A. Be the defender and not the aggressor.
Bancroft was Secretary of the Navy for the US. When the Cabinet met in May of 1846, regarding the situation in Mexico, Bancroft was not ready to have the US use military force against Mexico unless Mexico committed a hostile act. The "Thornton Affair," in which Mexican soldiers crossed the Rio Grande and engaged in hostilities with US troops, became the hostile act that propelled the US into war with Mexico.
