Jessie Moore
May 31, 2014
Group F

Was The United States Justified in Going to War with Mexico? Was the United States justified in going to war with Mexico? Or in other words were the reasons we decided to go into war with Mexico based on pure fact and out of good for both countries? No, the United States was wrong to go to war with Mexico. We provoked and disrespected them, and we were nothing but greedy ourselves. There are many articles to back up these statements that I will be going into.
“On April 24th a party of sixty­three men and officers were dispatched from the
American camp up to the Rio Del Norte, on its North bank, to ascertain whether the Mexican troops had crossed, or were preparing to cross the river. They were engaged with a larger body of these Mexican troops, and, after a short while, some sixteen Americans were killed and wounded.” (Document B, War Message of President James K. Polk.) The U.S. tried to put all the blame on Mexico for the attack. What really happened is stated by Jesus Velasco­Marquez in “A
Mexican Viewport on the War With the United States.” (Document C.) To start it off, related to the annexation of Texas by the United States, it says the Mexican government felt it was inadmissible for both legal and security reasons. And what really happened the day of April 24th
(in the eyes of the Mexican government) was that the mobilization of the US army at the Rio
Grande across from the city of Matamoros was an outright attack on Mexico. Feeling threatened, the Mexican government reaffirmed the instruction to protect the border by sending troops out to

Jessie Moore
May 31, 2014
Group F

do just that, protect. This goes to show the true details of that day, not just the parts the U.S. highlighted to make themselves seem like the victim.
After achieving independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico made slavery illegal. During this time, citizens of the United States began moving to Texas , with the idea being that the
“extensive province ought to become a part of the United Sates,” (Document D.) “A current of emigration soon followed from the United States. Slaveholders crossed the river between
Louisiana and Texas with their slaves, in defiance of the Mexican ordinance of freedom. Restless spirits, discontentented at home… joined them… The work of rebellion spread.” ­Charles
Sumner, “Objections to the Mexican­American War.” Even though Americans who live in the
United States are used