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Mexican American War
Mexican American War
Kelly King Howes
Julie L. Carnagie, Project Editor
 Mexican American War
Kelly King Howes

Project Editors Imaging and Multimedia Composition

Julie L. Carnagie Kelly A. Quin Evi Seoud

Permissions Product Design Manufacturing

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Mexican-American War / Kelly King Howes, editor.

p. cm.
Summary: A comprehensive overview of the Mexican-American War, including
biographies and full or excerpted memoirs, speeches, and other source
documents.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7876-6537-1
1. Mexican War, 1846-1848–Juvenile literature. 2. Mexican War,
1846-1848–Biography–Juvenile literature. [1. Mexican War, 1846-1848.]
I. Howes, Kelly King.
E404 .M47 2003
973.6’2–dc21
2002155416

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
 Contents

Reader’s Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

Words to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Timeline of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Research and Activity Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxv

Almanac

Chapter 1: The United States and Mexico:

Close Neighbors with Different Goals . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 2: The Fight for Texas Independence . . . . . . 17
Chapter 3: Two Nations on the Brink of War . . . . . . 34
Chapter 4: The War Begins in Northern Mexico . . . . . 57
Chapter 5: The Conquest of Mexico City . . . . . . . . 82
Chapter 6: Peace, But at What Cost?. . . . . . . . . . 102

v
 Biographies

John Charles Frémont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Sam Houston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Stephen Watts Kearny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
José Antonio Navarro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
James K. Polk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
The San Patricio Battalion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Antonio López de Santa Anna . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Winfield Scott . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Zachary Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Nicholas Trist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Where to Learn More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxi

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxv

vi Mexican American War

 Reader’s Guide

I t would be difficult for most U.S. citizens to imagine the

United States without the area known as the Southwest,
which includes the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and
California. However, this territory might have remained in
Mexican hands had it not been for the Mexican American
War (1846–48). Although the Mexican American War is some-
times viewed as a war of aggression on the part of the United
States, the results of the conflict allowed increased U.S. settle-
ment in the West during a period in which the young nation
was undergoing rapid population growth.
Mexican American War provides students with a clear
understanding of the issues that caused the United States to
declare war against Mexico, the important battles of the war,
and how the United States’s victory in the conflict eventually
contributed to the American Civil War (1861–65). Also looks
at the motivations of the people involved in the conflict—
both American and Mexican—and their attitudes toward the
war itself.

vii
 Format
Mexican American War is divided into two sections: Al-
manac and Biographies. The Almanac contains six chapters
that chronicle the war from its origins with Spanish settle-
ment during the sixteenth century to its end with the signing
of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. The Biographies
section details the lives of ten people who had a strong impact
on the Mexican American War. Coverage includes political fig-
ures James K. Polk and U.S. diplomat Nicholas Trist, military
leaders Antonio López de Santa Anna and Winfield Scott, as
well as California Bear Flag Rebellion leader John Charles Fré-
mont and Texas revolutionary Sam Houston. Placed through-
out the chapters and biographies are primary source docu-
ments, such as diary entries, letters, and newspaper articles,
that allow readers the opportunity to see how the war affected
ordinary people as well as political and military leaders.
Mexican American War includes more than sixty
photographs, illustrations, and maps, a timeline of key events
of the war, a glossary, research and activity ideas, a general
bibliography, and a subject index.

Acknowledgments
A note of appreciation is extended to the Mexican
American War advisors, who provided invaluable suggestions
when this work was in its formative stages:
Frances Bryant Bradburn
Director of Educational Technologies
North Carolina Public Schools
Raleigh, North Carolina
Ann West LaPrise
Junior High/Elementary Media Specialist
Huron School District
New Boston, Michigan

Comments and Suggestions

We welcome your comments on Mexican American
War. Please write: Editors, Mexican American War, U•X•L,
27500 Drake Rd., Farmington Hills, Michigan, 48331-3535;
call toll free: 1-800-877-4253; fax: 248-414-5043; or send e-
mail via http://www.galegroup.com.

viii Mexican American War

 Words to Know

A
Abolitionist movement: A movement made up of people
called abolitionists who worked to abolish or end
slavery.

Alamo: An old Spanish mission (church building), located at

San Antonio, Texas, that had been used as a fort by
Mexico’s Spanish colonizers but later abandoned. In
March 1836, about two hundred U.S. settlers who
were fighting to make Texas an independent state
took refuge here; surrounded and then attacked by
Mexican soldiers, all were killed.

All-Mexico movement: A movement made up of those who

felt that, following the U.S. victory in the Mexican
American War, the United States should seize the op-
portunity to take control of the entire country of Mex-
ico, and not just the territory fought over in the war.

Alta California: Upper California; the area that is the now

the state of California.

ix
 Amphibious assault: An attack conducted by both army
(land) and navy (sea) forces.
Annexation: The process by which a territory becomes a state.
Armistice: A cease-fire, or halt, in fighting.

B
Baja California: Lower California; still part of Mexico, this
area is adjacent to the southern border of what is now
the state of California.
Bear Flag Rebellion: A movement of U.S. settlers in Califor-
nia’s Sacramento Valley who declared their indepen-
dence from Mexico and established their own short-
lived nation; their flag featured a single star, a grizzly
bear, and the words “California Republic.” Renamed
the California Battalion, the Bear Flaggers took part in
the U.S. conquest of California.

