To the Halls of the Montezumas: The Mexican War in the American Imagination

After reading this excellent book, I couldn't help but conclude that the single most defining emotion that swept the US during the war with Mexico (1846-48) was absolute euphoria: every segment of society, just about, was excited about the war and what it meant militarily, economically, and morally for the country. From the enthusiasm of the soldiers who volunteered to fight, to that of the reporters and travelers who gave rousing and heroic accounts of the battles and generals who led them, to the novelists and poets and historians who all put their (generally) elated spin on things - all are called forth by Robert Johannsen and given their due in these pages. The country whipped itself into a frenzy of hero worship and moral righteousness as it demonstrated to a surprised world that a republic could fight a foreign war successfully, even against great odds, and could be a moral model to a civilization it believed to be corrupt and degraded. Finally in the last chapter Johannsen allows the critics, those who thought the war was a land grab for expanded slavery, a destroyer of the republican values upon which the country was anchored, and a harbinger of bigger and more destructive wars to come, their say. But the critics were in the minority and were easily out argued. Johannsen's analysis, especially regarding the literature generated by the war, is deep and interesting. The book, though it doesn't describe battles and steers clear of politics, is an excellent account of how the war was viewed and interpreted by the American public at large while it was going on. The euphoria didn't last long, however, as the Civil War loomed just over the horizon.

For the American Civil War buff, this book can be read as a prelude to that war. It describes the jingoism in the new American republic, and the prediliction of many to readily go to war. Johannsen's retelling of the ambient mood within the United States brings the Mexican War vividly to life. We also see mention of several officers who would later rise to prominence on both sides during the Civil War. Perhaps the relatively easy victory against Mexico helped inspire the South to later secede. Not as a major factor, of course. But when the book shows the glorification and the stunning successes, in terms of land acquired, surely some of this must have persisted till 1860. Helping give rise to expectations of another easy war. It really was a different America back then. With the presence of slavery being the most egregrious feature. But also the sheer adoration of war, and how this was seen as necessary for the US to fulfill its destiny. No mainstream American politician or public figure openly talks like this nowadays.

"Two thumbs up" is the simplest review for this historical analysis of the Mexican War of 1846-48. I read Johannsen's book for a class on U.S. Diplomatic History between 1776 and 1913 and loved it!! Johannsen discusses the image of the Mexican War in Americans' minds, not so much the military history of the battles. We get a better perception of America as a whole in 1846. Americans were living in an age of social and economic changes and believed that commercial pursuits were destroying the republican foundations of the new nation. To many Americans, the war with Mexico rejuvenated republican spirits and showed the superiority of the Anglo-Saxon United States against a "backward," supposedly racially inferior Mexican enemy. This book goes beyond the accounts of critics of the war, who argued that President James K. Polk and others were trying to extend slavery across the continent. We get a better sense of American reaction to the Mexican War and the changes the United States underwent during this era of "Manifest Destiny."