War with Mexico Keynote
For and Against War With Mexico Day 1 Read the intro and primary source and complete the graphic organizer. INTRODUCTION: The border between Texas and Mexico had been a subject of much debate ever since Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836. Even after Texas was annexed by the United States in 1845, the question of whether its southern border was the Rio Grande River or the Nueces River, about 150 miles to the north, was greatly contested. This was the situation when James K. Polk became president. Polk believed that the United States had a “Manifest Destiny” to reach from the Atlantic Ocean to the shores of the Pacific. To help fulfill this destiny Polk sent a US representative to the Mexican government in order to make an offer to buy California and parts of New Mexico as well as to settle the disputed territory in Texas. In exchange for this land he offered $25–$30 million and an additional $3 million in debt relief owed to American citizens by Mexico. The Mexican government refused to meet with the representative. Consequently, Polk ordered the US Army to move into the disputed territory. Fighting broke out on April 25, 1846, when a Mexican force killed sixteen American soldiers in the disputed territory south of the Nueces River. Polk's message to congress Graphic organizer Day 2 Read the intro and primary source and complete the graphic organizer. Introduction: For a number of representatives in Congress, especially those from the northern states, a decision in favor of going to war with Mexico had little to do with national pride or fair trade practices and everything to do with American slavery and imperialistic expansion. Although these voices were in the minority they were vocal in their opposition to the President. Among those opposed to the war with Mexico was the newly elected congressman Abraham Lincoln. Author Henry David Thoreau refused to pay taxes that would support the war and was subsequently jailed, where he wrote his essay Civil Disobedience. Yet despite the arguments raised by northern congressmen, war was declared only hours after Giddings gave his speech. Giddings' Speech Graphic organizer Polk/Giddings Essential Questions 1. What was President Polk's most significant point/argument for convincing congress to declare war with Mexico? 2. Why did President Polk feel he needed to justify General Taylor's presence at Del Norte (Rio Grande)? 3. What point was congressman Giddings trying to Make in his speech? Provide 2 pieces of evidence to support your claim? |
Primary Source Exploration: For all the glory, expectation, and opportunity that the American west held for the working class, the Native Americans received none of them and were unjustly treated as their lands were encroached upon by Americans. The United States government treated the Native Americans like savages and followed their unwritten slogan, “A good Indian is a dead Indian.” Read the following passage from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, the treaty that ended the United States-Mexican War, and answer the questions below in complete sentences. Excerpts from Article XI of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Considering that a great part of the territories, which, by the present treaty, are to be comprehended for the future within the limits of the United States, is now occupied by savage tribes, who will hereafter be under the exclusive control of the Government of the United States, and whose incursions within the territory of Mexico would be prejudicial in the extreme. It is solemnly agreed that all such incursions shall be forcibly restrained by the Government of the United States whensoever this may be necessary; and that when they cannot be prevented, they shall be punished by the said Government, and satisfaction for the same shall be exacted all in the same way, and with equal diligence and energy, as if the same incursions were meditated or committed within its own territory, against its own citizens. And in the event of any person or persons, captured within Mexican territory by Indians, being carried into the territory of the United States, the Government of the latter engages and binds itself, in the most solemn manner, so soon as it shall know of such captives being within its territory, and shall be able so to do, through the faithful exercise of its influence and power, to rescue them and return them to their country, or deliver them to the agent or representative of the Mexican Government. The Mexican authorities will, as far as practicable, give to the Government of the United States notice of such captures; and its agents shall pay the expenses incurred in the maintenance and transmission of the rescued captives; who, in the mean time, shall be treated with the utmost hospitality by the American authorities at the place where they may be. But if the Government of the United States, before receiving such notice from Mexico, should obtain intelligence, through any other channel, of the existence of Mexican captives within its territory, it will proceed forthwith to effect their release and delivery to the Mexican agent, as above stipulated. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ?’s 1. What does this excerpt mean for the Native Americans that rightfully held property prior to the American settlers coming west? 2. The language used in the official document when referring to Native Americans is very strong. Pick out 3-5 words in the excerpt and discuss the connotation of each. 3. How does this excerpt make America look un-American? Why is it that we seem like the evil empire? 4. What was happening to Native Americans at this time in the west? Can you justify the American feelings toward Native Americans at the time? 5. The Americans were devout enemies with Mexico prior to this treaty, but still refer to the Native Americans with irreverent language. Does this juxtaposition strike you as strange? What does it mean to you? 6. If you were the Mexican government, would you have believed the provisions in the excerpt above? Because the United States continuously attacked Native Americans, what prevents them from encroaching on Mexican territories again? 7. How do you think this document makes the United States look today? Do you think that the United States owes an apology to the affected Native American tribes that are still around in the United States or does the establishment of reservations nullify the need for any further apology? |