The causes of the Mexican-American War are, surprisingly, still a matter of some debate. Normally, that isn’t true of things that happened 176 years ago. Generally, historians can figure things out after two centuries. But in this case, dispute remains, at least regarding the events immediately preceding the war. And this dispute involves many of the old villains of American history—racism, Manifest Destiny, and duplicitous diplomacy.

Causes of the Mexican-American War Long-Term

The dispute between the two neighbors centered on Texas. Recall Texas had achieved independence from Mexico in 1836. It immediately applied for statehood within the US. For internal political reasons, the US turned down this request.

A quick aside here. I’ve always found it curious why Americans identify with Texas in its independence struggle with Mexico. The heart of the matter was slavery. When immigrants from the southeastern US entered Mexico in the 1820s, many brought slaves. Mexico later outlawed slavery. The Texans rebelled rather than give up their slaves.

By modern standards, the Mexicans were the good guys here. Somehow, though, Americans aren’t allowed to acknowledge that.

Likewise with those who consider the Battle of the Alamo a signature moment in US history. Again, it’s celebrating people who fought for slavery. And the Alamo wasn’t part of the US at the time. It wasn’t part of the US until a decade later. But I digress too far, so I’ll stop.

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Causes of the Mexican-American War Short-Term

For the next decade, Texas was independent. It seems Texans spent most of this time waging genocidal war against all Native American tribes in Texas.

(This is another thing Americans aren’t allowed to know about. The idea that Texas spent a decade trying to eradicate native people just seems too harsh to acknowledge. It’s much easier to forget about it and pretend everything happened naturally.)

The Texans had some success at murdering American Indians. But Texas ran up some major debt in the process.

So, in 1845, it applied for statehood within the US once again. This time, for internal political reasons, like pro-slavery President John Tyler wanting to get reelected despite having tons of political enemies, the US agreed.

Why the US Wanted Texas in 1845

Slavery. That’s why. By the 1840s, thanks to the Missouri Compromise, southerners were running out of potential new slaves states. Arkansas became a new slave state in 1836. Present-day Oklahoma was Indian Territory. Other than Texas, slavery could not grow any larger. That’s why some people considered dividing Texas into four parts—that meant four new states with slavery.

This would keep the US Senate in equal balance between states allowing slavery and states that didn’t. That meant that any anti-slavery measure could be blocked in the US Senate.

Only one problem existed. Mexico didn’t approve of the annexation of Texas. Instead, Mexico considered Texas a breakaway province to be reclaimed in time. It severed relations with the US as a result.

Please read on to my next post to learn the second half of the story. In it, I’ll discuss the disputed events that were the immediate causes of the Mexican-American War in 1846.

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