The administration of James Polk witnessed the most successful expansion of American territory as this administration secured Oregon country, California, and Texas. The expansion was to secure American interests towards the Pacific. Moreover, the expansionist ambitions were successfully popularized under the Manifest Destiny narrative, which agitated for the inclusion of both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans as natural American borders. The mentioned territories were acquired either forcefully or through negotiated treaties or both.
The Oregon territory was acquired by negotiated treaty but only after the threat of war had been contained. The US and Britain had jointly occupied Oregon for at least 22 years before the Polk administration (Harrell, 2005). However, the presence of American citizens was greater than that of British citizens, a phenomenon attributed to the discovery and exploration of the Columbia river. Thereafter, American settlers in Oregon established a provisional government in defiance of British occupation. The negotiated agreement was a tactical necessity on Polk’s part because he could not risk going to war with both Britain and Mexico (Kazin, Edwards & Rothman, 2011). Therefore, he pushed for the agreement with Britain that established the current border at 49 th parallel.
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Initially, the state of Texas was part of an independent Mexico, the latter encouraged American immigration to better populate the former. the new immigrants retained their American identity to the detriment of Mexico, which outlawed immigration around 1830. However, by 1836, Texas gained independence from Mexico and was only recognized by the United States and the European powers as an independent nation (Kazin, Edwards & Rothman, 2011). Mexico perceived Texas as a rebellious province and made several failed attempts to regain control. American annexation of Texas along with the border disputes between Mexico and Texas are causes of the America- Mexico war. Notably, Polk tried to purchase Mexican territory and unsuccessfully sent an emissary to Mexico to that end (Harrell, 2005). Eventually, the Polk administration secured military victory after incurring great financial and human cost.
With the Mexican government defeated, the administration successfully negotiated a treaty that established the Texan border at the Rio Grande river, acquired California and New Mexico, and forgave American claims (Harrell, 2005). Critically, American desire for both California and New Mexico was so great that Polk proactively sent troops into New Mexico shortly after the war described above started. Again, Mexico struggled to populate California, a situation which attracted both American settlers and government interest. It was such citizens who claimed California before handing control to the military contingent from New Mexico (Kazin, Edwards & Rothman, 2011). Arguably, the invasion of both New Mexico and California was justified under the law of conquest, but it remains a controversial topic.
America’s interest in all three acquisitions were instigated by the settlement of American citizens in the respective territories. Starting with Oregon, the growth in the mentioned settlers forced the British occupation to end with a peacefully negotiated treaty. Arguably, the annexation of Texas was a transaction between independent nations, though the resulting controversy further soured relations between the United States and Mexico leading to war between the two nations. The twin occupation of New Mexico and California raises the most amount of controversy because those were decidedly Mexican territories at the time of occupation and the object of their occupation to secure leverage in negotiations. Therefore, the best acquisition, because of cost, is that of Oregon territory. Here, there was no loss of human life through war or the use of dubious approaches to ensure advantage in the acquisition of territory. Considering that the annexation of Texas was a transaction between independent nations, this acquisition is justified though it also remains controversial. Therefore, the proactive occupation of markedly clear Mexican territories makes the acquisition of New Mexico and California the worst.
References
Harrell, D. E. (2005). Unto a good land: A history of the American people . Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Kazin, M., Edwards, R., & Rothman, A. (2011). The concise Princeton encyclopedia of American political history . Princeton: Princeton University Press.
