Rumors of War: The Mexican-American War

Because there was no internet in 1846, we're going to be looking today at the Mexican War in a more critical light. No Fess Parker and Bowie knives here, but some facts are presented that were markedly absent from you Establishment schoolbooks. This is from a column written by Richard Sanders via Lew Rockwell. I will backlink, embellish, and attempt to make connections as we review history, which is always in the process of repeating..

CONTEXT After Mexico’s revolution in 1821, Americans demanded about $3,000,000 in compensation for their losses.[1] Mexico abolished slavery in 1829 and then prohibited further U.S. immigration into Texas, a Mexican state. In 1835, Mexico tried to enforce its authority over Texas. Texans, rallying under the slogan "Remember the Alamo!”, drove Mexican troops out of Texas and proclaimed independence. For nine years, many Texans lobbied for US annexation. This was delayed by northerners who opposed adding more slave territories to the US and feared a war with Mexico.[2]In 1844, Democratic presidential candidate, James Polk, declared support for annexing Texas and won with the thinnest margin ever.[3] The following year, Texas was annexed and Mexico broke off diplomatic relations with the US. Polk sent John Slidell to Mexico offering $25 million for New Mexico, California and an agreement accepting the Rio Grande boundary. Mexican government officials refused to meet the envoy.[4]

 So as you can see, things are not going how Washington DC wants them to. Should they...
 (a) give up and go home, (b) have some Tequilas and say they tried, or (c) escalate

PRETEXT John Stockwell, a Texan who led the CIA’s covert 1970s war in Angola, summed up the start of Mexican American war by saying “they offered two dollars-a-head to every soldier who would enlist. They didn't get enough takers, so they offered a hundred acres to anyone who would be a veteran of that war. They still didn't get enough takers, so [General] Zachary Taylor was sent down to parade up and down the border -- the disputed border -- until the Mexicans fired on him.... And the nation rose up, and we fought the war.”[5] President Polk hoped that sending General Taylor’s 3,500 soldiers into Mexico territory, would provoke an attack against US troops.[6] “On May 8, 1846, Polk met with his Cabinet at the White House and told them that if the Mexican army attacked the U.S. forces, he was going to send a message to Congress asking for a declaration of war. It was decided that war should be declared in three days even if there was no attack.” [7] When news of the skirmish arrived, Polk sent a message to Congress on May 11: “Mexico has passed the boundary of the U.S. and shed American blood on American soil.” [8] Two days later Congress declared war on Mexico. [9]

via University of Mass at Lowell

 Ahh, the days when you needed a declaration of war. I know, to the average neocon, this is so quaint. Can you imagine a group of neocon schoolchildren going through the interpretive museum where the guide says, and this the point at which the Congress declared war, as she points at a yellowed paper. They children are mystified, that is, if they haven't been dumbed down so far as to interpret speech on this level. Never heard of a declar-a-tion of war, a mysterious word to them as long ago the delineation between war and peace stopped and there is just constant aggression, which is completely normal for them. This is what you get when wars have no beginning or end - Orwell's War=Peace scenario. Back to 1846:

RESPONSE Newspapers helped the push for war with headlines like: “‘Mexicans Killing our Boys in Texas.’ [10]
With public support secured, U.S. forces occupied New Mexico and California. US troops fought battles across Mexico and stormed their capital. A new more US-friendly government quickly emerged. It signed over California and New Mexico for $15 million and recognized the Rio Grande as their border with the US state of Texas. [11] General Taylor became an American war hero and he rode his victory straight into the White House by succeeding Polk as president in 1849.

 The ever independent and fair media strikes again. Like Jefferson said, the only accurate thing in a newspaper are the advertisements. As a bonus, the USG got New Mexico and California $10 million bucks cheaper. And now that we've left a liberal commie stain all over California, Mexico won't take back any returns. That, and I'm pretty sure our ever diligent public servants lost the receipt.

REAL REASONS The US secured over 500,000 square miles from Mexico, including Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, California and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.The war was a boon to US nationalism, it boosted popular support for a very weak president and added vast new territories to the US where slavery was allowed.

Now don't get all tensed up over the slavery mention, as I know a lot of you out there are conditioned to look for liberal code, so that you may go into a defensive mode. I've taken the emotion out of my political analysis by just following the money. There was a lot of money tied to slavery, not just with the Southern states, but the Northern ones too. Also, I suspect that the Northern industrialists had as much to gain from opening up virgin mining operations. This was probably the real grease behind the Mexican-American war wheels. 


So for your consideration, we go back to examining the roots of public war manipulation in America. We lived in a screwed up world, the Good Book tells us this up front. It also tells us to be as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves. Don't take any wooden nickels, ya'll.


xposted Left Coast Rebel


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Sources
1. “History of Mexico, Empire and Early Republic, 1821-55,” Area Handbook, US Library of Congress.
2. Shayne M. Cokerdem, “Unit Plan: Manifest Destiny and The Road to the Civil War.”
3. P.B.Kunhardt, Jr., P.B.Kunhardt III, P.W.Kunhardt, “James Polk,” The American President, 2000.
4. “Diplomatic Approaches: U.S. Relations with Mexico: 1844-1846,” LearnCalifornia.org, 2000.
5. John Stockwell, “The CIA and the Gulf War,” Speech, Santa Cruz, CA, Feb.20, 1991, aired by John DiNardo, Pacifica Radio.
6. Betsy Powers, “The U.S.-Mexican War of 1846-48,” War, Reconstruction and Recovery in Brazoria County.
7. “The White House and Western Expansion,” Learning Center, White House Historical Association.
8. Ibid, Powers
9. White House Historical Association
10. Stockwell
11. P.B.Kunhardt, Jr., P.B.Kunhardt III, P.W.Kunhardt