President Polk & Manifest Destiny: Hand in Hand
The United States' policy during the early to middle nineteenth century can be seen as five general concepts of American foreign policy: isolationism, expansionism, imperialism, idealism, and exceptionalism. Each of these concepts was prevalent during the crisis leading up to and including the Mexican-American War of 1846. The War of 1846 is viewed by Mexico as an act of US imperialism. Brack, a historian, claims that "the process of becoming a continental power required the United States to acquire territory from several nations, but only the acquisition of lands belonging to Mexico required a war...neither France, Spain, nor England ceded to the United States territory contiguous to the homeland as Mexico was requested and then forced to do" (Brown, 54). In other words, the acquisition of Mexican territory through purchase or by conquest was inherent in the basic concept of Manifest Destiny. The precipitating causes of the war are deeply rooted in the domestic and international affairs of the United States and in the personality of President Polk and his insatiable desire to acquire California. The desire to acquire territory, especially with ports, fertile soil, and growing markets, led to American interests in the West. Po
The personalities and desires of the politicians involved, especially Polk's aspiration in the United States to obtain California and New Mexico and Santa Anna's hope to create a stable form government in Mexico, along with the nature of expansionism were crucial factors leading to war because of the powerful ideological and racial contrasts. The land itself was not a major precipitating factor for war and could have easily been arbitrated, but Polk demagogued the issue as the main cause of war. The final event that ensured termination of peaceful negotiation was the Slidell mission. Due to the lack of communication between the two countries they often misunderstood each other's intentions and future plans. His hastily sent diplomat, John Slidell, arrived in Mexico and caused the fall of a Mexican government willing to negotiate with the United States. Polk, a Democrat and enthusiastic expansionist was determined to see California and New Mexico incorporated into the territory of the United States. The Nueces River had been the traditional boundary of Texas as late as 1835. Overall, the Mexican government was considerably weak and simply unable to withstand the military pressure of the United States. However, the Mexican Senate never passed the provision. lk saw California as the key to Asian markets and was constantly looking for an excuse to declare war against Mexico and seize its ports. An increase in immigration led to a growing fear of urbanization, which created a rebirth of Jeffersonian ideology. The miscommunication that led to the Slidell mission and its later failure represented the complete deterioration of Mexican-American affairs. Although many factors led to the war between Mexico and the United States in 1846, several circumstances stand out as major precipitants to war. Polk disregarded this appeal and Slidell arrived in Veracruz on November 30, 1945. The personality and character of the President shaped those themes.
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