Description
The 19th century in America was a period of Westward Expansion. The driving force behind this expansion was the idea of Manifest Destiny, or a God-ordained mission to spread across North America. This was the basis of James K. Polk's platform when he ran for president of the United States in 1844. The annexation of Texas in 1845 was a direct result of Polk's presidential victory and provided the United States with an opportunity to expand. However, it also resulted in conflict between the United States and Mexico, as Mexico still considered Texas to be their territory. The subsequent Mexican-American War (1846-1848) ended in a decisive American victory and the loss of even more Mexican land to the US as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. But if it was the United States' Manifest Destiny to control North America, then why did the US only take Mexico's Northwestern territory instead of all of Mexico's land? The answer, I have discovered, is America's unwillingness to engage in societal integration with Mexico due to the ramifications it would have had on issues such as slavery and citizenship, just to name a few. In my senior research project, I explore how cultural, political, and religious factors contributed to the outcome of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and helped shape America and Mexico as well as modern US-Mexico relations. This is an important topic because the Mexican-American War set the tone for modern U.S.-Mexico relations.
Analyzing the Outcomes of the Mexican-American War
The 19th century in America was a period of Westward Expansion. The driving force behind this expansion was the idea of Manifest Destiny, or a God-ordained mission to spread across North America. This was the basis of James K. Polk's platform when he ran for president of the United States in 1844. The annexation of Texas in 1845 was a direct result of Polk's presidential victory and provided the United States with an opportunity to expand. However, it also resulted in conflict between the United States and Mexico, as Mexico still considered Texas to be their territory. The subsequent Mexican-American War (1846-1848) ended in a decisive American victory and the loss of even more Mexican land to the US as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. But if it was the United States' Manifest Destiny to control North America, then why did the US only take Mexico's Northwestern territory instead of all of Mexico's land? The answer, I have discovered, is America's unwillingness to engage in societal integration with Mexico due to the ramifications it would have had on issues such as slavery and citizenship, just to name a few. In my senior research project, I explore how cultural, political, and religious factors contributed to the outcome of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and helped shape America and Mexico as well as modern US-Mexico relations. This is an important topic because the Mexican-American War set the tone for modern U.S.-Mexico relations.