The Mexican American War 1846-1848 Information gathered from: History.com Ducksters.com Mymexicanamericanwar.com

General Information The Mexican-American War, was fought between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 The war helped to fulfill America's "manifest destiny" to expand its territory across the entire North American continent The war will be fought on four fronts, present day Texas, California, New Mexico and Mexico The war was quick and violent, America lost over 13,000 troops but overpowered Mexico in almost every aspect The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidaldo officially ends the war, as terms of surrender Mexico agrees to give America land and establish new borders The war was not popular back in the original eastern states, many felt as though James Polk had intentionally pushed the war just to gain lands

Key People James K. Polk Winfield Scott Zachary Taylor Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee Matthew Perry Davie Crockett Sam Houston William Travis Jim Bowie Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna Pedro Maria de Anaya Manuel de la Pena y Pena Jose Joaquin de Herrera Key People

Background information President James K. Polk sent troops to Texas to protect the border. Soon Mexican and US troops were shooting at each other. On July 7, 1846 the United States declared war on Mexico. The Mexican army was led by General Santa Anna. The US forces were led by General Zachary Taylor and General Winfield Scott.. General Taylor advanced into Mexico fighting battles at the city of Monterrey and a mountain pass called Buena Vista. President Polk didn't trust Zachary Taylor. Therefore he sent in another army led by General Winfield Scott. Scott advanced on Mexico City and captured it in August of 1847. Texas had been a state of the country of Mexico since 1821 when Mexico gained its independence from Spain. The Texans, however, began to disagree with the government of Mexico. In 1836, they declared their independence from Mexico and formed the Republic of Texas. They fought several battles including The Alamo. In the end, they gained their independence and Sam Houston became the first President of Texas. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state. Mexico didn't like that the United States took over Texas. There also was a disagreement over the border of Texas. Mexico said the border was at the Nueces River while Texas claimed the border was further south at the Rio Grande River.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo With the United States in control of Mexico City, and many of the Mexican citizens pressuring their government to end the war, Mexico agreed to a peace treaty called the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In the treaty, Mexico agreed to the border of Texas at the Rio Grande and to sell a large area of land to the United States for $15 million. Today this land makes up the states of California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. Portions of Wyoming, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Colorado were also included.