|
Manifest Destiny by Steve Payne
 Author
says: what if the United States had annexed Mexico after the Battle of
Monterey? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not
necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).
In 1847, on October 4th on
this day General Stephen Watts Kearny was dispatched to the former western
Mexico peninsula where he was ordered by US President George M. Dallas to
prepare the combined territories of Baja and Alta California for statehood
by creating a new seat of government in the city of La Paz.
The United States was by now one of the largest nations of the globe. And
yet the fulfilment of America's "Manifest Destiny" was due in part to the
timing of the premature demise of President James K. Polk. He had stood
against the "All Mexico" proponents within his Cabinet, but by the time
General Zachary Taylor's US troops forced their way into the Main Plaza of
Monterrey, Mexico Polk's health had deteriorated to the extent that he worse
forced to relinquish power to Dallas.
Veteran officers of the war such as Brig. Gen Franklin Pierce and L. Ulysses
S. Grant founded the Aztec Club to celebrate the bravery of those troops who
fought in Mexico. US Generals had never lost a battle and having landed at
Velacruz marched with ease to Mexico City where the American Flag was raised
atop Hispanic fortresses and palaces. And yet the military victory was to
prove illusory.
A highly unstable situation awaited Kearny and even though the US government
occupied the former Mexican heartland, control was limited to actively
occupied urban areas. The indigenous population were hostile to the
Protestant Anglo invaders. It would soon become clear that the
Mexican-American war had effectively passed into a
guerrilla
phase, and Kearny would soon be writing to Dallas to advise the
President that Baja California was essentially lawless.
Author
says content was repurposes from the original source articicles on
Wikipedia
and also
US Election Atlas. To view guest historian's comments on this post
please visit the
Today in Alternate History web site.
Other Contemporary Stories
Steve Payne
Editor of Today in
Alternate History, a Daily Updating Blog of Important Events In History
That Never Occurred Today. Follow us on
Facebook, Myspace and
Twitter.
Imagine what would be, if history had occurred a bit
differently. Who says it didn't, somewhere? These fictional news items
explore that possibility. Possibilities such as America becoming a Marxist
superpower, aliens influencing human history in the 18th century and Teddy
Roosevelt winning his 3rd term as president abound in this interesting
fictional blog.
Sitemetre
 |
.jpg)
