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."