CHAT: The Mexican War (was Re: CHAT: "have a Canadian day")

Barry Garcia wrote:

> In my US Histories class we learned that the US deliberately started the
> war with Mexico in the 1800's so they could gain California (troops were
> ordered to cross the Nueces river in Texas, which was then considered the
> border between Mexico and the US).
Not really.  The Republic of Texas had always claimed the Rio Grande
as the border, while Mexico claimed it was the Nueces.  When the Republic
voted by referendum to join the US, and the US admitted it, IIRC Zachary
Taylor was ordered to take up position along what he considered to be the
legitimate border, the Rio Grande, whereupon Mexico considered itself to
have been invaded (and from their perspective, it was).  Thus the Mexican
War began.

> Most Americans dont know that the US actually invaded Mexico City either.
Eh?  I don't know about the rest of America, but *my* history textbooks always
went to great efforts to point out American battles in and around Mexico City.
If most Americans don't know that the US captured Mexico City, it's because
of a failure of the school system, not a failure of the curriculum.

This is a complicated question, because there has been a lot of propaganda
on both sides of the issue in recent decades.  In fact, it has been so politicized
that on the one side, Santa Ana isn't even recognized as the dictator he was,
and on the other, the driving force of the notion of "Manifest Destiny" is
virtually ignored.  Both were at play, and neither should be denied, because
otherwise no coherent theory can be made to account for the facts.

FYI:  There was a PBS series on the War a year or so ago -- ignore it.
It's strewn with half-truths and misrepresentations that go unanswered.

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Tom Wier <artabanos@...>
ICQ#: 4315704   AIM: trwier
"Cogito ergo sum, sed credo ergo ero."
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