The Authoritarianism of Santa Anna
The Mexican American war was a turning point in the history for both the United States and México. The end result of the war was México losing about half of their territory to the United States. In a time span of 22 years, Mexico would be engrossed in a period where their president changed 36 times, of which Antonio López de Santa Anna would be president eleven times. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly, if all or one of Mexico’s political figures was responsible for their unfortunate history, Santa Anna would be one to leave a deep and heavy imprint in Mexico’s history. In this paper, I argue that Santa Anna was a major contributor to the loss of Mexíco in the war due to his resort to authoritarianism, the decisions he made would set forth a catastrophic course in Mexico’s history from 1830 to 1855, these decisions would be seen as actions of a dictator.
The decisions that Santa Anna made during his presidency in 1836, I believe were the first of many that were actions of authoritarianism. In The Course of …show more content…
He used his authority to demonstrate his power and do what he wanted in order to benefit himself. Consequently, David Kennedy in The American Pageant, proclaimed Santa Anna as the dethroned Mexican dictator, when Santa Anna managed to make James Polk believe he would betray Mexíco, if he was allowed to return to Mexíco. In addition, Kennedy reiterates Santa Anna’s authoritarianism when he describes him as a wily dictator, during the battle in Churubusco, when he stole the money given to him as bribe. Another example, was during the battle at the Alamo, when he utilized the national law of piracy and ordered prisoners to be executed. Therefore, I believe Santa Anna once again demonstrated his authoritarianism, by using his authority and laws to manipulate others in doing what he
The Mexican American war was a turning point in the history for both the United States and México. The end result of the war was México losing about half of their territory to the United States. In a time span of 22 years, Mexico would be engrossed in a period where their president changed 36 times, of which Antonio López de Santa Anna would be president eleven times. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly, if all or one of Mexico’s political figures was responsible for their unfortunate history, Santa Anna would be one to leave a deep and heavy imprint in Mexico’s history. In this paper, I argue that Santa Anna was a major contributor to the loss of Mexíco in the war due to his resort to authoritarianism, the decisions he made would set forth a catastrophic course in Mexico’s history from 1830 to 1855, these decisions would be seen as actions of a dictator.
The decisions that Santa Anna made during his presidency in 1836, I believe were the first of many that were actions of authoritarianism. In The Course of …show more content…
He used his authority to demonstrate his power and do what he wanted in order to benefit himself. Consequently, David Kennedy in The American Pageant, proclaimed Santa Anna as the dethroned Mexican dictator, when Santa Anna managed to make James Polk believe he would betray Mexíco, if he was allowed to return to Mexíco. In addition, Kennedy reiterates Santa Anna’s authoritarianism when he describes him as a wily dictator, during the battle in Churubusco, when he stole the money given to him as bribe. Another example, was during the battle at the Alamo, when he utilized the national law of piracy and ordered prisoners to be executed. Therefore, I believe Santa Anna once again demonstrated his authoritarianism, by using his authority and laws to manipulate others in doing what he