It is surprising how little attention is given to the idea of expansion in general, and the war with Mexico specifically, in the platforms of American political parties between 1832 and 1848. With Texas, Oregon, Manifest Destiny, and the Mexican War defining the period, I expected to find these subjects being addressed in the party…
Tag: Mexican- American War
Mexican American War: Part 4/ The Questions I Asked and What I Have Learned, So Far…
Colonial Eras to Independence Once I began studying the Mexican American War, it became apparent that my original writing plan (Mexican- American War: Part 2/ Research and Writing Plan) would not provide an understanding of the conditions that existed in Mexico and the United States in 1846. If the purpose of this history is to…
History Nugget #18: September 2019
Colonization Law State of Coahuila and Texas 1825 Article 1. All Foreigners, who in virtue of the general law, of the 18th August, 1824, which guarantees the security or their persons and property, in the territory of the Mexican Nation, wish to remove to any of the settlements of the state of Coahuila and Texas,…
History Nugget #17: September 2019
Emperor Agustin’s Colonization Law Decree of 1823: Articles 1-4 Article 1. The government of the Mexican nation will protect the liberty, property, and civil rights of all foreigners, who profess the Roman Catholic apostolic religion, the established religion or the empire. Article 2. To facilitate their establishment, the executive will distribute lands to them, under…
Mexican- American War: Part 3B/ Revolutionary Legacy of the U.S.
Mexico and the United States moved from their colonial experiences into revolution on very different roads. Those experiences imparted important legacies on each nation. Legacies that provided challenges to and offered promise for life as independent nations. Because the United States and Mexico were both new nations, understanding their colonial and revolutionary legacies is critical…
Mexican- American War: Part 3A/ Colonial Legacy
Mexico and the United States share historical experiences. Both nations experienced periods of colonization, revolution, and independence. However, the experiences of each nation through these periods differ greatly. A cursory examination of these experiences helps to understand how each nation benefited, or suffered, from the legacy of those experiences. My aim is to understand the…
Mexican- American War on Memorial Day
There are few monuments in the United States to the U.S. Servicemen who gave their lives in service during the U.S.- Mexican War. None on the mall in Washington, D.C. These are a few of the Mexican- American War Memorials from around the U.S.
Mexican- American War: Part 2/ Research and Writing Plan
Context is key to understanding a historic event, and contextualizing a complex event is a challenge. Where do you begin? Too far removed and the history will lack nuance. Too close and the history may present the event as particular when, in fact, it reflected a larger trend. Because the United States and Mexico were…
History Nugget #9: March 2019
“The omission of such events as the Mexican War from the American consciousness does history injustice.” “The cost in American lives was staggering. Of the 104,556 men who served in the army, both regulars and volunteers, 13,768 men died, the highest death rate of any war in our history. The period between 1844 and 1848…
Mexican- American War: Part 1
As one of the more formative events in the establishment of the United States as one of the world’s great powers, it is strange that the Mexican- American War has been so willingly forgotten. Sandwiched as it was between America’s two Wars of Independence (the American Revolution and the War of 1812) and the American…
History Present 