The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail is a literary piece about a man named Henry David Thoreau. He wrote "If the law is of such a nature that it requires you to be an agent of injustice to another, then I say, break the law." This, simply put, means that if the law says to do something that will unjustly hurt another, do not do it. Thoreau felt this way about the Mexican War. Therefore he put what he believed to action, and did not pay taxes to the United States government because of the Mexican War. For this act of civil disobedience, he was thrown in Jail. What about this cause that took place that Henry David Thoreau so strongly disbelieved in? What about this Mexican War?
The Mexican War is also know as the U.S.-Mexican War, The War with Mexico, and the Mexican-American War, but means pretty much the same thing: The United States of America versus Mexico in a one on one war of imperialism and conquest.
Mexican Cession in Mexican View
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Exchange Copy, cover....
US troops marching on Monterrey during the Mexican...This war, like all wars do, began for a reason. For the Mexican-American War, there were two main reasons: The "Manifest Destiny," and the Texas War for Independence and annexation to the United States.
"Manifest Destiny" was an idea developed by the time President James K. Polk came to office in 1845. It had taken root in the American culture that it was a "God-given" right to "civilize" and occupy the whole area between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Not only was this idea was supported by the White House, but also it gained support it as more Americans settled in the West. Although these lands were not empty, the simple fact that Native-Americans and Spanish-speaking Catholic Mexicans already inhabited those parts was overlooked. Those migrating had the...