"Battle of Churubusco" by J. Cameron from Library of Congress. Public Domain

Annexing Texas

Initially, the United States declined to incorporate Texas into the union after it gained its independence from Mexico in 1836. Sparked by an attack by Mexican cavalry on April 25, 1846, Congress declared war on May 13. A series of guerrilla attacks by both sides ensued.

Finally, on Feb. 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, establishing the Rio Grande and not the Nueces River as the U.S.-Mexico border. Under the treaty, Mexico recognized the U.S. annexation of Texas and the U.S. purchased California and the rest of Mexico’s its territory north of the Rio Grande for 15 million [2].

Finding Freedom

The Mexican American War established a definitive border between the United States and Mexico. This boarder displaced hundreds of civilians in Texas and Mexico who identified themselves as Mexicans and enveloped them into a country that was not foreign geographically, but in custom. These citizens were suddenly subjected to the laws of the United States. Following the Mexican- American War, border relations between the United States and Mexico were established and a tumultuous history began [3].

The Mexican-American War

1846 - 1848

The Mexican-American War was the first U.S. armed conflict chiefly fought on foreign soil. It set a politically unsettled and militarily weak Mexico against the United States Military lead by President James K. Polk. Polk was determined that the United States should reach its manifest destiny to expand to the Pacific Coast. A series of engagements along the Rio Grande River resulted in Mexico’s loss of California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico [1].

James K. Polk by The Library of Congress. Public Domain.

Bibliography

Editors, H. (Ed.). (2009, November 09). Mexican-American War. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/mexican-american-war/mexican-american-war
Timeline: U.S.-Mexico Relations. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-mexico-relations
Lutz, R. E. (1998). The mexican war and the treaty of guadalupe hidalgo: What's best and worst about us. Southwestern Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas, 5(1), 27-30.