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In the House of Representatives, John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts was among the most vocal opposing the war. Adams had first voiced concerns about expanding into Mexican territory in 1836 when he opposed Texas annexation. He continued this argument in 1846 for the same reason: war with Mexico would add new slave territory to the nation.
He was particularly opposed to the annexation of Texas and the Mexican–American War, which he saw as a war to extend slavery and its political grip on Congress. He also led the repeal of the " gag rule ", which had prevented the House of Representatives from debating petitions to abolish slavery .
- James Monroe
- Andrew Jackson
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- Annexation and Border Disputes
- The U.S. Goes to War
- The War’S End
Mexico denounced the annexation of Texas as “an act of aggression, the most unjust which can be found recorded in the annals of modern history.” Beyond the anger produced by the annexation, the two nations both laid claim over a narrow strip of land between the Nueces River, where Mexico drew the southwestern border of Texas, and the Rio Grande, ro...
Mexico and Texas
U.S. military strategists had three main objectives in the Mexican-American War: to take control of northern Mexico, including New Mexico, to seize California, and to capture Mexico City. General Zachary Taylor and his Army of the Center were assigned to accomplish the first goal, and they engaged the Mexican Army in three battles in central Texas and northern Mexico: Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Monterrey (not to be confused with Monterrey, California). Taylor was victorious in all thr...
New Mexico and California
General Stephen Watts Kearny, commander of the Army of the West, accepted the surrender of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and moved on to California, leaving Colonel Sterling Price in command. Despite Kearny’s assurances that New Mexicans need not fear for their lives or their property, the region’s residents rose in revolt in January 1847 in an effort to drive the Americans away. Although Price managed to put an end to the rebellion, tensions remained high. Kearny, meanwhile, arrived in California to...
Mexico City’s defenders, including young military cadets, fought to the end. According to legend, cadet Juan Escutia’s last act was to save the Mexican flag, and he leapt from the city’s walls with it wrapped around his body. On September 14, 1847, General Scott entered Mexico City’s central plaza, the Zócalo, officially marking the capture of the ...
Apr 23, 2020 · Adams delivered a theatrical performance that succeeded in persuading the court that U.S. law required that the captives aboard the ship should be returned to Africa, rather than sold into slavery. The culmination of these efforts was his strident opposition to the Mexican War, instigated by President James Polk yet supported by many Americans.
Among those who believed that the war was unnecessary and/or unjust were former president John Quincy Adams, future presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant, former vice-president John C. Calhoun, and three-time presidential candidate Henry Clay.
During the Mexican-American War of 1848, Adams was one of the leading opponents of annexing Texas, presciently predicting that it would lead to civil war. In 1841, Adams appeared before the Supreme Court to argue on behalf of African slaves who had revolted and seized the Spanish ship Amistad .
Adams also led the small Whig opposition to the Mexican-American War. Most Whigs dared not vote against the requisition bills for the war, as doing so would deny resources to Gen. Taylor's army, which was already suffering casualties against Mexican forces.
