8
WE TAKE NOTHING BY CONQUEST,
THANK GOD
BY: STEPHANIE
AZCUNAGA
CHAPTER SUMMARY
Zinn discusses how the Mexican American War was
caused by President Polk who pushed an expansionist
agenda to excuse his conquest of Mexico.
Many people believed that Americans provoked the
Mexicans to fight so they had a reason to fight over land.
The Whig Party was against the war but wanted to expand.
Many civilians did not support the war, they believed it was
a war of aggression.
Newspaper and articles misrepresented the war causing it
to be avoided.
PRESIDENT POLK
•
James Polk, an expansionist
and democrat “..confided to the
Secretary of the Navy that one
of his main objectives was the
acquisition of California.”
•
“On May 9, before news of any
battles, Polk was suggesting to
his cabinet a declaration of war,
based on certain money claims
against Mexico, and on Mexico's
recent rejection of an American
negotiator named John Slidell.”
MEXICAN AMERICAN WAR
•
Wasn’t as popular to the Americans.
•
People didn’t want to fight to gain land they preferred
to compromise or pay.
•
Mexico fought to get Texas since Polk wanted to take
that state.
•
Polk made it seem as if Mexico invaded America.
MEXICO IN 1830
LAND MEXICO LOST TO THE UNITED
STATES
LIKE IN CH. 7 AS LONG AS GRASS
GROWS OR WATER RUNS
INDIANS AND MEXICANS
•
The Indians and Mexicans had a lot in common. Americans tried to
take over their land. “From 1814 to 1824, in a series of treaties
with the southern Indians, whites took over three-fourths of
Alabama and Florida, one-third of Tennessee, one-fifth of Georgia
and Mississippi, and parts of Kentucky and North Carolina.” (Zinn
128).
•
As well as all these other lands. Andrew Jackson played a huge role
into this. Americans believed that their superior power would lead
to the extinction of indians as well as Mexicans.
SIMILARITY?
The United States fooled the Indians and the Mexicans into thinking that
they were going to be living in a civilized community.
Jackson signed a treaty in 1814 that stated that Indians were going to
receive their share in land, “..It granted Indians individual ownership of
land, thus splitting Indian from Indian, Breaking up communal
landholding, bribing some with land, and leaving other out.’” (Zinn 128)
This proves that they had no respect for them, and they simply just
treated them like idiots.
As well as Mexico, they signed a different treaty that let the Americans
win. “The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed February 1848, gave half
of Mexico to the Americans” (Zinn 116).
SIMILARITY (CONTINUE)
Although the Americans were bringing down the Mexicans and Indians, they
also had another thing in common. They did not give up. They began to rebel
and fought America. “Mexican guerrillas retaliated with cruel vengeance.
As the American armies advanced, more battles were fought, more
thousands died on both sides, more thousands were wounded, more
thousands sick with diseases.”
While Mexico had their guerrillas to fight their battles the Americans had a
army named the “Red Skins” Zinn mentions, “Some were willing to adopt the
civilization of the white man in order to live in peace. Others, insisting on
their land and their culture, were called "Red Sticks." The Red Sticks in 1813
massacred 250 people at Fort Mims, whereupon Jackson's troops burned
down a Creek village, killing men, women, children.” (Zinn 127)
DIFFERENCE?
Even if they both had their lands taken away. Americans actually
treated the Indians in a better way than they treated the
Mexicans. Indians had to sign treaties just to get portions of their
land back while Mexicans actually fought in wars , to claim their
land.
One main difference was that as times went by , the Indians
turned against one another because of Jackson. “Jackson's 1814
treaty with the Creeks started something new and important.
DIFFERENCES (CONTINUE..)
It granted Indians individual ownership of land, thus
splitting Indian from Indian, breaking up communal
landholding, bribing some with land, leaving others outintroducing the competition and conniving that marked
the spirit of Western capitalism.” (Zinn 128).
While the Mexicans on the other hand all fought for their
country as team.
QUOTES
“As war exists, notwithstanding all our efforts to avoid it, exists by
the act of Mexico herself, we are called upon by every
consideration of duty and patriotism to vindicate with decision the
honor, the rights, and the interests of our country.”
“Polk spoke of the dispatch of American troops to the Rio Grande
as a necessary measure of defense. As John Schroeder says (Mr.
Polk's War): "Indeed, the reverse was true; President Polk had
incited war by sending American soldiers into what was disputed
territory, historically controlled and inhabited by Mexicans."
REFERENCE
•Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States:
1492-Present. New York: Harper Perennial
Modern Classics, 2005. Print.