What Happened After the War - Free Essay Example

The period between 1846 and 1866 marked major events in the history of America. The Mexican American War led to the expansion of the United States and stimulated local connections with California. The main reason of the union was to foster Regional Corporation between California and the United States. America’s aim was to enlarge its national power and to bring Southern California into incorporation. The Mexican American War had begun on April 25 in 1846(Samora, 2019), when the Mexican troop went forth toward the north of the Rio Grande River and started firing the United States. The War led to a series of victories by the United States. The consequence of the war was more dramatic in the field of politics than any other such as economics.

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James K. Polk after winning the presidential election in 1845, he fought for the annexation of Texas. Texas was annexed successfully. He aimed to buy the land of Texas, but the offer was rejected (Greenburg, 2019). He became angry, which later led to the war. He declared the war despite opposition from some of the Members of the Parliament. United States military was able to defeat the Mexicans with the least resistance. Mexican troops went and sought assistance from their general Antonio Lopez de Santa. Lopez later withdrew after the United States president had defeated him. The government of the United States were against the annexation of Texas. Mexico City was captured in 1847, which led to the formation of a peace treaty between the United States and Mexico. The treaty was then signed in 1848.

In 1849, Zechariah Taylor took over the presidential position of the United States. He was the 12th president after James K.Polk. Unfortunately, Taylor was not able to finish his term. He died and Millard Fillmore who was then the vice president, succeeded him. In that year of 1850, slave trade in Washington was banned and California declared totally a free state. . The California Gold Rush led to a dense population in the new land. This also led to increased immigrants from foreign countries such as China. Some books and novels were also written to fight against slave trade. Harriet Beecher’s novel is one of the best work that discouraged slave trade and it was highly appreciated. Millard served for about three years and then Franklin Pierce took over as the 14th President. Franklin was inaugurated in 4th March 1853.

Another treaty called Gadsden Purchase was signed in that same year. The term of the treaty was that United States were to buy the border territory of Mexico. During Franklin term, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was formed to establish those territories. He served for five years and James Buchan was the next president. He was declared as the 15th president of the United States in 4Th March 1857. Slave trade, that was initially banned, became a hot debate in the Congress. The court then declared that slave trade was to continue because the slaves were considered not as citizens. Abraham Lincoln then became known and was contesting for presidential position, during election campaign in Illinois in 1858. He was finally elected as the president in 1860.This came with the establishment of Confederate States of America in 1861(McCurry, 2010).

There arose a need to have the president of the Confederate States of America and in February, Jefferson Davis was elected to become the Confederacy’s president. In that same year, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the next 16th President of the United States. The establishment of the Confederacy led to a conflict, which lasted for about six years. The civil war between the Confederacy and the Union was due to the need to expand slave trade to the west. In 1863, Confederacy State declared freedom to slaves (Foner, 2011). The conflict did not stop and another battle was declared in Gettysburg in June the same year. This made President Lincoln to call for a press meeting at Gettysburg in November 1863.In 4th March 1865 Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated the second time as the president.

The conflict did not stop and Gen. Ulysses Grant captured the capital of the Confederacy. The general to the Confederacy, Robert Lee had to give in to S. Grant at the court. A law was passed to allow settlers to stay at 160 acres of land in that same year. Later on in April 1865, Lincoln was found dead in Washington, DC. Andrew Johnson, who was then the vice president, succeeded him. It is stated that his rival John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln. In December 6 the same year, the constitution was amended to abolish slave trade. This indeed was a great relief to the slaves and they really appreciated. Another treaty was signed to mark the end of the conflict and the slave trade.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, it is quite clear that this paper has given a brief history of the United States.It has explain things that happened after the Mexican-American War between 1846 and 1866. The paper has talked about the various treaties such as the treaty of Guadalupe, which was to bring peace. It also talked about the end of the slave trade in the 1850s. Various Presidents of the United States have also been discussed briefly. Examples are James K. Polk, Zechariah Taylor, Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Johnson. It has also talked about the Confederate States of America establishment, the conflict it brought about, and the solutions to the conflict. We can say that great leaders can learn from the History of America to better their own nations.

References

Foner, E. (2011). The fiery trial: Abraham Lincoln and American slavery. WW Norton & Company.

Greenberg, A. S. (2019). Lady First: The World of Mrs. James K. Polk. Knopf.

McCurry, S. (2010). Confederate reckoning: Power and politics in the civil war south. Harvard University Press.

Samora, J. (2019). The History of the Mexican-American People: Revised Edition. University of Notre Dame Press.