President James K. Polk
Polk addresses the state of the Mexican government and the reason for mounting tensions between the two countries. He had previously sent a certain John Slidell into Mexico as an envoy, where he was to be received by the Mexican government. At the time of this agreement, the government was under the control of General Herrera. A military revolution and coup forced him to relinquish the presidency to the revolutionary party under General Paredes. Slidell attempted to negotiate with the new government, who closed themselves off from all communication. An American force was instructed to move close to the border to prepare for a potential invasion. The Mexican government took this as an act of aggression and attacked, killing several American soldiers and forcing the rest to surrender. Polk claimed retaliation was just and necessary, since Mexico had declared war on the United States and made the first attack.
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