Introduction
Wide as the American culture may be deemed to be and the depth to which its norms and virtues root, it is still open to changes that come across from time to time which in the long-run affect the overall perceptions of things and their outlook of various issues and the circumstances they undergo.
The stages of growth which the American culture has undergone over time cannot be summarized in only one piece of work due to the many factors in it that is worth noting, as such there is a tendency by authors and researchers alike to focus on one aspect of this concept in order that they maximally exploit their discoveries.
In his Book ‘To the hills of the montezumas; the Mexican war in the American imagination”, author Robert W. Johanssen exploits the perceptions of the general American to the Mexican- American conflict. It digs into the pre and the post war era’s, exposing the deep sited feelings among the Americans and the effects of the war towards both their social, cultural and economic structures.
Through the book, he re-activates people’s notions, moods, their feelings about that given period in time and history. He also makes a rejoinder of the generations that came long after the war to it, giving credence to the fact that to many Americans it gave them a sense of pride in nationhood, defined their strategic size and power and the fact that it’s from the war that America’s star started shining brightly among other nations. It became recognized as a world power to reckon with, as one that could sacrifice anything for the sake of its boundaries.
The American strategic culture
Strategic culture, much as it may have different definitions and people’s understanding of the term may differ, we shall mainly adopt its meaning from the context that this paper tries to explore; a history of conflict and war their effects to the local culture and the long- term repercussions.
As such, strategic culture can be defined as “a set of shared beliefs, assumptions, and modes of behavior, derived from common experiences and accepted narratives (both oral and written), that shape collective identity and relationships to other groups, and which determine appropriate ends and means for achieving security objectives” (Streeby, 2002).
From the days of yore, war in all its forms, be it cold or confrontational has made tremendous changes in the evolution of culture. He urges the folk to come to terms with the spirit with which their belief systems and their foundations and borders lie, calling it ‘the spirit of age’ (Johannsen, 1985).
He further continues in his rhetoric that “it is deceptively simple to project our own standards of behavior, our own hierarchy of values to a by- gone era, but it does not in the long run, aide us greatly in understanding the past”. He further alludes that “What is needed is further understanding of the past on its own terms, not on ours” (Johannsen, 1985).
This was in respect to the changing circumstances that nations or societies find themselves entangled in, it defeats sense to judge these issues from our present mindsets and views of things, rather he articulates that we delve deeper into history and place ourselves in the shoes of these people at the time, understand their norms and taboos before picking a standpoint.
This he explains to be the best way to take a stance on the myriad issues that define our history, as they in big way afftected societal characters over time. In this context, he was implying that it was an embarrassment for a country of the United States stature’ to attack a small nation, further more a third world country.
Background of the war
The war broke out in 1846 and went through to 1848; it involved armed warfare between the two nations of the United States and Mexico. This feud arose from Mexico’s opposition to the occupation of Texas by the United States, Mexico still considered Texas to be its territory despite Texas’ earlier protest in 1836 which was renamed the Texas revolution.
In spite of the protest by Mexico, the United States went ahead with its intentions to annex the territory. Their army entered by force into Texas, conquering vast regions of Mexico inclusive of which is the New Mexico, California and a few patches of the Northern side of Mexico.
They not only occupied these regions, they went deeper to the south, where another group of the American army took over the control of Mexico. This, they used as a bait to coerce Mexico to sale of its Northern region to the United States.
The expansion programme was an idea of the then president, Mr. James K. Polk who was the leader of the Democratic Party. He initiated this move despite there being massive resistance to the takeover by a huge chunk of his population and a threat of war by Mexico.
In the United States particularly, controversy was rife with big names that were opposed to slavery and the Whig party totally standing up against this move. The aftermath was highlighted by many casualties on the American side of the war; the cost of the war was also too big for an economy that was still growing then. Due to its financial strength and military might, the United States won the war, forcing Mexico to give up its areas including Alta California and New Mexico.
To this, the United States compensated Mexico with eighteen million dollars as the price for these states, also gave up its debts owed by Mexico. Mexico gave up Texas, marking Rio Grande as its national boundary with the United States. Shortly after, the American government discovered gold in Texas, which immediately attracted investment towards the state.
Politically, the aftermath of the war witnessed the questioning of the government in relation to its stand on slavery which fired up debates regarding the civil war. A compromise was reached at in 1850, which served to briefly quell the tension that was slowly building up once more, both within the United States and among the Mexicans.
Insights into the American culture
This war had myriad effects to the people that witnessed the takeover. The most popular was the change in attitude by the people of the two countries towards each other. He Mexicans of that generation and generations that came later grew up with negative attitudes towards the United States; they usually see it as an enemy and treat the American people rather coldly.
They associate their relationship to one of war, hate and envy. On its part, the United States being the superior power and one far much greater has other responsibilities to boot. Rather than fuel the hate or focus on the country that is Mexico from a negated perception, it has embraced the much greater role that is being the super power.
As such its responsibilities span worldwide, and such its attitudes and perceptions towards Mexicans aren’t as bold as the Mexican hatred towards it. Altogether, the war was about race, the equality and the degree to which each of the parties could stretch to prove their points.
The American folk believes he is superior, both technically and intelligence wise. In retaliation, the general Mexican doesn’t believe this, resulting to the cold war and confrontation that always arises when the parties come to contact.
Conclusion
The Mexican war, as is popularly referred resulted to a period in history that defines the culture of the two states. One action by the Americans caused ripples in their relationship with each other, and generations Mexicans have never healed from the scars. This defines their cultures in that their attitude towards Americans is rather negative and one where emotions usually spill over whenever they disagree.
The full society among the Mexicans have embraced this notion and exude similar attitude towards the Americans, this defines their culture on this aspect. Americans on the other hand have a passive attitude; they do not usually react when they are provoked as relates to their race or culture unless they are extremely pushed to the wall.
They are preserved and maintain a cool demeanor. This is however being watered down with time given the fact they interact with each other at different levels, for example the Mexicans are employed in American firms, they get to interact more lessening the degree to which the animosity spreads.
References
Johannsen R. (1985). To the halls ofmontezumas: Themexican war in the American imagination. New York: Oxford university press.Print
Streeby, S. (2002). American sensations: Class, empire and the production of popular culture. Berkely: University of California press. Print