While many Americans may not have agreed with every decision the United States made, there were costs and benefits for all. Westward expansion gave the United States thousands of acres of land and access to the Pacific, at the cost of debt and the lives of many of its soldiers in the Mexican-American War. Many Americans have lost their fathers, spouses, brothers and family members to the detriment of the “national interest”. Yes, this new land was able to pay dividends to the United States. They were able to obtain land for farming and for citizens to live on, as well as natural resources and gold, but there were tradeoffs. In my opinion it was not necessarily necessary to go to war with Mexico. Although the decision to go to war ultimately helped the United States evolve into what it is today, if it were not for this war the United States may not be the country it is today and the borders would have been larger and closer , which could have led to war eventually