The Mexican American War 1846-1848

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The Mexican American War1846-1848
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Polk Urges War

• Hostilities with Mexico flared again when US
  annexed Texas in 1945
• Causes for Polks Military Action
• Issues over border of Mexico and Texas
• President Herrera refused to meet with Polks
  emissary in regard to purchasing California and
  New Mexico and Texas border.

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3. Domestic Dispute over Slavery as a Cause

• Southerners wanted war to gain more land to
• expand slavery
• gain more slave states in Congress
• North wanted Congress to pass Wilmot Provisio
• Proposed Amendment to military appropriations
  Bill of 1846 that prohibited slavery in lands
  that might be gained from Mexico
• Southerners felt provision was attack on slavery,
  pushed for war even more.

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The War Begins and Lincoln Questions

• US actions pushed Mexico towards war
• General Taylor positioned troops at Rio Grande
• American military also in California, a territory
  violation
• Mexico sent troops across Rio Grande, skirmish
  left 11 US troops dead.
• Polk sent message to Congress declaring that
  American blood upon American soil. Wanted war
  declared.
• Lincoln questioned the truthfulness of this cause
  for war.

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Was Lincoln Unpatriotic?
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The War

• New Mexico fell to US troops without a shot fired
• New Mexico troops and joined forces in CA to
  quickly win over CA
• US citizens already had declared independence
  from Mexico and named themselves the BEAR FLAG
  REPUBLIC
• Military victories came one after another for the
  US in Mexico

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Polks Ally

• Polk schemed with Santa Anna, who was living in
  exile in Cuba
• Scheme Polk help Santa Anna come back to power,
  Santa Anna would end war and establish border in
  US favor
• Santa Anna comes to power in Mexico, immediately
  takes command of Army, ordering attack on
  Taylors forces
• But US forces more rested than Mexican troops

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End of the War

• Mexico City was captured Sept. 14, 1847
• Mexico lost 50,000 men, ½ its land
• US lost 13,000 men (11,000 from diseases)

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Results Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

• California and New Mexico territories added to
  U.S.
• Texas border at Rio Grande accepted
• Mexico gives up all claim to Texas.
• U.S. pays Mexico
• 15 million and agrees
• to assume American
• citizens' claims
• (3,250,000) against
• Mexico.

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Results Gadsden Purchase

• 10 million for territory
• US gets territory South of the Gila River

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All territory for Continental US now Complete
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New Problems

• Renewal of slavery conflict
• Wilmot Proviso sought to restrict
• slavery from new territories
• Southerners (led by Calhoun) stated
• that Congress had no right to restrict
  slavery's expansion.

Political cartoon depicting David Wilmot and
abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison as witches. 
Wilmot is chanting "Bubble Bubble Toil and
Trouble, Boil Free Soil, the Union spoil"