For a hundred and fifty years, historians have debated contradictory claims about the origins of the Mexican War and ignored the impact of the social, historical, and geographical features of both the United States and Mexico on that war. Instead, scholars have focused primarily on military strategy and campaigns.
"North American historiography," claims El Colegio de Mexico historian Josefina Zoraida Vazquez, "has elucidated all aspects of the war: battles, strategy, weapons, casualties, desertions, background of the soldiers, finances, and regional variations. Mexican scholars, until...