The Expansion of America

In the 1800s, America underwent a significant expansion of its territories, which entailed the acquisition of several slave states such as Louisiana, Missouri, Texas and Arkansas.  The acquisition of territories in the West largely resulted due to the migration of Americans in search for opportunities that were abundant the region. The annexation of Texas and other southern territories provided the United States with an opportunity to expand its borders in individual states and thus achieve the objective of unbridled expansion. For example, acquisition of Texas facilitated the claiming of western and southern borders, which created conflicts between Mexico and the United States. Political leaders exploited the fact there were Americans settled in various regions targeted for annexation to coerce other parties to relinquish ownership or reach a consensus to split regions. By stirring up annexation sentiments among American settlers in various parts of southern territories, America was able to expand its borders extensively.

America’s victory in the Mexican War led to the cessation of Texas, California and a significant portion of the Mexico’s territory, which included modern day states such as Nevada, Utah and Arizona. The signing of the Guadalupe treaty helped to formalize the transfer of disputed territories and eliminated the prospects of other territorial disputes in future. A large number of states that American acquired through the Mexican War have a variety of resources that have helped to promote America’s economic might. For example, gold discovery in California attracted a large number of Americans from the East and people from other countries. The economic revolution in California expanded markets throughout America. Losing the war would have led to Mexico retaining it territories and the resources in them. 

The US could have avoided the Mexican War by using diplomatic channels to settle the dispute regarding Texas. Polk was quick to deploy federal troops to areas of dispute and dispatched a squadron to patrol the Mexican Gulf coast thus triggering the war.