Mexican-American War (1846-1848)

The Great Territorial Loss

From the perspective of the United States, the Mexican-American War, together with the Louisiana Purchase, represented important land acquisitions as part of the country's relentless expansion westward. In this regard, Kurth (1999) reports that, "There were grand achievements in this national project of continental expansion, especially the southwestern annexations, which were achieved through U.S. military victory in the Mexican-American War. In this case, the United States took advantage of the fact that Britain and France were disrupted by serious internal turmoil."

With Britain and France otherwise occupied with their more immediate domestic issues, the U.S. was free to pursue its expansionist Manifest Destiny plans for the Western regions of the country, including most especially California and its vast resources and temperate weather.

From the perspective of the Mexicans, though, the invasion by the United States was a heavy-handed blow by an international bully...
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