The Mexican-American War

In-Class Exercise

Break into three groups. Each group will be responsible for presenting one of the three documents listed below. Focus on what is being said, why it is being said, and what the document might contribute to the following questions. After each group has presented its document, consider the following questions as a group:

1. Define the term Manifest Destiny. As you review the documents, identify American assumptions about the role of the United States on the North American continent. What attitudes were evident in the rationale for Manifest Destiny?
2. Contrast Polk’s account of pre-war Mexican-American relations with the description provided by the Mexican scholar. How do their interpretations compare with what else you know about this period?
3. What was Lincoln’s purpose in stressing the spot “where the first blook of the war was shed”? Why did Lincoln disapprove of Polk’s policy? What is the distinction between an underlying cause and a short-term problem?

Documents on the Mexican-American War

President Polk’s Message to Congress, 1846
Abraham Lincoln Calls Polk to Account, 1848
A Mexican View of the War, 1850

Internet Resources

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