War with Mexico

1. War with Mexico If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. When that fails just start a huge war.

2. Texas becomes a major issue in the 1844 election. • James K. Polk wanted to finally achieve “Manifest Destiny” (a term coined by John O’ Sullivan) and Texas as well as the Oregon Territory were key. • December 29, 1845 Texas officially becomes a state. • Texas becoming a state bothered Mexico because they felt that Texas was a “stolen province”. Remember, Mexico has not recognized that Texas is a free and independent nation.

3. Tensions Mount • Mexico refused to sell the US California and New Mexico, so President Polk plotted to pull Mexico into a war to gain the land. • The idea was that Mexico should act first militarily and that way we would be defending ourselves. • The border between Mexico and Texas was set at the Nueces River according to Mexico and the Rio Grande River 150 miles south according to the US.

4. Tensions Mount • Polk tried diplomacy by sending John Slidell to Mexico authorizing a deal of $30 million for both California and New Mexico and accepting the Rio Grande as the official border between the two nations. • Mexico refused and stated that it would reinstate Mexico’s claim to Texas.

5. Tensions Mount • Polk sent Gen Zachary Taylor into the disputed land north of the Rio. • Taylor built a small fort. • The move was seen as a hostile act according to Mexico. • On April 24, 1846 Mexican troops attacked a small force of Taylor’s soldiers killing 11.

6. Tensions Mount • Taylor sent word to Polk: “Hostilities may now be considered as commenced”. • Polk asks Congress for a declaration of war: “Mexico has shed American blood on American soil”. • On May 13, 1846 Congress declared war on Mexico.

7. Dissention in the Ranks • The American people were divided: • Democrats (Polk’s party) supported the war. • Whigs opposed it calling Polk’s actions aggressive and unjust. • Northerners accused Democrats of waging the war to spread slavery. • Southerners favored the war thinking that any territory won would be organized into slave states. • Congressman Abe Lincoln challenged Polk as to the exact spot of the attack.

8. Polk’s Plan • American troops would drive Mexican forces out of the disputed border region in Texas and secure the area. • The US would seize New Mexico and California. • American forces would take Mexico City.

9. He’s Back! • Taylor and his troops continued to march south into Mexico. • In February 1847 Taylor and his troops met none other than Santa Anna (once again in charge of the Mexican government) at Buena Vista. • Santa Anna sent a note to the Americans demanding their surrender. • “General Taylor never surrenders!” • The Mexican troops far outnumbered the Americans forces, but they were better armed, trained and led.

10. He’s Back! • After a fierce two day battle, Santa Anna retreated under the cover of darkness. • Taylor success made him popular among the troops and a war hero back at home. • Soldiers called him “Old Rough and Ready”. • Polk becomes nervous of Taylor’s popularity – could the White House be in his future? • Polk replaces Taylor with Gen. Winfield Scott aka “Old Fuss and Feathers.”

11. The Fall of New Mexico • In the summer of 1846, Gen. Stephen Watts Kearny led approximately 1,500 cavalry soldiers along the Santa Fe Trail from Missouri to New Mexico. • The Mexican governor fled. • On August 18, 1846 Kearny captured New Mexico’s capital Santa Fe without firing a single shot. • The road to California was now wide open.

12. The Bear Flag Republic • On June 14, 1846, a small group of Americans seized the town of Sonoma capturing the Mexican general Vallejos and declared CA a free and independent country. • Kearny’s army along with naval commander Robert Stockton planned on taking San Diego and move northward capturing Los Angeles and San Gabriel.

13. The Bear Flag Republic • Commodore John Drake Sloat seized Monterey, the capital of California, and San Francisco. • In July of 1846 California is annexed by the US. • Some skirmishes would ensue before California would be fully controlled by the US in January 1847.

14. The Capture of Mexico City • Gen. Winfield Scott landed on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in March 1847 near the port of Veracruz. • After a 3 week siege Veracruz fell. • Scott set his sights on Mexico City 300 miles away. • Battling not only the Mexican army but bands of armed peasants, the US troops reach Mexico City at the end of August 1847.

15. The Capture of Mexico City • A few divisions of the Mexican army and a group of boys from the Mexican Military College engaged the US troops in defense of the capital. • By mid-September Mexico City falls and the Mexican government surrenders.

16. The Capture of Mexico City • The US lost 1,721 men to battle and 11,000 to disease. • Mexico lost far more. • The war cost the US nearly $100 million. • Mexico lost half their territory.

17. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo • The peace treaty that ended the war was signed in February 1848. • Mexico had to: • Give up all claims to Texas. • Agree that the border between Texas and Mexico was the Rio Grande River. • Cede California and New Mexico (Mexican Cession) in return for $15 million. • In 1852 the US would pay Mexico an additional $10 million for a small strip of land in AZ and NM (Gadsden Purchase)

18. Lasting Effects of the War • Mexico was humiliated in its defeat. • White culture was seen as superior to that of the Mexican or Spanish culture. • The Californios became US citizens but their rights were often denied or just ignored.