Manifest Destiny adn Imperialism

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how "manifest destiny" was a term coined by President Polk to disguise his intentions of getting as much territory as he could. The author feels that President Polk goaded Mexico into a war that easily could have been avoided as the Americans saw that it was their right and necessity to keep expanding westward into Mexico's land and Spanish territory. This paper examines the events of the 1840s, when U.S. President James Polk wanted to purchase Mexican territories of California and New Mexico for annexing them to America. It shows that upon Mexico's refusal to sell that piece of land, the United States invaded Mexico, defeated it and forcibly occupied about half of the Mexican territory. The war, which started in 1846, ended with the defeat of Mexico and signing of a treaty at Guadeloupe Hidalgo in 1848. The paper shows how, according to the treaty, Mexico had to hand over Texas, New Mexico and California, thus being deprived of about one half of its own territory and a vast treasure of land and natural resources.

From the Paper:

"Looking back we see that the American greed for land did not subside with the conquest of Mexico. With the discovery of gold in and around California, Americans began to migrate [referred to as the Gold Rush in history], towards California. To speed up the migration process, the need of railroads was identified. President Franklin Pierce dispatched James Gadsden to Mexico to strike a deal for the purchase of those lands, which lay south of Gila River between the borders of the two nations. Because Mexico had still not overcome the effects of their defeat of 1848 and because the government there was in absolute need of money, it agreed to the sale of a huge triangle of land across southern Arizona and New Mexico at a total cost of $10 million. In history this deal is known as Gasden Purchase."

More papers on Manifest Destiny adn Imperialism:

• Analytical Essay # 103154 : "Manifest Destiny: the Backbone of America"
• Term Paper # 146379 : "America's Trend of Imperialism"
• Essay # 14873 : "U.S. Imperialism In th 19th Century"

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