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Follow President James Polk's strategic decisions in Mexico, from the blockade of the Rio Grande River to the capture of California and New Mexico. Discover how this led to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Gadsden Purchase, ultimately shaping the present U.S.-Mexico boundary. Learn about the impact of the Gold Rush and California's statehood application.
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CH 9 Section 4 Polk’s Adventures in Mexico.
James Polk believed that a war would bring the United States even moreMexican lands, such as California and New Mexico. He ordered General Zachary Taylor to lead the U.S. army to blockade the Rio Grande River. Mexico viewed this action as a violation of its territorial rights.
The North did not want War for the same reason. Southerners wanted war because they thought that new territories would be slave states.
The United States army was led by Colonel Stephen Kearny. He marched his troops into Santa Fe, New Mexico. U.S. forces took the area without firing a shot. Kearny’s troops then moved into California, and took control there as well.
General Zachary Taylor captured Monterrey and won against Santa Anna at Buena Vista. General Winfield Scott captured the port of Veracruz and then took Mexico City, the capital.
This land included present-day California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, most of Arizona, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. In 1848, Mexico and the United States signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Under the treaty, a defeated Mexico handed much of its northern land to the United States.
Gadsden Purchase: Purchase of land from Mexico in 1853 that established the present U.S.-Mexico boundary.
In 1848, American settlers discovered gold in California. Thousands of people streamed into CA during the “Gold Rush”. These settlers were known as forty-niners. San Francisco became a boom town. By 1849, California’s population exceeded 100,000. California applied for statehood as a state that outlawed slavery.
