IV. The Mexican War A. War Clouds Over Oregon and Texas 1. Polk did not really want to fight Britain so in 1846, he agreed to compromise. a) Oregon was divided at latitude 49°N. b) Britain got the lands north of the line and the United States got the lands south. 2. The United States named its lands Oregon territory. a) The states of Oregon (1859), Washington (1889), and Idaho (1890) were carved out of the Oregon Territory.

IV. The Mexican War B. The United States and Mexico Clash 3. In 1844, Texas signed an annexation treaty with the United States. a) The U.S. Senate refused to ratify the treaty because they feared war with Mexico. b) Sam Houston, who wanted the U.S. to annex TX, tricked the Senate in thinking TX would ally itself with Britain. c) The trick worked and TX was annexed by a joint resolution of Congress in 1845. B. The United States and Mexico Clash

IV. The Mexican War 1. The annexation of TX outraged the Mexicans. a) Mexicans never recognized TX independence and they feared American backed rebellions in California and New Mexico. 2. Americans resented Mexico. a) Many Americans felt that Mexico was in the way of Manifest Destiny. 3. A border dispute finally sparked war when in 1846 President Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to set up forts on disputed land between the Rio Grande and Nueces Rivers.

IV. The Mexican War a) In April 1846, Mexican troops crossed the Rio Grande and clashed with American soldiers. b) Men on both sides were killed. 4. When President Polk heard about the fighting, he asked Congress to declare war on Mexico. 5. Americans were divided over the war. a) The South and West were eager to fight in the hope of winning new lands. b) The North opposed the war because they saw it as a southern plot to add more slave states to the Union. c) The war was generally popular and thousands volunteered to fight especially southerners and westerners.

IV. The Mexican War C. Fighting in Mexico 1. During the Mexican War, the United States attacked on several fronts at once. a) President Polk hoped for a quick victory. b) General Taylor crossed the Rio Grande into northern Mexico. c) General Taylor’s American army met and defeated General Santa Anna’s army at the Battle of Buena Vista. d) Meanwhile, a second army under the command of General Winfield Scott landed at the port of Veracruz and after a long battle the Americans took the city and then drove on to Mexico City.

IV. The Mexican War 2. A third army, led by Stephen Kearny, captured Santa Fe without firing a shot. a) He won control of southern California by 1847. b) Even before the war, rebels had declared California an independent republic on June 14, 1846 and nicknamed it the Bear Flag Republic. c) John C. Frémont led California forces and drove Mexican forces out of northern California. d) Frémont later joined forces with United States troops. 3. By 1847, the United States controlled all of New Mexico and California.

IV. The Mexican War D. Peace Brings New Lands a) General Scott and his army had reached Mexico City and faced fierce resistance. b) Young Mexican soldiers made a heroic stand at Chapultepec, a fort just outside of Mexico City. D. Peace Brings New Lands 1. With Mexico City in American hands, the Mexican government moved to make peace. a) In 1848, it signed the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. b) Mexico had to cede, or give up, all of CA and New Mexico to the United States, this was known as the Mexican cession. c) In return the United States paid Mexico $15 million and agreed to respect the rights of Spanish-speaking people in the Mexican Cession.

IV. The Mexican War E. A Mix of Cultures 2. In 1853, the United States paid Mexico $10 million for a strip of land in present day AZ and NM. a) The land was called the Gadsen Purchase, and it completed the land involved with the continental United States (the lower 48 states). E. A Mix of Cultures 1. After 1848, English-speaking settlers flocked to the Southwest. a) Many Spanish and Native American words and customs became part of the culture of the Southwest.