Mexican War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mexican War - Essay Example ico was becoming quite nervous about the number of Americans migrating into California, since they had no desire to go through another annexation such as Texas had been (Heidler and Heidler 48) It was also the belief of most politicians at the time, including President James K. Polk to achieve Manifest Destiny which stated that it was the wish of God to have all of the land under one government, from the Eastern coast of the Atlantic Ocean to the Western Coast of California (Heidler and Heidler 143). Between the wish to have the land of Texas under the flag of the United States, as well as the philosophy of Manifest Destiny, the United States declared and entered a war with Mexico in order to gain new land to add to the United States and achieve the dream of a coast-to-coast United States. Though Mexico and the United States had never been friends, the annexation of Texas in 1845 was a major blow to Mexico. Upon learning that Texas had, in fact, been annexed, Mexico banished the American ambassador and cut all diplomatic ties to the United States (Mintz, Moores, and Moores). Though the attempts made by Mexico to retake Texas in 1842 had been unsuccessful, they still refused to recognize the authority of Texas as a separate nation, holding out the hope that they could indeed retake the country (as it was then thought of) that had originally been part of Mexico (Mintz, Moores, and Moores). The United States offered Mexico $5 million to recognize the border of Texas as the Rio Grande River, rather than the Nueces River 130 miles northeast(Mintz, Moores, and Moores). The United States also offered up to an additional $5 million for the territory of New Mexico, and an additional proposal offering up to $25 million for the land of California (Mintz, Moores, and Moores). The Mexicans refused any and all offers due to their anger over the loss of Texas (Mintz, Moores, and Moores). Despite attempts to preserve peace, it was soon felt that war was the only