WAR WITH MEXICO (Part the First)

James K. Polk (1795-1849)

In which we relate how tensions rose along the United States’ southern border, and then how hostilities commenced in April 1846.  This is the first of two (or three) episodes we will use to cover America’s war with Mexico.



Our book recommendation for this show is , So Far from God: The U.S. War with Mexico, 1846-1848 by John S.D. Eisenhower.  “This is the story of one of the strangest, hardest fought, least known, and most important wars in American history.  It is also the story of the spirit of an age: Manifest Destiny and the expansion of a young, robust, and restless nation. The tale begins with the Alamo, or, rather, with the United States remembering the Alamo by annexing the Lone Star republic of Texas and then invading Mexico.  When it ends, more than half of Mexico- including the present-day states of California, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and parts of Wyoming and Colorado- will belong to the United States.”

Listen to Episode 5: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML5524623995.mp3?updated=1694269369