A Short, Offhand, Killing Affair by Paul Foos

“Clearly, racism pervaded American popular thought and freighted almost every word and action. However, individuals made their own judgments about the meaning of race. The naked opportunism of the 1846-1848 war, the class conflict that the army brought with it to Mexico, and face-to-face experience with the Mexican people would bring about changed racial thinking: some individuals and groups became more exploitative than ever, but others rejected the cant of racial destiny.”

-Paul Foos, 2002