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Introduction
The war between Mexico and the United States was a landmark in the historical development of both countries. The present study will show how Anglo-Americans used the doctrine of Manifest Destiny to rationalize the Mexican American War and how Mexicans responded to that usage. Mexico's vision of American expansionism will be approached through interpreting representative expressions of contemporaneous Mexican public opinion.
The War of 1847 has been thoroughly studied by American and Mexican historians-who have typically adopted divergent viewpoints. American historians have tended to emphasize the economic, diplomatic, and military aspects of North American expansionism (Hietala; Graebner; Reeves; Merk; Jay). On the other hand, Mexican historiography has stressed the meaning of this conflict in the formation of Mexico's national identity, as well as on diplomatic relations with the United States (de Knaut; Marquez; Vazquez). Mexican historians have also sought to compile and preserve the documentary record of the war (Garcia; history group of Institute Mora). Neither Mexican nor North American historiography, however, has sufficiently illuminated the historical context in which Mexicans responded to the war and how the conflict shaped Mexico's subsequent attitude towards the United States.
The history of the United States has been the history of its internal and external expansionism; of its industrial, scientific and technical aggrandizement. The early nineteenth century witnessed the United States' territorial growth, the consolidation of its federal republican system and the emergence of its integrated national market economy. In contrast, the history of Mexico during the same era was a history of internal struggles to establish a viable modern nation. Mexico started its independent life with optimism derived from its abundant natural resources and its legacy as Spain's richest colony. However, a complex of internal and external factors soon drove the country into a whirlwind of political instability. In part, the country was overwhelmed by debt, which left the nation impoverished and economically undeveloped. At the same time, a workable constitutional order did not emerged, legitimate political parties could not form, and caudillos rule prevailed. Never brought under control, social chaos produced by the independence movement kindled chronic revolt against groups in power, whether of liberal, conservative, federalist, and monarchial persuasion. On the international scene, Mexico became an arena where French, British, and North American commercial...