The Mexican-American War and Spanish-American War
The History of the Major Conflicts That Resulted in America's Expansion Across North America
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Narrated by:
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Scott Clem
About this listen
The policy of manifest destiny increased tensions with Mexico in the 1840s. Mexico's northern half formed the western border of the territory bought in the Louisiana Purchase. Naturally, notions of the United States expanding to the Pacific Ocean alarmed Mexico, which held what is today the west coast of the United States.
However, Mexico first came to regard American expansion as a serious problem with the immigration of Americans into its northeastern territory. These Americans declared independence from Mexico and created a nation in the Mexican province of Texas. After winning independence in 1836, Texas became an independent republic.
Texas formally asked to be annexed by the United States in 1845. This annexation angered the Mexican government, which still considered Texas to be part of its territory. Mexico had previously warned that the annexation of Texas would cause Mexico to declare war on the United States.
When a Mexican patrol attacked American cavalry in the disputed area north of the Rio Grande, President Polk went to Congress for a declaration of war. The declaration passed on May 13, 1846. The war against Mexico was unpopular with the opposition Whig party, especially in the North. Opponents of the war denounced it as a war of aggression, and denied that there had been a valid reason for war.
Small American military units were quickly able to occupy key points in California, including San Francisco and Los Angeles. Although California was sparsely populated, some Mexican inhabitants formed an effective resistance which was eventually put down in 1847 by American reinforcements. Subsequently, a larger American army was sent to invade central Mexico, and managed to capture the Mexican capital, Mexico City, on September 13, 1847. Although a large Mexican army was still fighting American forces in northeast Mexico and Texas, news of the capital falling caused it to retreat to try to retake the capital. After the defeat of the last Mexican army, major hostilities ended.
In 1898, one of Spain's last possessions in the New World, Cuba, was waging a war for independence, and though Cuba was technically exempted from the Monroe Doctrine because it was already a Spanish territory when the Monroe Doctrine was issued, many Americans believed that the United States should side with Cuba against Spain.
Initially, Republican President William McKinley wanted to avoid any wars, and for its part, Spain also wanted to avoid any conflict with United States and its powerful navy. However, Spain also wanted to keep Cuba, which it regarded as a province of Spain rather than a colony. Cuba was very important to the Spanish economy as well, as it produced valuable commodities such as sugar and also had a booming port at Havana.
Despite President McKinley's wishes to avoid a war, he was forced to support a war with Spain after the American navy vessel USS Maine suffered an explosion in Havana harbor. McKinley had sent the ship there to help protect American citizens in Cuba from the violence that was taking place there, but the explosion devastated the ship, which sank quickly in the harbor. Two hundred sixty-six American sailors aboard the USS Maine died.
Although the Spanish fought the US Army to a stalemate in Puerto Rico, Spain was forced to make peace after the US Navy destroyed both its Pacific and Atlantic fleets. The military defeat in Cuba meant that Spain would have to give Cuba its independence, and the destruction of its navy meant that Spain would have to cede its overseas colonies to the United States. The United States subsequently gained possession of the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam, marking the true beginning of American imperialism.
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Story
This compellingly written history presents a fresh, new view of the events that led from the first foreign salute to American nationhood in 1776 to the last campaign of the Revolution five years later. It paints a magnificent portrait of General George Washington and recounts in riveting detail the events responsible for the birth of our nation.
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A brilliant classic
- By Matthew on 03-27-09
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Embattled Rebel
- Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Civil War
- By: James M. McPherson
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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History has not been kind to Jefferson Davis. Many Americans of his own time and in later generations considered him an incompetent leader, not to mention a traitor. Not so, argues James M. McPherson. In Embattled Rebel, McPherson shows us that Davis might have been on the wrong side of history, but that it is too easy to diminish him because of his cause’s failure. Gravely ill throughout much of the Civil War, Davis nevertheless shaped and articulated the principal policy of the Confederacy—the quest for independent nationhood—with clarity and force.
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Interesting
- By Jean on 10-18-14
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The Ascent of George Washington
- The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon
- By: John Ferling
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Even compared to his fellow founders, George Washington stands tall. Our first president has long been considered a stoic hero, holding himself above the rough-and-tumble politics of his day. Now John Ferling peers behind that image, carefully burnished by Washington himself, to show us a leader who was not only not above politics but a canny infighter---a master of persuasion, manipulation, and deniability.
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A very Honest look at George Washington
- By DM on 03-24-22
By: John Ferling
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Lincoln and His Admirals
- By: Craig L. Symonds
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Abraham Lincoln began his presidency admitting that he knew "but little of ships," but he quickly came to preside over the largest national armada to that time, not eclipsed until World War I. Naval historian Craig L. Symonds' Lincoln and His Admirals unveils an aspect of Lincoln's presidency unexamined by historians until now, revealing how he managed the men who ran the naval side of the Civil War, and how the activities of the Union Navy ultimately affected the course of history.
