Wasn the war a plot by President Polk to steal land from Mexico?
The charge that the war with Mexico was a plot to steal land from Mexico was first put forward by Whig politicians in an effort to discredit Democratic President James K. Polk and his administration. Although there is absolutely no proof to substantiate this accusation, some historians have also sought to promote this view simply because Polk had hoped to buy California from Mexico. While it is true that the United States acquired a large amount of territory from Mexico as one of the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, it is often forgotten that the U.S. paid Mexico $15 million for this land, that the land held less than 1% of Mexico’s population, that Mexico exercised very little actual control over it, and that some of its citizens were actually in favor of either British or American rule. After the war, Mexico’s treasury was depleted. There was no money to pay the millions of dollars in debts Mexico had owed private U.S. citizens for decades but Mexico had plenty of mostly uno
