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RI335 Assignment

The Mexican American War

Mexican coat of arms commonly worn during the war

US coat of arms commonly worn
during the war

President Polk and Santa Anna

An important event to note in relation to the war was the meetings between Polk and the agent of Santa Anna, Col. Atocha, on the 13th and 16th of February 1846. Santa Anna had been driven from Mexico in January of 1845 after a year of corruption and deceit as President. He was now waiting in comfortable exile in Havana for a chance to resume power in Mexico. Scholars are nearly universal in their opinion that Santa Anna was untrustworthy and self interested; “in reality he was a charlatan”46 Col. Atocha was in Washington solely to represent the desires of Santa Anna. He stated to Polk that “soon Santa Anna might be in power again in Mexico… [and] that Santa Anna was in favor of a treaty with the United States [giving the United States upper California and New Mexico, as Polk desired] and mentioned the sum of thirty million dollars.”47 In addition, Col. Atocha stated that Santa Anna had expressed his surprise that the United States had withdrawn its naval forces and Taylor’s army in the north from Mexico. As he told Polk, “when they [the Mexicans] saw a strong force ready to strike on their coasts and border they would… feel their danger and agree to the boundary suggested.”48 It is remarkable to note the treasonable actions of Santa Anna. He was evidently willing to betray his country (and Polk) for power. Here was a man openly corroborating with the enemy of his country in order to further his own political ambitions. “No one has ever found evidence of this, but Santa Anna’s patriotism was then, as always, shaped to serve his own interests. The most that can be said for him on this occasion is that his advice was as harmful to the United States as to Mexico.”49 Polk was highly suspicious of both Santa Anna and his envoy. He stated that “Col. Atocha is a person to whom I would not give my confidence. He is evidently a man of talents and education, but his whole manner and conversation impressed me with the belief that he was not reliable, and that he would betray any confidence reposed in him, when it was in his interests to do so.”50 And so Polk did not confide in Atocha, nor Santa Anna, keeping his options open for the war.

Slavery in the new states

There can be little doubt that the US expansionism of the early 19th century had a profound impact on the commencement of he US civil war. The question of slavery in the soon to be annexed territories was frequently raised, in particular by Buchanan. “He spoke of the unwillingness of the north to acquire so large a country that would probably become a slaveholding country if attached to the United States… [and Buchanan said] that if we attempted to acquire all this territory the opinion of the whole world would be against us, and especially as it would become a slaveholding country, whereas while it was in possession of Mexico slavery did not exist.”51 Despite the concerns of Buchanan, Polk thought the slavery quite irrelevant to the matter of war. On the 8th of August, 1846 congress passed a bill citing that no territory gained from Mexico should ever be a slave holding state, an act Polk described as “a mischievous and foolish amendment.”52 With the benefit of hindsight one can perhaps be critical of Polk’s indifference to the slavery question. The can be little doubt the enormous acquisition of territory gained from Mexico and the question as to its status had a great influence on the factors that eventually lead to the commencement of the civil war.