Page 329 - American Stories, A History of the United States

came naturally out of the long tradition, going back to the New England Puritans, that
13.1 identified the growth of America with the divinely ordained success of a chosen people.
Second, the phrase “free development” implied that the spread of American rule meant
“extending the area of freedom.” Democratic institutions and local self-government
13.2 would follow the flag if the United States annexed areas claimed by autocratic foreign
governments. O’Sullivan’s third premise was that population growth required territo-
Quick Check rial acquisitions.
What was America’s “Manifest In its most extreme form, Manifest Destiny meant that the United States would
Destiny,” and what were the origins occupy the entire North American continent. Nothing less would appease its land-
of this concept?
hungry population.

War with Mexico
Although Mexico had offered to recognize Texas independence in 1845 to forestall
annexation to the United States, it rejected the Lone Star Republic’s dubious claim
to the unsettled territory between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. When the
United States annexed Texas and assumed its claim to the disputed area, Mexico broke
off diplomatic relations and prepared for war.
Polk responded by placing troops in Louisiana on alert and dispatching John
Slidell to Mexico City to resolve the boundary dispute and persuade the Mexicans
to sell New Mexico and California to the United States. The Mexican govern-
ment refused to receive Slidell because his appointment ignored the break in reg-
ular diplomatic relations. While Slidell was cooling his heels in Mexico City, in
January 1846, Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to advance beyond the Nueces
and proceed toward the Rio Grande, thus encroaching on territory both sides
claimed.
By April, Taylor was near Matamoros on the Rio Grande. On the opposite bank
of the river, Mexican forces had erected a fort. On April 24, 1600 Mexican soldiers
crossed the river and the following day attacked a small American detachment, killing
16 and capturing the rest. Taylor told the president: “Hostilities may now be considered
as commenced.”
The news was neither unexpected nor unwelcome. Polk was already preparing his
war message to Congress when he learned of the fighting on the Rio Grande. A short
and decisive war would force the cession of California and New Mexico.
mexican–American War War The Mexican–American War lasted much longer than expected because the
between the United states and Mexicans refused to make peace despite military defeats. In the first major campaign
Mexico after the U.s. annexation of of the conflict, Taylor took Matamoros and overcame fierce resistance to capture the
texas. As victor, the United states
acquired vast new territories from city of Monterrey.
Mexico. Taylor’s decision to allow the Mexican garrison there to go free and his
unwillingness or inability to advance farther into Mexico angered Polk and led
him to adopt a new strategy to win the war and a new commander to implement
it. He ordered General Winfield Scott to attack Veracruz and place an American
army within striking distance of Mexico City. With half his forces detached for
this invasion, Taylor was left in northern Mexico. But this did not deprive him of
a final moment of glory. At Buena Vista, in February 1847, he claimed victory over
a sizable Mexican army sent to dislodge him. Despite his unpopularity with the
administration, Taylor became a national hero and the Whig candidate for presi-
dent in 1848.
Meanwhile, an expedition led by Stephen Kearny captured Santa Fe, proclaimed
the annexation of New Mexico, and set off for California. There they found that
American settlers, in cooperation with an exploring expedition under John C.
Frémont, had declared independence as the Bear Flag Republic. The U.S. Navy
had also captured Monterey on the California coast. With the addition of Kearny’s
troops, a relatively few Americans took possession of California by 1847 against weak
Mexican opposition.

296