WAR WITH MEXICO!! OLE!!!

ANNEXING TEXAS• American settlements

• During the 1820’s Mexico began welcoming American settlers• Newcomers quickly outnumbered Mexicans• Mexican gov’t became alarmed and forbade further immigration

• Illegal Americans still flooded into the area• Santa Anna takes control of Mexico and dissolves the Congress

• Texans rise in rebellion• Independence from Mexico

• Davy Crockett and the Alamo• Sam Houston “Remember the Alamo!”

• The move for annexation• The U.S. did not immediately respond to Texas’ request for

statehood• Secret negotiations!• Election of 1844• Texas becomes a slave state, December 29, 1845

THE MEXICAN WAR• The Outbreak of War

• Mexican ambassador breaks off relations to protest the annexation of Texas

• President Polk orders General Zachary Taylor to the Rio Grande in Texas• Polk wanted to goad the Mexicans into conflict to secure

Texas and obtain California and New Mexico• “We were sent to provoke a fight, but it was essential that

Mexico commence it”• Preparing for battle

• Both the U.S. and Mexico were ill prepared• Americans had 7,000 forces compared to Mexico’s 32,000

• War!• May 9, 1846 - Polk asked Congress to declare war on Mexico of

the basis of:• Unpaid claims • The rejection of the California purchase• Mexican troops attacked American troops that night and war was

declared

GENERALS OF THE MEXICAN AMERICAN WAR

GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT

SUCCEEDED IN BATTLING HIS WAY UP TO MEXICO CITY

BY SEPTEMBER 1847; WILL BE AN

IMPORTANT GENERAL OF THE CIVIL WAR

General Zachary Taylor

won many victories

including a great victory over a large Mexican force at Buena Vista ; future

President

General Stephen W.

Kearnyled 1,700 troops

to Santa Fe

THE BATTLES• Santa Anna Returns!

• Dupes President Polk into rescuing him from exile in Cuba• He returns to become President of Mexico and leads Mexican

troops into battle against Taylor at Buena Vista • Santa Anna’s large army meets Taylor’s untested volunteers

• Taylor is outnumbered• Santa Anna invites Taylor to surrender

• Taylor: “Tell him to go to hell!”• Neither side can claim victory at Buena Vista

• General Winfield Scott captures Mexico City on September 3, 1847• Mexico surrenders

THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO

• Mexico gives up all claims to Texas above the Rio Grande and ceded California and New Mexico to the United States

• U.S. agreed to pay Mexico $15 million and assume the claims of American citizens against Mexico

• Treaty was ratified by the Senate on March 10, 1848

IMPACT OF THE WAR• The deadliest war in American history• U.S. acquired more than 500,000 square miles of territory• Important “firsts”

• First successful American offensive war• First major amphibious operation• First war covered by press correspondents• First significant combat for a group of junior officers who will

serve as generals in the Civil War:• Robert E. Lee• Ulysses S. Grant• Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson• George B. McClellan• George Pickett• George Meade

• Provoked a surge of national pride

WILMOT PROVISO• Three months into the Mexican war, Democrat David Wilmot stood

before Congress and proposed that in lands acquired from Mexico, “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of said territory.”

• House adopted the “Wilmot Proviso” but the Senate rejected it• Wilmot’s idea kept being revived

• Lincoln would later recall he had voted for it “as good as 40 times”

• John C. Calhoun would counter with The Calhoun resolutions• The territories were possession of the states• Congress could not prevent citizens from taking slaves• To do so would violate the 5th amendment

• Forbade Congress to deprive anyone of life, liberty, or property without due process of law