10. Myth: The United States has Never Fought to Conquer Other Lands
Fact: The seizure of land from Mexico was as large as any land conquest in history.
The myth that America has never fought a war for the purpose of conquest is incompatible with the truth of manifest destiny. Without regarding the seizure of lands claimed by the Native Americans, the conquest of more than half of Mexico, formalized by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, was as massive a land grab as any in history. The Mexican War was fought with the intent to seize California and the lands between that region and Texas. It was a stated goal of President James Knox Polk in his campaign for President. The war with Mexico was deliberately provoked by the United States, as noted by one of its participants and later President, Ulysses S. Grant.
Had the United States not seized the lands which included California and its gold, Nevada and its silver, Colorado and its copper, coal, oil, and other wealth, as well as Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming and parts of other states, the wealth of the land would have gone to Mexico, making a very different world than that which ensued. The conquest of the lands from Mexico was one of the pivotal points of American history, yet remains one of the least studied and taught in primary and high schools. When it is taught it is as a war against Mexican tyranny and an oppressive dictator, in order to dress up a war President Grant called “one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation.”