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DBQ Question: "Was the United States Justified in Going to War with…
DBQ Question:
"Was the United States Justified in Going to War with Mexico?"
YES, the United States was justified in going to war with Mexico.
Doc A
Mexico cannot govern themselves
Texas has already broken off, California is next
It is our manifest destiny to stretch across the continent
There's already white people developing the lands
Doc B
Texas annexed itself to US; US not at fault
US was simply defending their territory
Mexico was the one that started acting aggressively, the U.S. had
no choice
but to defend what they viewed as an act of war
Background Essay
According to the map, there was a
lot
of land here that the U.S. could have
NO, the United States was NOT justified in going to war with Mexico.
Doc A
US is simply taking land from Mexico because they are weaker than US
US is prejudiced against Mexicans
US is greedy for land
Doc B
Polk did not make a strong argument
Mexico never accepted Texas' annexation to begin with, so they were simply defending what they thought was their territory
Had the attack not occurred, Polk was going to ask Congress to declare war anyway. This was just a good/timely excuse
Doc C
US could not take this land because Mexico never accepted its' secession in the first place
Mexico was not acting as a beligerent, they were simply defending what they saw as a US invasion
Doc D
Taking this territory would lead to the expansion of slavery