The Mexican American War

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1846 - 1848
 Overview
• The war between the United States and
Mexico had two basic causes.
– First, the desire of the U.S. to expand across the
North American continent to the Pacific Ocean

– Second basic cause of the war was the Texas War

of Independence and the subsequent annexation
of that area to the United States.
 Background
• The Mexican-American War was the first major
conflict driven by the idea of "Manifest Destiny”

• Following the earlier Texas War of Independence

from Mexico, tensions between the two largest
independent nations on the North American continent
grew as Texas eventually became a U.S. state.

• Disputes over the border lines sparked military

confrontation, helped by the fact that President Polk
eagerly sought a war in order to seize large tracts of
land from Mexico.
 Timeline of War
• January 1, 1846 - President Polk orders General Zachary Taylor to march
to the Rio Grande from the Nueces.

• April 25, 1846 - Thornton Affair and the First Shots of the Mexican War

• May, 1846 - President Polk addresses Congress, and Declaration of War.

• July 4, 1846 - Captain John C. Fremont proclaims the independence of
California.

• September 13-15, 1847 - Battles for the City of Mexico.

• September 14, 1847 - American troops enter City of Mexico.

• February 2, 1848 - Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.

 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
• Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, 1848, was a peace
treaty between Mexico and the United states which
ended the Mexican-American War.
• The treaty was negotiated by Nicholas Trist. It was
signed on February 2, 1848 in the small town of
Guadalupe Hidalgo, near the City of Mexico.
• The treaty set the southern border of the United
States (and Texas) at the Rio Grande River.
• The United States also received California, Nevada,
Utah, and parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado,
and Wyoming.
• The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was ratified by the
Senate on March 10, 1848. The Mexican Congress
ratified on May 25, 1848.
 Social Impact
• Military events in California
– Many volunteered for the Bear Flag Republic
– Started many more prejudices on anyone
that was not White American.
• Continued the loss of Lands for Mexican
and Native Americans
 Political Impace
• Treaty of Guadalupe - Hidalgo

• Mexican Cession

• Gadsden Purchase
 Cultural Impact
• Achieved Manifest Destiny

• Set American as a force in the world

from an Economic point