ABSTRACT
The Spanish-American War had as part of its motivation and as a large part of its outcome the creation of an American Empire. The period between the end of the American Revolution and the outbreak of war in 1812 was marked by an almost immediate dismantling of the Continental Army. In many ways, the largely unnecessary War of 1812 was the final episode of America's fight for independence and recognition within the family of nations. The War of 1812 was, until the Vietnam experience, America's least popular war, and the major political consideration during its conduct was how to gain enough support to continue it. The political purposes for which the two nations fought the Mexican War were clear, concise, and symmetrical, as well as limited. For the United States, the objective was the annexation of the territories of New Mexico, Arizona, and California to the United States and the accession of Texas south of the Nueces River.
