Comments about ‘President Buchanan contemplated using Brigham Young to acquire northern Mexico, Cuba’

How interesting. Thank you for that clarification and information.

The US government has always exhibited an affinity toward Manifest Destiny. This is nothing more that a flowery term for a white supremist imperialistic attitude that has a murderous history of the trampling of rights of Africans, Mormons, aboriginals ("Indians"), Mexicans, and in today's world, the modern day dividing and conquering of the Middle East for the sake of oil.

National pride can never hide the shame that we should recognize for the horrific human rights violations committed by evil men in high places. On this Memorial day, we honor our fallen soldiers for bravely following orders and giving their lives in defense of America the good, but we chastise those decision makers in Washington that sacrificed America's best blood for selfish gain.

@Eddy: You mean like Dutch and all their colonies, England, France, Germany, Russia, Romans, Spain (see Mexico and Cuba), Portugal, etc.? How much oil did we get out of "conquering" the Middle East. Name one country that is our colony. Name one country that we have conquered and acquired. As a new nation we were just trying to establish boarders in North America in an otherwise boarderless land.

I will not address that "white man takeover of North America" for which even the Indian tribes were at constant war over territory.
Methinks you have an itch that just needed to be scratched.

All around interesting article. Enjoy learning history and quit making a political statement out of everything

@EvenLogic

Open wounds can be very sensitive to the touch.

Understand, my friend that we do not have to own or colonize in order to control. These issues are certainly difficult to address and sweeping them under the rug is an easy fix for some.

Political statement? Please. I study history not just for entertainment or for the mastery of trivia, but to learn from past mistakes and to instruct myself and others on how to not repeat them.

If my opinion got under your skin; great!

I really have a hard time with people who use these posts as a forum to spew their own emotional problems all over the internet.

I found the article fascinating and informative. Buchanan's plans didn't come to fruition.

@Eddy
Okay, I understand where you are coming from. "my friend", "open wounds" "please", etc. Actually nothing got under my skin until your reply. How patronizing and condescending. Sorry, I just didn't understand your stretch from the article to your first comment. Now I do.

That our country tries to "control" events in other countries is definetly something that has happened for the passed 150 years and will continue to, much to the my chagrine, no matter who is in office. If that is your point then I agree with you to a point. If we don't then others do to their benefit. The problem has been that more than half the time we support someone or some policy that ends up being entirely wrong down the road. Hindsight is 20/20.

Right now, most of the civilized world is trying to dictate our policies. What to do? I have no idea. Not that any of this has to do with this article.

Interesting and informative article.

@EvenLogic

Open wounds can be very sensitive to the touch.

Understand, my friend that we do not have to own or colonize in order to control. These issues are certainly difficult to address and sweeping them under the rug is an easy fix for some.

Political statement? Please. I study history not just for entertainment or for the mastery of trivia, but to learn from past mistakes and to instruct myself and others on how to not repeat them.

If my opinion got under your skin; great!

@ 10:19 a.m.

"Name one country that we have conquered and acquired."

The overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy would come at least close to "one country that we have conquered and acquired".

The Philippines from about 1900 to 1946 would be an example of conquering and acquiring a country. The USA did lose control to Japan from 1942 to 1944.

The United States has conquered and acquired, but we are second class compared to the Arabs, Spanish, Russians and English.

I laugh at many who post on these forums convinced that either Obama or Carter are the "worst presidents" ever. Or even those that lament W. for that position. Buchanan beats all these guys hands down. This article just to goes to show this and the Utah War. When the Civil War started, our federal army had 8,000 soldiers stationed what was then really the middle of nowhere. Buchanan has to take the blame for that. Then of course he sat on his hands and did nothing when the southern states started to secede. If you thought W handed off Obama a bad situation or Carter handed Reagan a bad hand, consider what Lincoln had to deal with his first day of office. Instead of focusing a lot of attention and yes troops on the "Mormon" problem, Buchanan needed to keep a better eye on the ball with the turmoil happening in his country in the late 1850's and into 1860-61.

@W Gronberg

I said to name "one". You named two. Bzzzd, you lose. But point taken.

Still a nice article. It would be interesting if we were to ever find out how Buchanan was going to finangle the Cuba deal. What goes on in peoples minds sometimes is a wonder to behold.

