Role of the Media

From WolfWikis

Contents 1 Mexican American War Reporting 1.1 War Correspondents 1.2 Opposition to War 1.3 Mexican Press 2 Video Clippings 3 References

Mexican American War Reporting

The written word played a major role in the Mexican-American War by shaping the public opinion. The war was the first foreign war to be extensively covered by newspapers and stationed war correspondents in Mexico.^[1] With the invention of the telegraph in 1844, news stories traveled throughout the country at a rate never seen before. Steamboats, railroads, and pony express aided in the process of getting war information out to the general public – both Mexican and American.

War Correspondents

United States newspapers set up an expensive two thousand mile communications link between correspondents in Mexico to papers throughout the US. ^[2] The pro-American war correspondents risked their lives for the day by day action of the war. The stories included action from various battles, as well as soldiers lives in the foreign country. The reporters’ primary challenge was transmitting reports back to the United States. Most correspondents came from newspapers in New Orleans – the closest US city to the war. Newspapers paid for private delivery services, which were offset by newspaper sales, to transmit the news from their respective war correspondent to the seaports of Vera Cruz or Port Isabel. From there, ships would deliver the news to New Orleans, which was then printed in the local papers. The accounts traveled by pony express from New Orleans to the nearest telegraph lines – Richmond and Cincinnati – in order for the stories to be reprinted in other newspapers.

The star reporter of the war was George Wilkins Kendall, who co-founded and edited the “Daily Picayune” of New Orleans. He traveled with Gen. Zachary Taylor’s army as well as the troops of Gen. Winfield Scott. He was present at most of the major battles including Monterrey, Chapultepec, and the fall of Mexico City. His coverage of the battles was extensive, always giving long accounts of military and political strategy. ^[1] He also provided detailed lists of causalities. His reports supported US involvement in the war and the concept Manifest Destiny. Kendall and others satisfied the public desire for war information with their accounts of first-hand observation.

Opposition to War

Not all US newspaper editors supported the war. Many Americans did not agree with President Polk’s declaration of war, which excluded a decision by Congress. Some felt the president had enlarged the powers of the Executive department of the government, under the dangerous and delusive plea of necessity. ^[3] An anonymous writer of Maryland’s The Chronicle in 1846 stated: We believe the war to be needless and unnecessary – one of aggression – one designed, begun, and carried on by Mr. Polk for political purposes. ^[4] Newspapers took a firm stand against the war and the president being guarded by press freedom. Many newspapers printed antiwar resolutions of organized protest and editorials objecting to an unjustifiable war.^[5] Many also believed the war supported the South in its conquest to extend slavery, which would tilt the congressional balance of power to the slave states.

Mexican Press

Mexican independence from Spain in 1821 led Mexican newspapers to be seen as a way to shape public opinion in favor of political factions and not to provide objective or unbiased information. ^[6] Most Mexican newspapers were aligned with the political party or group in power. Just before the beginning of the war, liberal and conservative press differed on the actions of the Mexican government with the annexation of Texas. The liberal press wanted to seek immediate military action against Texas. Liberals wanted a defense at Mexican borders. The conservative press sided with President Herrera, who favored negotiating a settlement with the republic. By June 1846, under the direction of a new president, both liberal and conservative press denounced the US invasion of Mexico and wanted government response.

In the beginning of the war, Mexican press had considerable freedom to provide a voice to the Mexican opposition. US war correspondent George Wilkins Kendall observed no press in the country submitted to the conflict. The Mexican attitude preferred death to submission. ^[7] Many liberal journalists supported the return of Santa Anna in 1847. Unfortunately with his return, the Mexican government suppressed and censored the press during the latter part of the war. Some editors were even jailed. The halt of the Mexican press created some difficulties for Spanish-speaking readers in the United States.

With the suppression of the Mexican press, US newspapers had to rely more heavily on the war correspondents for Mexican news. They also looked to American papers published in Mexico, which were used as literary entertainment for the troops. A third source for Mexican news was the US's first daily Spanish-language newspaper La Patria, which had several war correspondents in Mexico. La Patria reprinted many of its stories in the Mexican newspapers, which were then translated to English and reprinted in American newspapers. ^[7]

After the US took possession of Mexico City, Gen. Winfield Scott imposed martial law, which extended to the Mexican press. He later relaxed it allowing the press to have some liberty once again - even though the amount of indigenous newspapers fell from twenty to seven by the end of the war. American newspapers did complain about the lack of liberty the Mexican press possessed. They urged the victorious army to Americanize the Mexicans by having a free press. With an independent press, a watchful eye would be kept on the conduct of the government. That was the key to their enlightenment, according to an US newspaper. ^[7]

Video Clippings

Mexican press led to the downfall of President Herrera.

American news reporting shaping public opinion.

References

==Annotated Bibliography==

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