Polk’s War Message was sent to Congress to explain why his quest for peace with Mexico failed. He explains that he asked General Herrera if he could send an American envoy to negotiate peace, and the General agreed. Polk soon sent John Slidell to discuss the Texas border. However, the Mexican government refused to listen to his propositions and sent him back to the United States. When Polk continued to defend Texas (because it was clearly the United States’s), Mexico threatened the U.S. Polk then explains that Mexico had shed American blood on American soil, and that Mexico had refused to follow treaties. Polk says that he truly believes both the United States and Mexico can benefit from commerce with each other, but that is no longer an option because Mexican-American boundary issues over Texas have turned into a war, which was completely the doing of Mexico. He concludes by stating that it is America’s duty to defend the honor, rights, and interests of the U.S.
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| James K. Polk |
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| The XYZ Affair can be compared to the struggles Polk faced, because in both instances two countries would not agree. Just like how Mexico was disputing with the U.S. over Texas territory, the XYZ Affair was when France tried bribing the U.S. and would not just flat-out agree to the commercial agreement America wanted (disagreement in both examples). |
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