The 1848 American Purchase Of Mexican Land

1 Pages 362 Words

How Mexico Lost An Enormous Territory to the U.S. in 1848.


Henry Polk was President of the U.S.A. from 1845, and was an
imperialist. He wanted his country to expand by seizing Mexico's land. His
goal was to try to make the States stretch from the Atlantic to the
Pacific. Polk first offered 30,000,000 dollars to Mexico for California and
New Mexico, but they refused. As relation between the two continued to
worsen, it was in fact true that The U.S. had no real legal claim to those
territories, and there were only seven hundred Americans compared to the
75,000 Spanish- speaking people living in the California and New Mexico
territory.

The Amerindians, of whom had a population of 300,000 in 1821,
diminished when the Mexican government sold the church lands, at which they
lived and worked in, to ranch owners. Amerindians were required to work
under exceedingly harsh conditions, and 60,000 had died. By 1870, the
population of Amerindians was only 17,000.

The decision for Mexico to sell its land resulted in a war by the
U.S.A. against them- President Polk decided that war was the only way his
country could acquire the land. The 19th century philosophy included the
idea that war was a way of solving a dispute, and whoever won it would
obviously acquire what they wanted. Troops were sent to the land between
the Nueces and Rio Grande Rivers. General Taylor was ordered to protect the
Grande River. When in 1846, Mexican troops attacked them, war had
commenced. Though Mexico believed they would win easily, they were greatly
wrong. The capturing of Mexico city by the U.S. made them the conquerors
over their enemy. In consequence, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was made
in 1848. Mexico was to give up California and New mexico for only
13,000,000. It was the Manifest destiny that had started the war. U.S.A.
now had what it focused on territorially, and thus Manifest destiny had
been fulfilled.

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