“Mexico has passed the boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon the American soil... As war exists, and, notwithstanding all our efforts to avoid it, exists by the act of Mexico herself, we are called upon by every consideration of duty and patriotism to vindicate with decision the honor, the rights, and the interests of our country.”
— President James K. Polk, message to Congress, 1846
The acquisition of territory resulting from the war described in the excerpt most directly intensified sectional division over which of the following issues?
- The expansion of slavery into newly acquired western territoriesAnswer
- BThe adjustment of federal tariff rates on foreign industrial imports
- CThe enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine against European colonial expansion
- DThe federal government's authority to unilaterally ban the domestic slave trade in existing Southern states
Answer
The expansion of slavery into newly acquired western territories
The correct option is correct because the treaty ending the Mexican-American War granted the United States a massive tract of land in the Southwest. This acquisition immediately reignited the debate over the expansion of slavery, leading to major political battles such as the Wilmot Proviso and the Compromise of 1850.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Mexican Cession and Sectional Conflict
Estimated Time:45s