HISTORY - choose 1 of the questions to answer Essay - 2

HISTORY - choose 1 of the questions to answer - Essay Example It will also talk about whether the United States planned to expand its territories to Mexico during the expansionist sprit of the aged. The Mexican war, according to Hietala (p1), was an imperialistic venture by the United States. Both Mexico and the United States overestimated their affairs in 1846. Contemptuous of Mexicos administration and defense force, Polk and his consultants tried to overawe Mexican officials into surrendering California along with other provinces to the U.S. to pay outstanding debts owed to United States citizens. Mexico, for its part, went wrong in assessing its northern neighbors capability of raising and equipping a successful military (Ganguly 1). During that time, the United States and other European superpowers were seeking to build a name for themselves and their respective nations. Mexican leaders, in addition, miscalculated their country’s capability of rallying the army, the church, and the people to resist the invaders. Mexican leaders, still stung by the loss of Texas, vowed to resist further dismemberment by the United States (Hietala 1). However, in their endeavor to ave nge a previous trounce, they lost New Mexico and California. Some scholars argue that Polk intentionally goaded Mexico into war. Even though, he acted provocatively, he, in fact, hoped to realize his objectives without war (Hietala 1). The United States, on the other hand, wanted to gain control of its terrain, so they sought to capture the California and New Mexico. The bloodshed, during that time, signified failure, not success, in Polk’s strategy. Polk used the army to gain land, a move that provoked the United States. The United States had an imperialistic need, which made them buy Louisiana from Napoleon (Hietala 1). That was only the beginning. After that, they bought Virginia and then Florida. The Adams-Onis treaty is what triggered America’s greed in wanting to expand their territories. In the Oregon