President Polk and the United States and Mexican Conflict

This presentation places President Polk into the larger context of U.S.-Mexican relations, and, most specifically, his role in the U.S.-Mexican War (1846-1848), which led to the loss of half of Mexico's territory and, indirectly, to a heightening of the sectional conflict in the United States that led to the Civil War. We will especially focus on Mexico's perspective on Polk's war (and the U.S. more generally) but also incorporate Indigenous agency in what was far more complex than a bilateral conflict. This lecture is part of the America250 series of programs.

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Host or Publisher The President James K. Polk State Historic Site