The costs of the Mexican War outweigh the benefits. How true is this statement?

by sweetllil (student)

During the 1800s, the United States, a rapidly growing country, was inspired by the idea of “Manifest Destiny” and eagerly sought to expand it’s territories coast to coast. However, while the United States was prospering, Mexico was not. Mexico faced many problems as a new nation, and consequently struggled to defend their recently inherited land. With the United States’ expansion into Mexican land, came much tension between the two nations, ultimately leading to the Mexican War (“The U.S.-Mexican War”). As far as wars are concerned, the Mexican War was a small one, although the effects of this war, on both the United States and Mexico, were greatly significant. Although both nations suffered consequences, unlike Mexico, the United States also benefitted substantially from the Mexican War. To the United States, the benefits of the Mexican war, including the enormous amount of land, as well as respect, they attained, greatly outweigh the minor costs of the Mexican war, such as internal conflicts over slavery and the causes of the war (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 385).

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One of the biggest and longest lasting benefits of the Mexican War was the notable amount of land the United States gained in the Treaty of Guadalupe. The treaty immediately put an end to the border dispute between the United States and Mexico, setting the Texas border at the Rio Grande River in the United State’s favor. The treaty also gave the United States control of all the territory from Texas to California, increasing their land about one-third (“The U.S.-Mexican War”). For the United States, the some 13,000 troops and $15 million they lost in the war was a small price to pay for this vast expanse of land, especially when considering California, who’s addition meant that the United States now stretched from sea to sea. Although “Manifest Destiny” played an important role, it was the discovery of gold in California that made the United State’s acquisition of this land one of the most valuable purchases of all time (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 385). As the historian J.S. Holliday said, "Next to the Civil War in the 19th century, no other event had a greater impact, more long-lasting reverberations, than the Gold Rush. It transformed obviously California, but more importantly, it transformed America" (“The Gold Rush”). This transformation would not have been possible without the land gained because of the Mexican War.

However, land was not the only thing gained by the Mexican War. As a result of winning the war, the United States attained a great deal of respect from other countries, specifically Britain and France (“James Monroe: American President: An online Reference Resource”). Prior to the Mexican War in 1846, the United States had not been in a major war since 1812. Because of this, the United States military was regarded as weak and inexperienced and were thought to lose against Mexico. However, this war served as a training ground for the men in the military and the troops quickly built up as a strong military. Subsequently, the victory of the United States proved that they were a force to be reckoned with and were a significant military power (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 385).

Although they were many significant benefits of the Mexican War, there were also some minor, temporary costs, like the internal conflicts created over the reasons for the war and slavery in the United States. The northerners believed that the War was the effect of the South’s effort to gain more slave land, which made many northerners oppose the war. The Mexican War also brought up the issue of slavery because when the new territories applied for statehood, the United States had to decide whether the new states would be slave states or free states. This argument is what ultimately divided the North and the South (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 390). There were many controversies resulting from this argument, like the Wilmot Proviso. In 1846, David Wilmot proposed that all new territory be permitted from having slaves. This proposition passed through the House of Representatives, making quite a fuss, but did not pass through the senate. Consequently, Texas and California were admitted as slave states. All of this eventually led to he rise of the civil war (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 388; “Wilmot’s Proviso”). However, even without the Mexican War, the civil war would not have been able to be avoided. Even before the Mexican War, there was conflict between the North and the South because of the “ever-tipping political balance” (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey 394). In addition, the civil war was not completely bad. It brought about the abolishment of slavery and also made the nation stronger. Therefore, even where the costs of the Mexican War are considered, there are still benefits to them.

The Mexican War, although small, left a huge impact on both the United States and Mexico. The United State’s many benefits of the war were very important. If the United States had not acquired the Mexican cession who knows where they would be today. Also, if the United States had not had the chance to build a strong military during this war, it might not be the strong nation it is today. Such significant benefits prevail over the insignificant setbacks of the war, such as the formation of the civil war, which ended up being beneficial to the United States. So even in light of the minor costs, the Mexican War was still extremely beneficial to the United States, making it a very valuable and worthwhile war to the nation.