There were two reasons that the U.S. purchased this area of what is now southern Arizona and New Mexico. Firstly, after the Mexican cession and the war that had happened in the area, there were a lot of tensions over the land on the border between Mexico and the United States. By buying up the land, the border was made clear and some tensions were decreased. Secondly, the U.S. wanted to build a railroad in the southeast, and they needed the land to run the railroad through.
Because of these compelling reasons, the United States signed a treaty with Mexico on December 30, 1853. James Gadsden negotiated with Mexico for the U.S. to pay Mexico ten million dollars for the piece of territory.
Unfortunately, sectionalism forming over slavery and the Kansas-Nebraska Act made a southern railroad unlikely, and the matter was never seriously considered. However, the Gadsden purchase did complete Arizona and New Mexico as we know them to be today.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/gadsden-purchase
https://www.britannica.com/event/Gadsden-Purchase
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-gadsden-purchase-and-a-failed-attempt-at-a-southern-railroad
I decided to go in a little deeper into the already existing conflict between the two nations after the Mexican-American War. After the the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, peace was officially declared. However, tensions, as you discussed, were still ever so present especially in the Mesilla Valley region. Both Mexico and the United States of America acted as though this region was their own. Connecting this with your post is interesting to understand and speculate on the true tensions that were always present in this region.
ReplyDeletehttps://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/gadsden-purchase
Very interesting post. I like how you pointed out the very specific reasons why the US decided to get the Gadsden land. I think that it is kinda surprising that a single railroad would cause the government to buy a large strip of land. However, I would refrain from calling this the last piece of the Manifest Destiny. American imperialistic feelings would stay strong for many more years and after the Gadsden Purchase America would still expand further west.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3158