksentanenvoytoofferMexicoupto$20millionforCalifornia,which
wasimmediatelyrejectedbytheMexicangovernment.Meanwhile,borderdisputes
betweenMexicoandTexascontinued.TopressureMexicointosurrenderingthelands,
PolksentGeneralZacharyTaylorandAmericanforcestothedisputedterritoryalongthe
RioGrande.ToMexicantroops,thisdeploymentofAmericansoldierswasanactof
aggression.Aconfrontationin1846endedwhenMexicantroopslaunchedanattackon
AmericansoldiersinthedisputedregionofTexas.
PolkusedtheattackonAmericansoldiersasjustificationfordeclaringwaron
Mexico.Theentirepremiseforthewarwascontroversialfromthestartandwidely
criticizedbyPolk'spoliticalopponentsinCongress.InMarch1847,PolksentNicholasP.
Trist,thechiefclerkintheStateDepartment,toMexicoalongwithGen.WinfieldScott's
troopsinordertostarttreatynegotiations.AgainstPolk'sorders,TristsignedtheTreatyof
GuadalupeHidalgoinearlyFebruary1848.
Polkhadwantedmorelandcessions—in
additiontoCaliforniaandtheSouthwest—but
wasforcedto"settle"forwhatTrist'streaty
gothim:California,Nevada,Utah,mostofNew
MexicoandArizona,andthedisputedregions
ofTexas.Inall,itwasthelargestsingleland
acquisitionsincetheLouisianaPurchasein
1803. PresidentPolkisknownforbeingoneofthemostexpansionistpresidentsin
Americanhistory.Duringhispresidency,nearlytwo-thirdsofMexico’slandwas
transferredtotheUnitedStates.SomecriticizePolkforthemethodsusedtoobtainthe
lands.OthersbelievePolkwasjustifiedinpursingwarwithMexicoafterMexicansoldiers
attackedAmericantroops.Inaddition,theissueofslaveryinthenewWesternterritories
becamemoredivisivethaneverwithintheUnitedStates.Polkleftofficein1849after
promisingtoserveonlyonetermaspresident.Inpoorhealth,hediedshortlyafterleaving
office.
Important People: Henry David Thoreau
HenryDavidThoreau(1817-62)wasanauthor,essayist,naturalist,andpoetwhose
workwentontoinfluencesomeofthegreatestliteraryfiguresofthetwentiethcentury.
ThoreaudescribedhisloveofnatureandphilosophyinWalden(1854),andpassionately
defendedcivillibertiesandpacifist(non-violent)protestintheessay"CivilDisobedience"
(1849).
Thoreau'sessay,"CivilDisobedience,"emergedoutofhisexperienceopposingthe
Mexican-AmericanWar.Hehadrefusedtopayapolltaxasademonstrationagainstwhat
hefelttobeanunjust,imperialisticwar(awartotakeoverterritory).Healsospeculated
thatthewarwouldexpandthepracticeofslavery,towhichhewasopposed.Hespentthe
nightinjailbeforesomeonepaidthetaxtosethimfree.Inhisessay,Thoreauarguedthat
notallcivillawsarejust,andthathumanshaveanobligationtoobeyahigherlaw—their
senseofmoralityorconscience.Inotherwords,somelawsarebadlawsand,inorderto
changebadlaws,citizensshoulddisobeythem.Thoreauadvocatedthatotherswho
disapproveofthewarfollowhisleadandrefusetopaytheirtaxesasagestureofprotest.
"CivilDisobedience"receivedlittlenoticeatthetimeitwaswrittenbutenjoyedarevivalin
thetwentiethcenturywiththeself-determinationmovementofMahatmaGandhiandthe
CivilRightsMovementofMartinLutherKing,Jr.
Important People: Abraham Lincoln
AbrahamLincolnwasafreshmancongressmanfrom
IllinoisduringtheMexican-AmericanWar.Hewasa
memberoftheWhigpartyandvocalcriticofPresident
JamesK.Polkandhiswarpolicy.Bornin1809inKentucky
toafamilyofmodestmeans,LincolnmovedtoIndianaasa
childandgrewupdoingfarmwork.By1830,hehadmoved
toNewSalem,Illinoiswherehestudiedlawandbecamea
lawyer.By1834,Lincolnbeganpursingacareerinpolitics.