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Another masterpiece from the Master
- By Boone on 09-19-18
By: Craig L. Symonds
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The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution and the Fate of the Empire
- The Lewis Walpole Series in Eighteenth-Century Culture and History
- By: Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 21 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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The loss of America was a stunning and unexpected defeat for the powerful British Empire. Common wisdom has held that incompetent military commanders and political leaders in Britain must have been to blame, but were they? This intriguing audiobook makes a different argument. Weaving together the personal stories of ten prominent men historian Andrew O'Shaughnessy dispels the incompetence myth and uncovers the real reasons that rebellious colonials were able to achieve victory.
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It didn't lose me
- By Matt on 04-28-15
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1777
- The Year of the Hangman
- By: John S. Pancake
- Narrated by: Robert Thaler
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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A revisionist view of the Revolution's most crucial year...it explodes many of the myths surrounding Burgoyne's Canadian expedition and Howe's Pennsylvania campaign. There is a wealth of fascinating detail in this book, including information on arms and supplies, rations for women camp followers, and even the numbers of carts (30-odd) carrying Burgoyne's luggage.
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Very Good
- By William on 08-22-16
By: John S. Pancake
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The War of 1812, Conflict and Deception
- The British Attempt to Seize New Orleans and Nullify the Louisiana Purchase
- By: Ronald J. Drez
- Narrated by: Todd Curless
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Perhaps no conflict in American history is more important yet more overlooked and misunderstood than the War of 1812. At the climax of the war, inspired by the defeat of Napoleon in early 1814 and the perceived illegality of the Louisiana Purchase, the British devised a plan to launch a three-pronged attack against the Northern, Eastern, and Southern US borders.
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Predetermined Outcome
- By Kindle Customer on 03-09-23
By: Ronald J. Drez
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The Man Who Saved the Union
- Ulysses Grant in War and Peace
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 27 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Ulysses Grant rose from obscurity to discover he had a genius for battle, and he propelled the Union to victory in the Civil War. After Abraham Lincoln's assassination and the disastrous brief presidency of Andrew Johnson, America turned to Grant again to unite the country, this time as president. In Brands' sweeping, majestic full biography, Grant emerges as a heroic figure who was fearlessly on the side of right.
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Underrated hero
- By Tad Davis on 12-22-12
By: H. W. Brands
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Washington's Revolution
- The Making of America's First Leader
- By: Robert Middlekauff
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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George Washington was famously unknowable, but Robert Middlekauff penetrates the mystique to reveal the fears, values, and passions that drove him. Rich in psychological details regarding Washington's temperament, idiosyncrasies, and experiences, this audiobook shows us a self-conscious Washington who grew in confidence and experience as a young soldier, businessman, and Virginian gentleman; and was transformed into an American patriot by the revolutionary ferment of the 1760s and 70s.
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Fresh Look at Leader of American Revolution
- By Sean Lannan on 09-02-15
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The Education of Henry Adams
- By: Henry Adams
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 19 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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As a journalist, historian, and novelist born into a family that included two past presidents of the United States, Henry Adams was constantly focused on the American experiment. An immediate bestseller awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1919, The Education of Henry Adams recounts his own and the country's education from 1838, the year of his birth, to 1905, incorporating the Civil War, capitalist expansion, and the growth of the United States as a world power.
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A Book EVERYONE should read once.
- By Darwin8u on 04-17-12
By: Henry Adams
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The Burning of the White House
- James and Dolley Madison and the War of 1812
- By: Jane Hampton Cook
- Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Told from multiple points of view - including those of James and Dolley Madison and a British admiral - this is the true story of the burning of the White House in 1814. It's unimaginable today, even for a generation that saw the Twin Towers fall and the Pentagon attacked. It's unimaginable because in 1814, enemies didn't fly overhead; they marched through the streets, and for 26 hours in August, the British enemy marched through Washington, DC, and set fire to government buildings, including the US Capitol and the White House.
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Written Like a Children's Book. Boring.
- By Mike on 01-20-17
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Tried by War
- Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief
- By: James M. McPherson
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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As we approach the bicentennial of Lincoln'sbirth in 2009, this work provides a genuinely novel, even timely, view of the most written about figure in our history. Tried by War offers a revelatory portrait of leadership during the greatest crisis our nation has ever endured. How Lincoln overcame feckless generals, fickle public opinion, and his own paralyzing fears is a story at once suspenseful and inspiring.
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Fantastic Read
- By Chris Morin on 03-21-17
What listeners say about The Mexican-American War and Spanish-American War
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- S. H. Moore
- 07-18-18
Reader sounds to fast and slowing the player just makes it sound weird
Reader sounds to fast and slowing the player just makes it sound weird. Interesting period in our history, but the information is hard to make out because of the reader. If the player had a speed adjuster that could be fine tuned it might be okay. But for now, definitely try the sample first, wish I had.
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