Conflicts with Mexico

Foundations of America

Mr. Blais

Colonizing Texas• In the 1800s the Spanish

had offered large pieces of land to people who promised to recruit settlers.

• The Mexican government later granted large tracts of land to settlers who promised to follow Mexican law and become citizens of Mexico

Growing Conflicts• Meanwhile many

Americans also began moving into Texas

• There were conflicts over slavery, because Mexico forbid it and Americans had been used to using them.

• Americans in Texas also wanted a say in the govt. and Mexico wouldn’t allow it

Conflict Breaks Out• Mexico’s govt. began to fear

the alarming number of Americans in Texas and in 1830 Mexico banned immigration and constructed new army posts in the area.

• Anglo-Texans then petitioned the Mexican govt. for changes and when they were rejected Texans believed it was time to break away from Mexico

Texas Wages War on Mexico

• Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was the supreme leader of Mexico

• He lost two early skirmishes again Texas volunteers in the cities of Gonzales and San Antonio.

• Sam Houston was then appointed by the Texans as head of their military.

The Alamo• Although the Mexican Army

initially lost San Antonio, they came to take it back.

• 200 Texan volunteers made their stand at a small abandoned missionary known as the Alamo.

• Santa Anna shelled the Alamo for days and finally committed his troops to an all out attack.

• After fierce fighting all the defenders were killed, including men such as Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett

San Jacinto• About a month after the fall of the

Alamo, Sam Houston organized his Texas volunteers and attacked a resting Mexican Army on the banks of the San Jacinto river.

• The battle of over in 20 minutes and hundreds of Mexicans were killed or captured.

• Santa Anna was taken prisoner the next day

• A peace treaty was signed an by September 1836 the Republic of Texas (an independent nation) was formed

Annexation of Texas• Texan was an independent nation

for nine and during those years they had been actively seeking entry in the U.S.

• In 1845, after Polk had already won the election, John Tyler urged Congress to annex (add) Texas to the U.S.

• By December Texas was a U.S. territory but the border between Texas and Mexico was still unresolved

The U.S. Declares War on Mexico• James K. Polk wanted to move

against Mexico but he was unsure Americans would back him.

• So he sent Zachary Taylor to the disputed border between Texas and Mexico.

• Mexico saw this as an incursion into their territory and killed 11 Americans on a cavalry patrol

• Polk declared “Mexico had spilt American blood on American soil” and got Congress to declare war

Opposition to the War• Many Americans were critical

of “Mr. Polk’s War”.

• Many felt the war was overly aggressive and unjust.

• Others felt it had been provoked and engineered solely by Polk

• But the majority of northerners opposed it because they thought it was a ploy by the south to add more slave territory to the United States

Mexican-American War

• Taylor soon moved his troops into Mexico and won many multiple battles against Mexico’s leader Santa Anna

• General Winfield Scott landed troops in Eastern Mexico and won victory after victory throughout central Mexico.

• Scott finally captured Mexico city by the end of 1847.