Mexican War Ch. 16 Sect. 1

The Road to War... Americans- Worried about adding a slave state Worried about a war with Mexico U.S. claimed the southern border of TX was Rio Grande Citizens wanted to be paid for damage done to their properties in Mexico Mexico- Worried that annexation of TX was only the beginning of the U.S. expansion Feared that U.S. wanted to take over all of the remaining Mexican territory (*they did! Manifest Destiny*) For years, Mexico still claimed the Nueces River as the border Tried to kick American citizens out of northern Mexico (California today)

President Polk to the Rescue…? Sent troops with John Slidell to settle the disputes in November 1845 Right as TX was creating their state government… When Mexico refused to meet and discuss peace President Polk sent Zachary Taylor (future president of U.S.) and thousands of soldiers to TX When they arrived in March 1846 they saw thousands of Mexican soldiers along the Rio Grande Quickly built a fort in Brownsville and braced for war Mexico asked Taylor and troops to retreat to Nueces River and when they refused Mexican soldiers crossed the Rio Grande and attacked

Immediate War Taylor sent word to Polk and Congress quickly declared war on May 13, 1846 Remember...you need permission to go to war due to checks and balances Power of the U.S. AND TX Taylor quickly won 2 battles at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma Nearly 6,000 Texans volunteered to join the army...they wanted revenge for the suffering Texans had to endure during the TX Revolution & at the hands of Santa Anna

Los Diablos Tejanos (The TX Devils) Even the TX Rangers left their posts to help the war Their fame from the frontier followed them, and it was something they had to live up to, but it got out of control Rangers often attacked Mexican villages with no reason and had a hard time following orders of the U.S. Army and General Taylor

Quick Success After winning several battles, General Taylor began an offensive (major advance with the troops) and pushed into northern Mexico and won a decisive battle at Buena Vista This caused Taylor to become very popular and President Polk was threatened by him Polk replaced Taylor as head of the army with General Winfield Scott Scott did things a little differently & sailed down to Veracruz to attack the strongest portion of Mexican troops He took control and then moved to inland Mexico. He had control of Mexico City by August 1847 On September 14, 1847 Mexico City fell and the U.S. won the war

Zachary Taylor Winfield Scott

Lasting Effects of the Mexican War 116,000 total U.S. soldiers fought, with 13,000 dying Most died from disease though, not battle...medical advances are on the horizon though Approximately 330 Texans died The war with Mexico cost U.S. $98 million In Mexico, countless lives were lost and much property was destroyed In the U.S., we were on the way to fulfilling Manifest Destiny What’s next? A treaty to end the war and FINALLY set boundaries