Was The Mexican American War Justified Essay

In my opinion, the Mexican-American war was not justified. Originally, when the Americans began spreading the idea of manifest destiny, the Mexicans, in general, had two attitudes towards it. Some admired this idea, however, some also feared it. They were concerned that the Americans would start trying to expand into Mexico and basically push the borders. However, Americans paid very little attention to what Mexico was thinking or saying. This is where the issue started.
In general, I think the Americans responding with violence was unneeded. John C. Fremont traveled into Santa Cruz and got caught in a lie about what he was doing there, so when he was caught he set up a fort with an American flag. His actions were both unneeded and counterproductive, only aggravating the situation. The situation escalated when President James K. Polk told his forces to travel south to the Rio Grande, which is the territory in dispute. The main reason this land was being fought over is because Mexico had laid claim to all the land north, all the way to the Nueces River, which is approximately 150 miles away from the Rio Grande.The Americans said that the border was at the Rio Grande. Mexico rejected the American treaties …show more content…
You see them using the same tactics that we use today in everyday fights, such as being passive aggressive and relatively stubborn or at least not compromising at all. You can see this when the US kept doing things that would only escalate the situation, such as putting up the fort in Santa Cruz with the American flag. Polk advancing his forces to the Rio Grande also escalated the situation and was a rather childish move. He wanted to start a war without “starting a war”. In conclusion, I think actions were taken that made the situation worse than it was originally, or needed to be, which provoked a war that had no