JamesK.Polk

James K. Polk and the Lessons of War We Never Seem to Learn

In January 1846, President James K. Polk issued a military order designed to generate a war with his country's southern neighbor, Mexico. He sent Gen. Zachary Taylor, with some 3,500 troops, to the east bank of the Rio Grande River, into territory that was in dispute between the two countries. Further, he did so without even hinting to anyone beyond his most intimate inner circle that his underlying motivation was to generate a war. When elements of Taylor's army inevitably clashed with Mexican troops, Polk promptly sent to Congress a message declaring that Mexico had "spilled American blood ...

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