The United States of America was born on July 4, 1776, and for more than 200 years, it has gone from being a colony of the British Empire to becoming a global leader. In the process, many factors worked together to create the United States it is today.
The geographical location of the United States is undoubtedly superior, and the vast plains in the middle are suitable for the development of agriculture and animal husbandry; The Mississippi River runs from north to south, bringing abundant water resources to its banks.
The eastern part is a region with a long history and extremely developed shipping; The sunshine at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in the west provides the United States with plenty of livable land.
Why didn't the United States conquer Canada to the north and annex Mexico to the south to unify the North American continent? To answer this question, the ...... needs to be explained in detailIn the early years of American independence, the idea of territorial expansion was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
The United States at that time was made up of thirteen colonies of the British Empire on the Atlantic coast.
When the United States was first established, a federal system was established, and the states enjoyed a large degree of autonomy. As a result, the United States is not a traditional authoritarian state, and much of its foreign policy is subject to the representation of the states in the federal federation – the congressmen.
Only when the essential interests are aligned will the state legislators agree to the expansion policy of the federal **. In fact, the United States has never been a peace-loving country. In the second half of the 18th century, there was a strong expansionist trend in the United States.
Many prominent American historical figures were proponents of this school of thought, which they named "the theory of destiny." The ultimate goal of this theory is to create a unified republic in North America.
In order to achieve this goal, the United States** must implement a policy of territorial expansion to the north, south, and west. In the "Destiny Theory", this expansion is seen as legitimate, derived from God's will.
In the broader "Destiny Theory," the ultimate goal of U.S. territorial expansion is not limited to North America, but South America, pursuing a comprehensive map "from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the Arctic to the South Pole."
The famous inventor Benjamin Franklin was not only a scientist, but also a brilliant statesman and diplomat, who was a staunch advocate of the creation of an American empire that encompassed the entire islands of North America and the Caribbean.
At the same time, John Adams, the second president of the United States, proposed in the late 18th century to expand the territory of the United States to a quarter of the northern region of the world, that is, the entire North American region.
These facts clearly show that in the early years of the United States, there was a general consensus among the senior ruling class about the expansion of the territory of the United States of America.
In 1783, the United States ended the Revolutionary War and signed a peace treaty with Great Britain in Paris. In the peace treaty, Britain recognized the independence of the United States and ceded a large tract of land east of the Mississippi River to the United States.
Compared to the thirteen eastern states at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, the territory of the United States has tripled. At that time, the United States was expanding in three directions: to the north was the British North American colony (hereinafter referred to as British Canada); to the west is Louisiana, France; To the south are Spanish Florida and Mexico, which had just gained independence from Spanish rule.
Twenty years later, the United States began the process of territorial expansion, but this time not by means of war, but by the mood of French Napoleon Bonaparte, eager to raise funds for the war, and bought the Louisiana region from France for fifteen million dollars.
The area is more than 2.1 million square kilometers, almost the same size as the original U.S. territory. With this expansion, the United States expanded its territory to 4.3 million square kilometers.
Next, the United States will face challenges that cannot be solved with money alone. They had small victories in the south, but suffered massive defeats in the north.
The rulers of the United States set their sights on territorial expansion first to Florida on the southeast coast. The Florida region consists of the Florida Peninsula and coastal lands deep into the Atlantic Ocean, located in the southern part of the thirteen states of the United States.
It was originally a colony of Spain, an old imperialist power. In 1763, Spain ceded Florida to the British Empire in exchange for Havana in Cuba.
Later in the American Revolution, the tide was set, and Britain realized that its thirteen colonies in North America had been completely lost.
Florida was geographically separated from British Canada, and British rule was severely challenged. In desperation, the British Empire decided to return Florida to Spain, hoping to consolidate its rule in the south.
However, the newly rising United States did not take these old imperialist powers seriously, and they regarded Florida as a hot potato, and began a war of annexation of Florida in 1810.
After about a decade of fighting, the United States managed to seize Florida from Spain. At the same time, the United States did not forget about British Canada to the north.
At that time, the United States had just been founded and was in its heyday, and they wanted to go north and occupy all of LinkedIn's colonies in North America.
In Europe, Napoleon's war with the British Empire was in full swing, and his control over the North American colonies weakened. At this time, the United States seized the opportunity to declare war on Britain in 1812, and the Second American-British War broke out.
The U.S. has a clear goal of taking LinkedIn into Canada. However, Britain had less than 5,000 troops in Canada, while the United States gathered 65,000 troops.
However, this plan did not receive support from all states. They believe that Canada has a high latitude, a harsh climate, and a sparsely populated population, and has little economic value. This sentiment is especially evident in the southern United States.
