Think about what justifies a nation going to war. If you were a political leader, what conditions would, in your judgment, justify a declaration of war?

There should be no justification of going to war unless the opposing side is harming your country and countrymen, economically, physically, or by isolating you. But as a politician anything that economically benefits my country would be justified if me going to a war. Taylor, had done the same during the Spanish American war by blaming Mexico of stealing Texas back, even though the land was Mexico's back then. He'd done it to enlarge America's land, Manifest Destiny. He spread the propaganda that Mexican troops attacked American, which emotionalism do Americans and they ended up backing up Taylor's decision of going on a war.