A Glorious Defeat: Mexico and Its War with the United States

Henderson, on the faculty of Auburn University, offers a survey of the Mexican War from a Mexican perspective. Instead of the common depiction of Mexico as the victim of the U.S. and its racist Manifest Destiny, Henderson emphasizes Mexican agency in going to war, which reflected a profound sense of weakness. Mexico's revolutionary experience had produced a virulent factionalism based on divisions of race, class, region and ideology. The Texas revolt of 1836 only made it more clear that Mexico was too weak to populate, control and defend its northern territories, but that opinion was derided within Mexico. Instead, politicians of every stripe denounced the policies of their rivals. The only common denominator was that Texas must be reconquered, even if that meant war with overwhelmingly superior U.S. military and economic power. But the Mexican people remained largely indifferent—otherwise Winfield Scott's landing at Vera Cruz and his decisive march on Mexico City would have been impossible. Mexico, unable to pursue a pragmatic strategy of negotiation and compromise, suffered—and celebrated—a "glorious defeat" that further unraveled a disunited nation. 8 pages b&w photos not seen by PW . (May)