Texas and the Mexican-American War CHAPTER 5, SECTION 2

Texas Wins Independence  Texas was the most likely portion of the Mexican nation to be taken over by the U.S. and the U.S. wanted to acquire it.  Abundant, fertile land  Closest to the U.S.  Very small population  Mexico attempted to secure Texas by inviting in American settlers by giving them cheap land. In return, U.S. settlers had to  Become Mexican citizens  Worship as Roman-Catholic  Accept the Mexican Constitution

Texas Wins Independence  Led by Stephen Austin, U.S. settlers began to populate Texas.  Conflict grew when Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna took over as the leader of Mexico. He favored an authoritarian government led by the military.  Those in Texas did not view Santa Anna as their leader.  In 1835, the people of Texas revolted and in 1836 they declared themselves the Lone Star Republic.

Santa Anna’s Response  Santa Anna led his military to fight the Texans and a 12-day battle took place at the Alamo.  After taking the fort, Santa Anna had the survivors slaughtered.  The fighters were hailed as martyrs and the rallying cry “Remember the Alamo” inspired Texans to keep fighting.  Sam Houston led the retaliation attack against Santa Anna, capturing him at the Battle of San Jacinto.  Santa Anna negotiated a treaty with Texas, extending Texas’ land claims to the Rio Grande, and even parts of New Mexico.  The Mexican government did not recognize the treaty.

Americans Debate Expansion  Sam Houston became the president of Texas and wanted the U.S to annex (take control of) the Republic.  To gain the presidency, James K. Polk promised to acquire both Texas (for the South) and the Oregon Territory (shared by U.S. and Britain) up to the 54 th parallel (for Northerners)  However, once Texas was annexed, Polk backed down and negotiated splitting the Oregon Territory with Britain at the 49 th parallel.  The parallel acts as the current border between the U.S. and Canada.

Northerners wanted the territory up to the 54 th parallel, starting the rallying cry “54’40 or Fight!”

How the War Starts  When Texas was annexed, the disputed western border became an issue.  Texans believed the border to be the Rio Grande River. The Mexican government believed it to only extend to the Nueces River.  Zachary Taylor was sent to occupy the disputed territory between the two rivers.  Before long, American and Mexican troops met in conflict, and the war began.

Remember that Santa Anna had negotiated to have the border be the Rio Grande. The Mexican government recognized the border as the Nueces River.

The Mexican-American War  Congress unanimously declared war in  The war lasted barely 1.5 years because the U.S. had numerous advantages over Mexico.  Larger, wealthier and more populous;  Greater war supply production;  Renowned officers (Lee, Grant and Sherman were all jr. officers)  Larger, better-equipped navy;  Mexico is divided over Santa Anna’s resumption of his dictatorship.