Marissa Armstrong

Adrian Andrade

SPAN308

18 Mar 2017

Manifest Destiny

A justified and unavoidable expansion that the United States was destined to do from

coast to coast; this is the typical definition for Manifest Destiny, an idea that the American

people strongly believed in from the late 1700s to 1848. The U.S. truly believed that they would

be able to acquire all of the American colonies, such as Arizona and Texas, and it seems as

though they would have done it at any cost.

Mexican officials wanted to make Texas a prosperous part of the Mexican community,

but thousands of Anglos began to enter Texas without even getting Mexican authorization. A

cultural gap was created and tensions rose. Migration continued and Anglo settlers in Texas

wanted independence, achieving it during the Texas Revolt in 1836 (Gonzales, 2009). But this

did not mean that there were no tensions left. Texas begged to be let into the United States and

they were denied; allowing Texas into the American republic would disrupt the balance of free

and slave states. Eventually, this problem was put aside due to an ever bigger issue: a territorial

debate on the true border between Mexico and Texas.

According to Gonzales, Texans argued the border was at the Rio Grande, while the

Mexican government countered by noting the historical separated boundary was at the Nueces

River, 150 miles north of the Rio Grande (Gonzales, 2009). This and many other unwavering

boundary disputes led to the election of Polk as the next president, as he was elected with a
promise of Manifest Destiny, in which he would once again take over Oregon and Texas. As

such, it was Polks firm belief in Manifest Destiny that helped him get elected, as many

Americans wished for the same thing: colonization of America.

Polks method of taking over Texas was sneaky in the least. His ideology was to push the

Mexicans to attack first, so that he could call a declaration of war and have proof that the

Mexicans started it. Polk was just about to give in when the Mexicans finally declared war on

the United States in 1846. His ideology of Manifest Destiny had led to war. In my opinion, I feel

it is too easy of an option to say that Polk was the only one who thought of this. If the American

people and the U.S. officials did not like the idea of expansion, they would not have elected Polk.

I definitely believe that the U.S. officials thought the same as Polk, but because of the

controversy that it would cause for a whole nation to attack, they elected a leader had the same

idea and who would take responsibility for calling the war. In my internet search, I found an

author named Laura E. Gomez who described, Americans tend to forget that their nation

attacked Mexico in a war of aggression and that Americans were unwelcome invaders of

Mexicos northern frontier (Gomez, 2007). I could not have worded it better myself; I

wholeheartedly agree with Gomez. Specifically when Anglos invaded Texas with no intention of

assimilating to Mexican culture, the Tejanos felt like foreigners in their own homes. Americans

were definitely unwelcome trespassers.

Polk was considered a good leader because he accomplished all of his four goals in

office, acquiring California and Oregon and even lowering tariffs (Butts, 2015). But, I do not

agree with the way he approached the situation and I would have done it differently. I have no

experience with politics or how government is actually run so my methods may be unattainable,

but the first step I would have done is kicking the Anglo invaders out of Texas. I would allow
them to enter only on the condition that they assimilate to Mexican culture. I would not permit

entry of people who just want to stomp all over the natives like they own the place. The next

thing I would have done is run for office against Polk, suggesting a different plan of action. I do

understand that most Americans agreed with Polk and his ideology of Manifest Destiny, but I

would try to convince Americans otherwise that we do not need to expand any further. I would

have liked to have a country where we can pass through like we do to Canada, peacefully and

without trouble most of the time. I understand this may seem a little politically correct, but I feel

the way Polk handled the situation was unfair to the Mexicans who fell into the trap.
 Bibliography (APA)

Butts, D. (2015). Met his every goal?: James k. polk and the legends of manifest destiny. Choice,

52(10), 1727.

Gmez, L. E. (2007). Manifest Destinies : The Making of the Mexican American Race. New

York, US: NYU Press. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com

Gonzales, M. G. (2009). Mexicanos : A History of Mexicans in the United States. Bloomington,

IN: Indiana University Press.