Pletcher puts forth the point that many wished to overtake Texas, for example, from Mexican control because of a certain level of hatred on the part of Americans for their neighbors south of the border. Perhaps, as well, there was a certain level of jealousy on the part of Americans for the extensive culture, lifestyle and tradition of the Mexican people, something which was not existent in any major way in the United States at that time. It is said that history repeats itself, and in the connection between racism and early annexation, there is no exception. Pletcher is correct in his discussion of the very real possibility that the seeds of racism against Mexico that started so many years ago were something that was still alive and well in the 1970s. Also, this point is still emerging in the current events of today.

Southerners Seeking to Extend Slavery

As was mentioned earlier in the research, slavery was an economic and social institution in the Southern United States of the early days of the nation, and was something that, while it was being fought against by Northerners, was attempted to be expanded by Southerners. With this in mind, Pletcher, in his book, makes a very valid argument that the expansion of the United States to include such territories as Texas to the south and Oregon and California to the west was highly motivated by the desire on the part of American Southerners to extend the practice of slavery to the newly acquired lands.

Expansion of slavery, as Pletcher proposes, is a solid argument on his part- he makes that point that slavery, in and of itself, was a very lucrative business. Additionally,...

Also, going back to the original point, there were those who would make huge profits by the trading of these slaves because of the demand for them. The slavery issue would of course come to a head during the Civil War, but Pletcher sets the stage for that occurrence in his work.
Manifest Destiny

The United States of the 1840s and 1850s was a land that many thought should extend to the natural boundaries of the North American continent- Atlantic to Pacific Oceans, literally from sea to shining sea. This philosophy gave rise to the theory of Manifest Destiny, which maintained that the overtaking of the North American continent by the U.S. was merely an extension of the God-given rights that the Declaration of Independence put forth decades prior.

Pletcher uses the existence of Manifest Destiny to ultimately make what can in many ways be considered the climax of his book- the argument that annexation and expansion of the U.S. was not only an issue of political importance and social advancement, but also the fulfillment of a sort of crusade that needed to be completed in the interest of the promotion of the freedom that every human being is entitled to enjoy. With Manifest Destiny as the backdrop, Pletcher makes a point to validate the effort of expansion, even in light of the undesirable motives he cited earlier in his book.

Conclusion

History has always been a topic open to interpretation and debate. In "The Diplomacy of Annexation: Texas, Oregon and the Mexican War," David M. Pletcher not only explains a complicated historical topic, but also draws parallels between the past and present. Even today, the work stands on its own quality.

US History