Lincolnbeganattractingnationalattentionin1847,
shortlyafterbeingelectedtoCongress.Asamemberofthe
HouseofRepresentatives,hehelpedleadtheWhigchargeagainstthewar.Hopingtomake
anameforhimself,Lincolnarguedthatthewarhadbeenunprovokedandunnecessary.His
so-called“SpotResolution”speechinJanuary1848markedhimasascrappy,boldand
ambitiouspolitician.HequestionedwhetherAmericantroopshadactuallybeenattacked
onAmericansoil,andcalledforPresidentPolktomarktheexact“spots”wherebloodhad
beenshed.InLincoln’swords,thepurposeofhisproposedresolutionwasto“obtainafull
knowledgeofallthefactswhichgotoestablishwhethertheparticularspotofsoilonwhich
thebloodofourcitizenswassoshedwas,orwasnot,ourownsoilatthattime.”
AlthoughLincolnreceivedpraisefromhisWhigcolleagues,histimingwaspoor.
CongressneveractedonLincoln’sresolutionandLincolnlosthisnextelection.Hereturned
tohislawpracticeshortlythereafter.
Lincolnre-emergedfromtheshadowsinthe1850’swithaseriesofwell-crafted
speechesanddebatesinarunfortheU.S.SenateagainstDemocraticchallengerStephen
Douglas.AlthoughLincolnlosthisbidfortheSenate,Lincolnranforofficeagainasa
Republicancandidateforthepresidencyin1860.Thistime,Lincolnfoundsuccess.Lincoln
becamethe16thPresidentoftheUnitedStatesandthefirstRepublicantoholdtheofficein
U.S.history.Whileinoffice,heheldthenationthroughtheAmericanCivilWar.Hewas
assassinatedattheendoftheconflictin1865.
Mexican Perspective: Jesus Velasco-Marquez
Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México
ThemostdramaticeventinthehistoryofrelationsbetweenMexicoandtheUnited
Statestookplaceacenturyandahalfago.UShistoriansrefertothiseventas“TheMexican
War,”whileinMexicoweprefertousetheterm“TheU.S.Invasion.”
FromMexico’spointofview,theannexationofTexastotheUnitedStateswas
inadmissible(unacceptable)forbothlegalandsecurityreasons.Thus,whentheMexican
governmentlearnedofthetreatysignedbetweenTexasandtheUnitedStatesinApril1844
(Texas’sannexation),itwouldconsidersuchanact“adeclarationofwar.”
Inearly1846,onPresident
Polk’sorders,thetroopscommanded
byGeneralZacharyTaylorarrivedat
theRíoGrande,acrossfromthecityof
Matamoros,thusoccupyingthe
territoryindisputeandincreasingthe
possibilitiesofaconfrontation.Inthe
eyesoftheMexicangovernment,the
mobilizationoftheUSarmywasan
outrightattackonMexico.Asaconsequence,theMexicangovernmentreaffirmedits
instructionstoitstroopstoprotecttheborder,meaningtheterritorylocatedbetweenthe
RíoGrandeandtheNuecesRiver—anorderwhichledtothebattlesofPaloAltoandResaca
delaPalma.
Evenbeforetheseincidents,PresidentPolkhadalreadydecidedtoasktheU.S.
CongresstodeclarewaragainstMexico,butthebattlesprovidedareasontomobilizethe
opinionsofbothU.S.legislatorsandthepublicinfavorofsuchameasure.Heheldthat
MexicohadcrossedovertheU.S.border,hadinvadedAmericanterritoryandhadcaused
thesheddingofAmericanbloodinU.S.territory.
PolkimmediatelyorderedtheoccupationoftheterritorysouthoftheRíoGrande,as
wellastheNewMexicoandCaliforniaterritoriesandtheblockingofMexicanports.The
questionwasandcontinuestobe:weretheseactionsindefenseofU.S.territorialsecurity
oraninvasionofMexicanterritory?FromtheviewpointofMexicans,theanswerwasclear:
theU.S.governmentwasnotseekingtoprotectitsterritorialsecurity,nordidithaveother
supposeddemands.Rather,itwas
determinedtotakeoveraterritory
legitimatelybelongingtoMexico.
Thisposturewasreiteratedinan
articleinthedaily"ElTiempo"
whichstated:"TheAmerican
governmentactedlikeabanditwho
cameuponatraveler."
