The Mexican American war happened in the year 1846 to 1848. The United States of America and Mexico were the rivals in the wars. Various political, social, and economic factors spearheaded the conflict. One of the causes of the Mexican American War was the political conflict over Texas. Texas was initially a Mexican state when Mexico obtained independence from the Spanish in 1821. Disputes over the city began after it had received many immigrant settlers. The USA wanted to take the land while Mexico wanted to keep it. The differences, therefore, transpired to armed conflicts (Wheelan, 2007). James Polk, the American president, sent troops into the areas of disputes when Mexicans refused to sell them. Apart from demographic features such as the search for resources and room for expansion, the manifest destiny is also among the causes. It was a belief that it was God’s plan for the USA to expand its borders.
The manifest destiny ideology made the Americans also believe that God ordained them to dominate in the North American regions. Therefore President James Polk was very determined to achieve the manifest destiny (Wheelan, 2007). Border conflicts also initiated the war (Wheelan, 2007). The Americans and Mexicans, for instance, quarreled over the Rio Grande River border. It is also the Texas border. The Mexican American War was also initiated by the Americans act of declining to recognize Mexico as a state after receiving freedom from Spain. Some other political cause of the war included slavery. The Americans wanted to have more slaves to increase their legislative powers. The slaves would also be vital for providing cheap labor in the industries. Since Mexico has an unstable government and military army, the USA consistently prevailed and thus achieving the manifest destiny by conquering and capturing parts of Mexico’s territories.
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Reference
Wheelan, J. (2007). Invading Mexico: America's continental dream and the Mexican War, 1846-1848 . Carroll & Graf.