Eddy is right. Most Americans refuse to learn that we gained the southwest in a "purchase" while we literally had Mexico city surrounded with cannons and guns to the heads of thier officials. Mexico had turned down the sale of the southwest a few times before. Incidentally the glod rush came 2 months later - nice deal huh? I'll be over to "buy" your car a little later.

In Mexico they rememebr "los seis ninos" that the Marines butcherd in an attack on a military school.

Claiming that the US has never taken land by war and conuquest is just nationalist folly. The world powers only stopped colonizing becuase they found puppet governments, IMF and World Bank debt to be much more efficient in stripping the wealth away from other countries.

Try reading "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" or dozens of other books on the subject.

this kind of information is important for students to be taught. Revisionists are painting the US history as one of benign assistance to all comers, you know the "send us your poor, etc." type of history. This is not the true story of the US and such unreality harms students and all Americans because it doesn't allow them to move past the "we are exceptional" myth and grow in humility and empathy towards others. As long as the US does no wrong, the problem of hubris will remain and the potential for a great fall also. Tell the truth about what ocurred so many years ago, how American leaders wanted to rule the whole continent and were willing to sacrifice ordinary people to make it happen. Luckily it never ocurred for which the rest of North America is forever grateful to God for His wisdom and protection.

This is a lot of conjecture, was any support for this idea presented? There are many theories but little support.

A) The United States IS exceptional. Are we without spot? No. But there isn't a nation in the world that is/was.

B) The 'sale' of the Southwest was a spoil of war. Get over it. It happened over 100 years ago.

C) To the people who are concerned about old wounds still be open and sensitive: Why do you insist on continuing to keep them open? Hawaii is never going back to a monarchy. The Southwest is never going back to Mexico. What's done is done. Move on. Clearly, Mexico hasn't done well with the land that it DID keep.

This is all in long version history books - not school textbooks. They like the short version that says we bought the southwest.

B, it's very important to know the REAL history of our nation so you can realize that we are still manipulating other countries such as Iraq, Afgansistan and Latin America.

Our goovernment has a hideous record of supporting coups that usurp democratically elected leaders in favor of dictators.

It's hardly all ancient history. It's our past present and future unless sheeple look up from grazing and take a stand. The willinly ignorant are just as guilty as the people leading.

A couple of minor points: It is not "William" St. George Cooke but "Philip". It is still possible that Lt. Col. Cooke also doffed his hat; there were nearly 2500 troops in the several-miles long column of troops, horses and cannon that marched through SLC June 26, 1858 and according to Capt. Jesse Gove, Cooke's 2nd Dragoons (7 of the 8 companies) were at the rear of the column, with just one company up front with Johnston (as his bodyguard?). Where was Cooke in the parade? History is seldom (almost never) perfect.

@ B in Logan

If America were to ever fall into the hands of despots, I am sure you will have the same attitude. It's just a spoil of war and we all need to just get over it. What is done is done. We'll never get out country back. In fact, we didn't do very well with the land that we did have in the first place. We don't deserve to keep it.

Sorry B. America is great and I will do what I can to make sure that America remains a shining light on the hill, without spot and never becoming a despot basking in the spoils of war.

It would be better to spend our money on developing our own vast resources rather than on foreign wars. I've long felt that all of North Americas should be united under the US Constitution. We would share in Canada's vast resources, Mexico's land and resources, a lot of cheap labor, and wouldn't have to man the long borders. Fortunately, most Canadians and Mexicans don't feel that way, so we'll just have to stand pat on the status quo.

@Screwdriver

There is understanding your history and then there is fostering a victim class. People make a really good living opening and re-opening old wounds in the name of 'understanding our history.'

If something bad happens, you don't forget it because you ARE liable to repeat it. But you don't let it define who you are. Every group at one point or another has been persecuted or wronged.

Niether La Raza nor Mexico has any more claim on the American Southwest than Britain does on the 13 original colonies. The United States, by and large, has done well by the world. It does no good to stir people up and divide classes. We are not the Balkans.

You guys forgot to add Puerto Rico in with the US "Colonies"... those guys have a sweet deal.

Since they aren't officially a state they don't pay Federal income tax... but they don't get to vote in Federal elections either. But their people do enjoy all the protections rights and privileges of US citizens.

I'd gladly give up my right to vote in exchange for not having to pay federal taxes.