The Mexican War

• In the early 1800s the vast region between the Texas and California Territories was called New Mexico

- It included present-day New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming

• In 1821 New Mexico became part of Mexico when it became independent from Spain

• The Mexican government welcomed Americans into New Mexico, hoping that trade would boost the economy

• William Becknell was the first American to reach Santa Fe, NM’s capital

• He took a route from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, NM, which became known as the Santa Fe Trail, an important trade route

• As Americans began settling in NM, they wanted the U.S. to acquire the region as a state

• They also wanted the Mexican territory of California, which would give access to the Pacific Ocean

• Spanish explorers and missionaries had settled in California in the 1700s

• In the 1760s, a Catholic priest named Fr. Junipero Serra began building a string of missions from San Diego to Sonoma

• The Spanish had hoped to convert the Native Americans to Christianity. By 1820, there were 21 missions in California

FYI: Junipero Serra was canonized a saint in 2015 by Pope Francis

• California became a state in the Mexican nation when Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821

• In 1833 the Mexican gov’t abolished the missions

• Mexican settlers bought the land and built huge properties, where the rancheros (or ranch owners) treated the Native Americans almost like slaves

• At first, Mexican authorities welcomed American traders and merchants to California, and in the 1840s, American families started to settle there.

• President Polk offered to buy both California and New Mexico, but the Mexican gov’t refused

• Polk was determined to fulfill the U.S.’s Manifest Destiny; he was ready to go to war to acquire both regions for the Union

• He decided to provoke Mexico into taking military action first, so he could justify a war to Congress

• At that time, the U.S. also had a dispute with Mexico over the Texas-Mexico border. The U.S. said the Rio Grande formed the border; Mexico claimed it was the Nueces River

• Polk sent an agent to Mexico to propose a deal regarding Texas, New Mexico, and the Texas border

• The Mexican gov’t refused the offer, and said that it intended to reclaim Texas

• Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to build a fort and march across the land between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande

• In April 1846 Mexican forces attacked a group of Taylor’s soldiers

• The U.S. Congress declared war against Mexico

• The American people were divided – most Democrats supported the war, while most Whigs opposed it

• Illinois Congressman Abraham Lincoln opposed the war, and felt that Polk had no grounds for blaming the war on Mexico

FYI:

• Photography was commercially introduced in 1839

• John Quincy Adams was the first president to have his photograph taken, in 1843, 14 years after he left office

• James K. Polk was the first to be photographed while in office; Polk was also the first president to be extensively photographed during his presidency

President Polk was photographed while

in office on February 14, 1849. This

image is the first surviving photograph

taken of a president while in office.

• By 1847, Taylor’s army secured the Texas border

• In 1846, General Stephen Watts Kearny led troops into New Mexico; the Mexican gov’t fled and the Americans captured Santa Fe

• In June, a group of Americans seized Sonoma and proclaimed the Independent Republic of California

• They called it the Bear Flag Republic (can you guess why?)

THENNOW

• In July 1846, the U.S. navy captured two California ports, and by January 1847, California was fully under the control of the U. S.

• By September of 1847, Americans had taken Mexico City; the Mexican gov’t surrendered

• The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in February 1848

- Mexico gave up all claims to Texas and agreed to the Rio Grande as the border between Texas and Mexico

- In the Mexican Cession, Mexico gave California and New Mexico to the U.S.

- The U.S. gave Mexico $15 million

• In 1853 the U.S. paid $10 million in the Gadsden Purchase, land that was part of the southern edge of Arizona and New Mexico

• With the Gadsden Purchase, the continental U.S. reached its present size, and was closer to fulfilling its Manifest Destiny