Mexican American War Essay Thesis

INTRODUCTION
Throughout the 1840s and 1850s a major war happened called the Mexican American War which drastically changed the U.S. and Mexico and lead to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo to be signed and which established the Rio Grande and not the Nueces River as the U.S Border. This also lead to the U.S. annexation of Texas and lead to the Mexico agreeing to sell California and the rest of the territory for 15 million.

So you 're probably wondering why the war was fought but you 'll find that out later. Here is just a little information about before we get started. According to History.com (2017) The Mexican American War which is marked the first U.S. armed conflict mainly fought on foreign soil. This scared a politically divided and

soldiers in the disputed zone under the command of General Zachary Taylor, killing about a dozen. Taylor called in reinforcements, and with the help of superior rifles–were able to defeat the Mexicans at the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. Following those battles, Polk told the U.S. Congress that the “cup of patience has been exhausted, even before Mexico passed the boundary of the United States, invading our territory, and shed American blood upon American soil.” Two days later, on May 13, Congress declared war, despite opposition from some lawmakers. No official statement of war ever came from Mexico. At that time, only about 75,000 Mexican citizens lived north of the Rio Grande. As a result, U.S. forces led by Stephen W. Kearny and Robert F. Stockton were able to conquer those lands. Taylor advancing, and captured Monterrey in September. With the losses adding up, Mexico turned to old standby General Antonio López de Santa Anna, the strongman who had been living in exile in Cuba. Santa Anna convinced Polk that, if allowed to return to Mexico, he would end the war on terms positive to the United States. At the Battle of Buena Vista in February 1847, Santa Anna suffered heavy loss and was forced to withdraw. Winfield Scott landed in Veracruz and took over the city. They then began marching toward Mexico City, essentially following the same route that Hernán Cortés

and Mexican forces had taken place in U.S. territory.” “Further, legislators were at odds over whether Polk had the right to unilaterally declare that a state of war