Reviewing the information related to the Mexican-American War Discussion Responses, history homework help

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I need 2 substantive responses to the 2 included posts that my classmates shared in discussion this week. Substantive responses should have a minimum of 50 words.

Topic:

Reviewing the information related to the Mexican-American War, evaluate the events leading up to the war and why it happened. Consider the following questions as you respond:

  • What decisions or actions played a key role in starting the war?
  • What were the results of the war?

There is no right or wrong answer. State your argument and provide evidence from the text to support your statements.

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POST #1

Manifest destiny, slavery and westward expansion all contributed to the Mexican-American War. James Polk, “an ardent expansionist”, was elected in 1844 and his decisions led to the war taking place in 1846 (Shi & Tindall, 2013). He had planned to “re-annex” Texas and “re-occupy” Oregon in addition to having is eyes on California and Mexico. When his offer to purchase land was rejected, he had troops move into an area between the Rio Grande and Nueces River that was previously part of Coahulia, Mexico (History.com, unknown). The war resulted in a big loss of territory for Mexico (via the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo) in addition to big loss of troops for the United States.

History.com (unknown). Mexican-American War. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/mexican-american-war

Shi, D. E. & Tindall, G. B. (2013). America: A narrative history, ninth edition. New York, NY: W W Norton & Company.

POST #2

The Mexican-American War began with the idea of manifest destiny, where President Polk believed that the United States had the right to expand as far as possible as a God given right. Immediately following his election, Polk began annexation procedures of Texas. Polk set out to negotiate terms to purchase other territories beyond the Mexican border and when his offer was denied that started a ripple of skirmishes that eventually would lead to the delcaration of war against Mexico on May 13, 1946. After two years of fighting and many casualties mostly on the Mexico side, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed on Feburary 2, 1948 that recognized not only the annexation of Texas, but also included the Rio Grande as the border. The territories north of the Rio Grande was purchased for 15 million dollars that includes present day California, Oregon, and New Mexico.

References:

Shi, D. E. & Tindall, G. B. (2013). America: A narrative history (9h Ed.). New York, NY: W W Norton & Company.

History.com Staff. (2009). Mexican-American War. Retrieved December 22, 2016, from http://www.history.com/topics/mexican-american-war