Although the United States sent a large number of troops, after the division of troops, the forces appeared to be insufficient, and the expected results were not achieved in all directions.
The British Canadian Coalition was made up of the British Army, the Canadian Militia, and the Indian anti-American forces. After successfully withstanding the initial onslaught of the United States, the coalition forces gradually turned the tide of the war and penetrated deep into the United States.
At the same time, Britain blockaded the east coast of the United States with the help of its strong naval strength, cutting off its best passage with Europe, and the balance of victory gradually tilted in favor of Britain. In August 1813, the British advanced to the Chesapeake Bay and turned their swords on Washington.
In order to avoid its edge, the then **Madison** members of the United States withdrew to the mountains of Virginia, and the British army took advantage of the situation to capture Washington and burned the White House and the Capitol.
This incident has always been a pain in the hearts of Americans and has been ignored for a long time. Since then, however, the United States has turned to the pursuit of vast territories in the west, abandoning its territorial claims to Canada.
This also reveals the essence of the Americans in bullying the weak and fearing the hard. Buoyed by the victories of the British North American colonies, in 1867 they united to form the Canadian Confederation.
In the two centuries that followed, there were no more wars between the United States and Britain and Canada. However, the United States has never given up on the idea of occupying Canada. In the twenties of the twentieth century, they secretly developed a plan for the Red War, with Canada as the main target of attack.
It was not until the end of World War II, when the United States established its hegemony in the Americas and Western Europe, that this war plan was officially terminated.
The United States' war with British Canada greatly affected its national power, which led to a relatively slow pace of territorial expansion over the next three decades. However, after 30 years of silent accumulation, the United States once again embarked on a plan of military expansion, targeting Mexico in the west.
At this time, Mexico had just gained independence from Spain for two decades and had a vast territory that included present-day Mexico proper, California, New Mexico, and Texas in the United States, as well as Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica in Central America.
Mexico has become independent, but factional strife and frequent coups have prevented it from being a newly independent state. In the past 30 years, Mexico has experienced 250 military coups and 31 ** changes, and the situation is chaotic.
During the same period, under the impetus of the industrial revolution, the United States developed rapidly in industry, agriculture, water conservancy, transportation, etc., and its national strength became stronger and stronger. Taking advantage of the chaos in Mexico, the United States launched a war of aggression against Mexico in 1846, and after a month of fighting, the United States succeeded in seizing New Mexico and California, followed by an invasion of Mexico City in 1847.
In the history of the United States, there was once a war over territory. In this war, the United States tried for the first time the tactic of creating a puppet regime. They used military force to force Mexico to replace ** and elected a temporary representative to negotiate with the United States.
As a result of the negotiations, Mexico was forced to cede Texas, New Mexico, California, and other places, which greatly increased the territory of the United States to more than 2.3 million square kilometers.
Through this war, the United States established its dominant position on the North American continent, and its territorial scope expanded from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. In addition, the United States resolved its dispute with Britain over the Oregon region, adding the territory to its territory.
At this point, the boundaries of modern America were basically formed. It stands to reason that after the United States succeeds in occupying new territory, it will expand further southward, and may even start a war to annex Mexican territory.
After the United States emerged from the shadow of the Civil War, the global situation changed. The great powers have formed a strategic balance, and the conditions for the United States to expand its territory are no longer in place. At this time, the United States bought Alaska, annexed the Hawaiian Islands, and fought a war with Spain, gaining control of Cuba and the Philippines.
Although the United States has become the world's largest power in terms of theoretical strength, Wilson's pacifist philosophy and moral constraints make it difficult for the United States to continue to expand its territory by force.
The establishment of the Versailles system and the Yalta system effectively limited the outbreak of large-scale territorial annexation wars, so the United States adjusted its strategy and gradually emerged on the global stage through the export of science and technology, finance, culture and other fields.
Therefore, the failure of the United States to unify North America is determined by a variety of political and military factors. Although the United States has always had the desire to unify North America, it is not impossible to do so, but due to the constraints of historical and current conditions, it cannot be realized.
In the hundred years after its founding, the United States was not a military power, and faced with the military pressure of the British Empire and the defeat of the Second American-British War, it could only expand its territory to the west and south.
As the country grew stronger, a large-scale civil war broke out, leading to domestic instability and slowing down the pace of the southward advance.
After the torment of the Civil War, the United States became the global hegemon, and the international situation at this time no longer allowed for colonial wars as in the past, and Americans began to advocate national self-determination and self-government.
Since then, the United States has rarely used force for territorial expansion, except in some military locations. It can be said that history has shaped the current landscape. From the perspective of the political system, although the United States has not unified North America, it still dominates North America and Central and North America through strong soft power, and enjoys substantial ruling power.