Joel Poinsett Essay, Research Paper
Joel Poinsett
In 1825 President John Quincy Adams appointed Joel Poinsett as the first U.S. minister to Mexico. His first assignment was to persuade the Mexican government to sell the U.S. the province of Texas, thus continuing the rapid expansion of the American democracy. The United States continued to pursue Texas with little success for the next 20 years. It was not until December 1845 when the U.S. finally annexed Texas by a joint resolution (and thus simple majority) . Immediately following the Texas acquisition, and with U.S.-Mexico relations swiftly deteriorating, the U.S. wanted the Mexican province of California, mainly for her harbours San Frasisco and San Diego. The American policy towards Mexico which ensued in the following years was governed almost exclusively by President James Polk s personal opinions and actions, as well as Nicholas Trist s defiant behavior; a manifestation of the state-centric theory in which key individual decision makers govern policy. In addition, Polk s policies were secondarily influenced by the consideration of relative power, American mass ideology, and Public opinion.
In 1845 President Polk began, cofidentially from the public, considering the annexation of California. Polk s initial desire was to simply purchase California, attempting to maintain peace. He soon learned this would be impossible. When Polk ordered General Taylor to cross the Nueces River and eventually to fortify on the Rio Grande, he fully understood the possilble consequences of these actions. In fact, by deploying Taylor and his troops, Polk putting a slow squeeze on the Mexicans which would leave them with no other option than
Unquestionably the most important domestic issue in the years prior to the American Civil War was slavery. John C. Calhoun recognized that, …if the treaty ending the conflict was silent on the subject of slavery in the ceded territory, the North will oppose it, and if it should prohibit slavery the South would, and in either event there would be a constitutional majority.