The fighting began because of a debate over Texas. Texas became independent from Mexico in 1936. It was not annexed because of debates over the addition of a new state, and the split of slave states and free states. This worked well for Mexico, who threatened an invasion over attempts of annexation. However, after President Polk was elected in 1844, the process of annexation began. Polk offered to buy the land from Mexico, but his offer was rejected.
Polk instigated a fight by moving troops into a disputed zone between the Rio Grande and Nueces River, previously recognized as Mexican territory. On April 25, 1846, Mexican cavalry attacked those soldiers, resulting in the death of 12 soldiers. They then proceeded to lay siege to an American fort. General Zachary Taylor, American general in charge of the soldiers, called in reinforcements. At the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, the Mexicans were defeated by superior weaponry. After those battles, President Polk went to Congress asking for a declaration of war, which was granted two days later.
U.S. forces led by Col. Stephen W. Kearny and Commodore Robert F. Stockton conquered north of the Rio Grande with minimal resistance. General Taylor also had no trouble advancing. Mexico turned to General Antonio López de Santa Anna, who had been living in exile in Cuba. He promised Polk that if he was allowed to return to Mexico, he would end the war and give America what they wanted. However, he immediately crossed the US and took control of the Mexican army. Gen. Winfield Scott and his soldiers landed in Veracruz and took over the city. They then began their march towards Mexico City. The Mexicans resisted but lost their battles each time. In September 1847, Scott successfully laid siege to Mexico City’s Chapultepec Castle.
After the Mexican surrender in September 1847, peace negotiations began. The war officially ended on February 2nd, 1848 when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. The treaty added an additional 525,000 square miles to United States territory. Mexico had given up nearly all of present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. They gave up all claims to Texas and recognized the Rio Grande as America’s southern boundary. In return, the United States paid Mexico $15 million and agreed to settle all claims of U.S. citizens against Mexico.
Sources:
https://www.history.com/topics/mexican-american-war
https://www.history.com/topics/treaty-of-guadalupe-hidalgo
Sources:
https://www.history.com/topics/mexican-american-war
https://www.history.com/topics/treaty-of-guadalupe-hidalgo
Great post Aaron! Super cool to hear not only about this battle's importance in US History but also its significance in the history of California. Also super interesting to me was the battle of Palo Alto! I got really excited reading that part of your article thinking that there was a cool battle that took place only miles from LAHS but apparently the battle of Palo alto took place in modern day Brownsville Texas (disappointed it was not California). The battle of Palo Alto was apparently the first major battle of the Mexican American war and was lead by American general Zachary Taylor and Mexican General Mariano Arista. The battle took place only three days before the official declaration of war was made on Mexico and was won by the US because of superior artillary. During this charge ordered by Arista on American soldiers, there were 48 American casualties and 102 Mexican casualties. All and all a swift and decisive victory for America.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Palo_Alto
Great post Aaron. I did not know that the treaty that gave us all that land was called the Treaty of Guadalupe, nor did I remember which President pursued the land and what lead up to the war. Another interesting fact about the Mexican-American war is that there was some opposition toward it from the Whig party, who thought that Polk's decision was, in a sense, greedy. Check out this link to read more about it. https://www.britannica.com/event/Mexican-American-War
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