US Intervention in Latin America

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             Before going to war, President Polk offered $32 million for California, New Mexico, and the territory between Texas and the Rio Grande. The Mexican public refused, leery of giving away more territory to "land-hungry Yankees". Upon hearing the Mexicans" response, Polk began working on a declaration of war and sent General Zachary Taylor to send an army to the banks of the Rio Grande (disputed territory at the time) in order to provoke Mexico into attacking. Surely enough, Mexico attacked Taylor's troops and killed 11 Americans; that was all Polk needed to declare war on Mexico. In the Senate, Polk was able to obtain permission to declare war on Mexico despite objections from the Whig Party. In a speech before Congress, Polk declared that Mexico had invaded US territory and was solely to blame for the current war, which was clearly not true. Meanwhile, US forces quickly beat disarrayed and poorly coordinated Mexican forces in battle after battle, quickly taking over the remainder of Texas, California, and New Mexico. Then, US forces stormed the huge Mexican bastion at Chapultepec and took over Mexico City, forcing the Mexican government to sue for peace. The resulting agreement, called the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, officially gave the United States control of California, New Mexico, and the rest of Texas for $18 Million, and was ratified by the US Senate in 1848.
             William Walker, the Great Filibuster.
             In 1855, William Walker and a rag-tag "army" of mercenaries and pirates landed on the shores of Nicaragua, with the intent of annexing the country for personal gain, the expansion of US interests, and the subjugation and perhaps even the enslavement of Latin Americans, whom Walker himself saw as vastly inferior to whites. Upon landing, Walker allied himself with the Leonese, a faction that was in conflict with the Granada for control of Nicaragua. Immediately asserting his authority, Walker led his mercenaries and the Leonese to victory against the Granada in the Battle of Rivas, was awarded the title of "generalissimo", and soon after declared himself president and ruler of Nicaragua.