Mexican-American War (25 апр 1846 г. – 2 фев 1848 г.)

Описание:

Key Event: The Mexican-American war is a key event because it dramatically alters the geographic size of the U.S. and allows Americans to complete their manifest destiny of westward expansion.

Defined: The war between the United States and Mexico began when there was a border conflict along the Rio Grande. After, the U.S. had advanced into Mexico, easily claiming the land north of the Rio Grande as there were only 75,000 citizens living there at the time. Mexico’s government turned to the exiled General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna for assistance; Santa Anna was able to convince president Polk to allow for his return home to Mexico in exchange for ending the war with favorable terms for the U.S. However, Santa Anna had betrayed his promise, leading the Mexican army into battle. Despite his betrayal, the Americans had won and continued to win many battles until Mexico reduced in size by ⅓.

Described: The U.S. President, James K. Polk, believed the U.S. had a manifest destiny to continue expanding west to the Pacific Ocean. However, Mexico’s territories were blocking American expansion, requiring the U.S. to take the land if it wanted to continue growing.

Short Term: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is created to end the Mexican-American war. In the treaty, Mexico promised the U.S. 525,000 square miles of land, that the Rio Grande is America’s southern boundary, and that Mexico would no longer claim Texas. The Wilmot Proviso was also created in response to the Mexican-American War because a decision had to be made whether the new territories would have slavery or not. However, the Wilmot Proviso was never approved by the Senate, so the Compromise of 1850 is created to finally decide that the new territories can practice popular sovereignty.

Long Term: Through the Mexican-American war, the U.S. was able to complete it’s Manifest Destiny to the Pacific ocean. The size of the U.S. had also increased tremendously; when there is more land, there are more resources and raw materials that can be turned into a profit; the amount of land they obtained demonstrated the American’s military power and economic success.

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