Texas and the Mexican-American War

1. Texas and the Mexican-American War Chapter 5, Section 2

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

3. 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.

4. 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 a 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...

5. 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 54th parallel (for Northerners) • However, once Texas was annexed, Polk backed down and negotiated splitting the Oregon Territory with Britain at the 49th parallel. • The parallel acts as the current border between the U.S. and Canada.

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

7. 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.

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

9. The Mexican-American War • Congress unanimously declared war in 1846. • 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.

10. Effects of Territorial Expansion Chapter 5, Section 3

11. America Achieves Manifest Destiny • In February, 1848, the U.S. and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, ending the Mexican-American War. • The U.S. agreed to leave captured Mexico City and pay $15 million for the territory acquired (1.2 million miles) • In 1853, the U.S. purchased an additional part of Mexico to build a southern railroad route. • This was known as the Gadsden Purchase. • In total, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo and Gadsden Purchase increased the size of the U.S. by 1/3.

12. The Wilmot Proviso • The issue of slavery in the new territories was being debated even before the war was over. • David Wilmot had proposed a law that would ban slavery in the newly-acquired territories, whether located North or South of the 36’30° line. This became known as the Wilmot Proviso. • This was the parallel established under the Missouri Compromise as being the dividing line for slavery.

13. The California Gold Rush • In 1848, gold was discovered at John Sutter’s sawmill in California. • This led to a flood of settlers to the west, seeking gold. These were known as forty-niners because most of them arrived in 1849. • New mining techniques developed to extract as much of the gold as possible– placer and hydraulic mining.

14. Effects of the Gold Rush • Indian and Mexican miners faced discrimination as more settlers moved westward. • Often times they were excessively taxed, forced off their land, or beaten. • California applied for statehood in 1849. Their application once again raised the debate over slavery. • California wanted to enter as a free state, tipping the balance once again between the # of free and slave states.

15. Review Today’s Topics • Which of the following was NOT a reason why the U.S. wanted to acquire Texas. • Minimal population c) Abundance of cheap labor • Fertile land for growing crops d) Located along U.S. border • Why were Northerners upset by the Oregon Territory boundary? • Borders were too close to Mexico c) Polk had promised more territory • The Oregon Territory allowed slaves d) It cost too much • Why was there a dispute over Texas’ border? • When Santa Anna was captured, he formed an unrecognized treaty with Texas • There was too great of a language barrier between the U.S. and Mexico • The treaty with Santa Anna was not recognized by Texas • The wind kept blowing away the drawn boundary line

16. Review Today’s Topics • By how much did the Mexican-American War and Gadsden Purchase increase the size of the U.S.? • 2/3 c) 1/2 • 1/3 d) ¼ • How did California’s application for statehood restart the debate over slavery? • California wanted to be a slave state, shifting the balance of power in Congress • California wanted to utilize Mexicans as slaves but they were not designated as such by the Constitution • California wanted to be a free state, shifting the balance of power in Congress • Slavery was not allowed under the Mexican Constitution

17. - Ticket-Out-the-Door: Identify at least 3 reasons why the U.S. was able to defeat Mexico quickly in the Mexican-American War.