War With Mexico

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War With MexicoIvasión Yanqui

• 1846-1848

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Causes of War

• Annexation of Texas
• US citizens in Mexico make claims against the
  Mexican Govt
• Desire to acquire California

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Nueces River Dispute

• Texas
• Southern Border at the Rio Grande
• Mexico
• Northern Border at the Nueces
• 100 miles discrepancy

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• John Slidell
• Diplomat
• Goals
• boundary adjustments
• in TX (Rio Grande)
• purchase CA NM
• Refused by Mexico

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James K. Polk

• Bullies a weaker nation to extend slavery
• Polk the Purposeful sets a trap
• Withheld details from congress, negotiated with
  Santa Anna

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• President Polk prepares to take his slice of
  Mexico's territorial pie.

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Controversial War

• Critics
• An act of aggression
• A strong nation attacking a weak one to force
  concessions unable to be negotiated

• Supporters
• Justified as the preservation of fundamental
  beliefs
• Manifest Destiny

Also the question of who started it?
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• Ultimately, Mexican-American War divided the
  nation
• Tarnished the USs international reputation
• How are Americans viewed today?
• (Internationally, foreign policy)
• How does this war shape the culture of the modern
  Southwest?
• (inter-cultural relations, trust of the
  government)

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Propaganda
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• Daily newspapers, printed on rotary presses, gave
  the war a romantic appeal.

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The Human Toll
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• The U.S. Army Crosses a Mountain

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The Return of Santa Anna

• 1844, ousted as pres.
• Exiled in Cuba
• Polk scheme cooperation
• Went back on his word, resumed Mex Presidency
• Commanded an attack on Taylor at Buena Vista

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• Antonio Lopez De Santa Anna
• Circa 1845 Circa 1858

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General Taylor pictured on a white horse at the
battle of Buena Vista.
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Zachary Taylor

• General, highly successful in war
• Later political success

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Zachary Taylors Early Success

• Victory, Victory, Victory
• Mexicans fought hard, but were poorly led and
  funded
• Winfield Scott picked up where Taylor left off
• More victories

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Polk Brings in Winfield Scott

• Polk threatened by Taylors success ambition
• Winfield Scott
• Mexico City
• Gets the Glory
• Also later political success

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• Birds-Eye View of the Camp of the Army of
  Occupation
• Commanded by General Taylor

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Taylor v. Scott

• Old Fuss and Feathers
• General Winfield Scott, a stickler for propriety
  and order, was widely known as "Old Fuss and
  Feathers."
• Old Rough and Ready
• General Zachary Taylor, greatly admired for his
  informality and calm courage, succeeded Polk to
  the presidency

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Old Rough and Ready
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Old Fuss and Feathers
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War Divides Americans

• Democrats
• Southern
• Wanted new slave territories, increased power in
  congress
• i.e.
• Whigs
• Northern
• Anti-slave, many anti-Mexican War
• i.e. Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, David Crockett,
  Abraham Lincoln

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• When he questioned the war with Mexico and asked
  if any battle had truly been fought on American
  soil, this first-term Congressman was branded the
  Benedict Arnold of his district, and denied
  reelection.
• Who is he?

A young Abraham Lincoln
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• This former President argued, like many others,
  that the Mexican War would result in the spread
  of slavery.
• Who is he?

Congressman John Quincy Adams
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• Recently defeated for the 5th time in his
  campaign for the presidency, this famous Whig
  called the War with Mexico unnatural, unsettled
  and uncertain, menacing the harmony, if not the
  existence of our Union.
• Who is he?

The Great Compromiser, Henry Clay
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• His objections to the war were turned into a
  classic essay on the moral responsibilities of
  citizens. He refused to pay pole tax to fund a
  war he did not agree with and called it Civil
  Disobedience.Who is he?

• Transcendentalist Writer, Henry David Thoreau

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War Divides Americans

• Massachusetts legislator Charles Sumner
• The lives of Mexicans are sacrificed in this
  cause and a domestic question, which should be
  reserved for bloodless debate in our own country,
  is transferred to fields of battle in a foreign
  land.

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Treaty of Guadalupe - Hidalgo

• Peace treaty, ended the war
• Mexican Cession
• 55 of Mexicos pre-war territory went to the US
• US paid 15 million
• equivalent to 313 million in 2006 USD
• Ensured safety and pre-existing property rights
  for Mexican Citizens in transferred territories
• US, in many cases, failed to honor this

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Mexican Cession

• The land Mexico ceded (gave up) to the US
• Covered what are now CA, NV, UT, and parts of
  four other states. Whats still missing here?

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Gadsden Purchase

• Remainder of AZ NM
• Purchased by James Gadsden
• sent by President Franklin Pierce

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• Battle of Cerro Gordo

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• The end of the war General Scotts entrance
  to Mexico Whats going on here?

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General Stephen Watts Kearney

• Between the western frontier of the US and the
  coveted province of Upper CA lay the vast tract
  known as Nuevo Mexico.
• Taken virtually without bloodshed by Brigadier
  General Stephen Kearney and the Army of the West.

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• On their way to California in the fall of 1846,
  General Kearney's men pass San Felipe Pueblo, New
  Mexico.

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The Bear Flag Republic
Bear Flag revolt on June 14, 1846 ended Mexican
rule over California. Thirty-three American
adventurers from the Sacramento Valley seized
General Vallejo and took over Sonoma.
Polk tried to Purchase CA from Mexico Mexico
refused, but when Kearney and Fremont arrived
from NM, Mexican Troops gave way
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Saint Patricks BattalionSan Patricio

• Mexicos Fighting Irish
• Deserters of the US troops for abuses and
  prejudice
• Juan, or Jose OReilly

Unsatisfied about fighting a Catholic country
Fed up with the bigotry and mistreatment by
their Anglo-Protestant officers Hundreds of Irish
immigrant soldiers stood for what they believed
in and aided the oppressed Mexico troops.
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Mexico, a Proving Ground

• Robert E. Lee
• Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson
• William T. Sherman
• Ulysses S. Grant

• Captain Robert E. Lee

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Mexico, a Proving Ground

• Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant heading off to fight
  in the Mexican War

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• Ornamental Map of the United States and Mexico,
  1848- Panoramic View from New York to the
  Pacific Coast by the Contemplated Oregon Railroad

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