Act For The Prosecution Of War - Primary

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Act For The Prosecution of the War
Source: History Central
Date: May 13, 1846

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"The President be, and he is hereby, authorized to employ the militia, naval, and military forces of the United States, and to call for and accept the services of any number of volunteers, not exceeding fifty thousand, who may offer their services,"

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Act For The Prosecution of the War
Source: History Central
Date: May 13, 1846

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"The sum of ten millions of dollars,... is hereby, appropriated for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this act into effect."

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Act For The Prosecution of the War
Source: History Central
Date: May 13, 1846

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"The President of the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized forthwith to complete all the public armed vessels now authorized by law, and to purchase or charter, arm, equip, and man, such merchant vessels and steamboats as, upon examination, may be found fit, or easily converted into armed vessels fit for the public service"

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Joint Resolution For Annexing Texas
Date: March 1, 1845
Source: History Central

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"Resolved . . ., That Congress doth consent that the territory properly included within, and rightfully belonging to tbe Republic of Texas, may be erected into a new State, to be called the State of Texas,"

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Thought

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The American/Republic of Texas Governments do not mention anything about taking from mexico in the whole joint resolution for Annexation

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How To Start A War- Richard Sanders
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John Stockwell, a Texan who led the CIA’s covert 1970s war in Angola, summed up the start of Mexican American war by saying “they offered two dollars-a-head to every soldier who would enlist. They didn't get enough takers, so they offered a hundred acres to anyone who would be a veteran of that war. They still didn't get enough takers, so [General] Zachary Taylor was sent down to parade up and down the border -- the disputed border -- until the Mexicans fired on him.... And the nation rose up, and we fought the war.”5

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How To Start A War- Richard Sanders
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President Polk hoped that sending General Taylor’s 3,500 soldiers into Mexico territory, would provoke an attack against US troops.6 “On May 8, 1846, Polk met with his Cabinet at the White House and told them that if the Mexican army attacked the U.S. forces, he was going to send a message to Congress asking for a declaration of war. It was decided that war should be declared in three days even if there was no attack.”7

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How To Start A War- Richard Sanders
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When news of the skirmish arrived, Polk sent a message to Congress on May 11: “Mexico has passed the boundary of the U.S. and shed American blood on American soil.”8 Two days later Congress declared war on Mexico.9

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How To Start A War- Richard Sanders
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Responce

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Newspapers helped the push for war with headlines like: “‘Mexicans Killing our Boys in Texas.’10
With public support secured, U.S. forces occupied New Mexico and California. US troops fought battles across Mexico and stormed their capital. A new more US-friendly government quickly emerged. It signed over California and New Mexico for $15 million and recognized the Rio Grande as their border with the US state of Texas.11
General Taylor became an American war hero and he rode his victory straight into the White House by succeeding Polk as president in 1849.

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How To Start A War- Richard Sanders
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Real Reasons

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The US secured over 500,000 square miles from Mexico, including Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, California and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.
The war was a boon to US nationalism, it boosted popular support for a very weak president and added vast new territories to the US where slavery was allowed.