C
California Gold Rush: The hurried scramble of fortune-
seekers into California after the January 1849 discov-
ery of gold at Sutter’s Mill.
Californios: California residents of Mexican descent.
Casualties: Those killed, wounded, or missing in battle.
Cavalry: Soldiers mounted on horseback
Chapparal: A kind of dense, thorny brush common in north-
eastern Mexico and part of what made this a difficult
terrain for warfare.
Chapultepec Hill: A famous landmark located just outside
the gates of Mexico City. Once occupied by the Aztec
emperor Montezuma, it was the site of the National
Military Academy and of a bloody battle that led to
the U.S. conquest of Mexico City.
Civil War: The conflict fought from 1861 to 1865 between
the United States and the Confederate States of Amer-
ica (made up of eleven southern states that had seced-
ed from the union) over the issues of slavery and
states’ rights.

x Mexican American War

Compromise of 1850: An agreement by which California
would be admitted to the United States as a free state,
while both slaveholders and those who opposed slav-
ery would be allowed to settle in the new territories of
New Mexico and Utah; slavery would be abolished in
the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.); and the
Fugitive Slave Law would be more strictly enforced.
Court martial: A trial held in a military court and involving a
military officer or officers accused of war- or military-
related crimes.
Criollos: Residents of colonial Mexico, or New Spain, who
were of Spanish heritage but had been born in Mexi-
co. They had less social status and power than the
gachupines, who were those born in Spain.

E
Expansionism: The westward movement of white U.S. citi-
zens across the borders of the United States and into
the wide expanses of land between the Appalachian
mountain chain in the East and the Pacific Ocean.

F
Flying artillery: A very effective weapon used by the U.S.
Army in the Mexican American War, that was a kind
of light cannon mounted between two big wheels
that could be moved quickly and easily. It was devel-
oped by Major Sam Ringgold, who was killed in an
early battle during the war.

G
Gachupines: Residents of colonial Mexico, or New Spain,
who were of Spanish heritage and had been born in
Spain. They had the highest social status and most of
the power.
Guerrillas: Small groups of soldiers or individual fighters who
operate outside of the regular army, often launching
surprise attacks.

Words to Know xi
 L
Lone Star Republic: The independent state established by
U.S. citizens who had settled in the Mexican state of
Tejas y Coahuila and who achieved independence
from Mexico in the 1836 Texas Revolution.
Los Ninos Heroes: The boy heroes; a group of teenaged boys
who were among the fifty cadets from Mexico’s Na-
tional Military Academy who fought and died in the
Battle of Chapultepec Hill.
Louisiana Purchase: The agreement by which the United
States bought 800,000 square miles of land from
France. This area included the present-day states of
Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, part of Minnesota, North
Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, most of
Kansas, parts of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and
Louisiana.

M
Manifest destiny: A phrase coined by journalist John O’Sulli-
van in 1845 that referred to the deeply racist idea that
it was the god-given right and duty of white U.S. citi-
zens to settle in and “civilize” the entire continent of
North America.
Mestizos: Residents of colonial Mexico, or New Spain, who
were of mixed Spanish and Native American heritage.
They occupied a low rung in their society, in which
social status and power resided with the gachupines
and criollos.
Mexican Revolution: The conflict fought from 1910 to 1911
that brought the harsh thirty-five-year reign of dicta-
tor Porfirio Díaz to an end.
Militia: An army made up of volunteers who have offered to
serve in a war or other emergency in which military
forces beyond the regular, professional army are need-
ed.
Missouri Compromise: The 1820 agreement by which Mis-
souri was admitted to the United States as a slave state
and Maine as a free state, thus maintaining the deli-
cate balance between states that allowed slavery and

xii Mexican American War

 those that made it illegal. This agreement also prohib-
ited slavery in any of the lands of the Louisiana Pur-
chase that were north of the Missouri border.
Musket: The old-fashioned kind of gun used by the Mexi-
cans, which did not shoot very far or accurately and
thus gave the Mexicans a disadvantage when faced
with the better equipped U.S. troops.

N
National Highway: A well-paved, evenly graded road, origi-
nally built by the Spanish, that allowed the U.S. Army
a relatively smooth passage from the coastal city of
Vera Cruz to the Mexican capital, Mexico City.
Nueces River: The traditional border between Texas and Mex-
ico. After the annexation of Texas as a U.S. state, the
United States began to claim the Rio Grande, located
about 100 miles south of the Nueces, as the border.

O
“Old Fuss and Feathers”: The nickname of General Winfield
Scott, which he earned because of his formal dress
and manners and belief in strict discipline.
“Old Rough and Ready”: The nickname of General Zachary
Taylor, given to him by soldiers in honor of his infor-
mal, rugged appearance and manners and his battle-
field courage.

P
Panic of 1819: An economic depression, or a period of eco-
nomic hardship, that hit hardest in the most western
part of the United States (especially in Missouri, Ken-
tucky, and Illinois) and that caused residents there to
look toward Texas for a new start.
Pedragal: A 15-square-mile expanse of jagged lava rock, just
south of Mexico City, over which the U.S. Army made
an unexpectedly successful crossing.

Words to Know xiii

 R
Regular army: An army made up of officers and soldiers who
have chosen the military as their permanent job or
profession.
Rio Grande: The river that, after the 1845 annexation of
Texas, the United States claimed as the border be-
tween Texas and Mexico (even though the border had
traditionally been the Nueces River, located about 100
miles north of the Rio Grande).

S
Soldaderas: Mothers, sisters, wives, and girlfriends of Mexi-
can soldiers who followed the Mexican army, provid-
ing a great service by feeding, clothing, and nursing
the soldiers and even sometimes fighting in battles.

T
Tejas y Coahuila: The Mexican name for the area of north-
eastern Mexico that, in 1845, became the state of
Texas.
Texas Revolution: The 1836 struggle through which U.S. cit-
izens who had settled in the Mexican state of Tejas y
Coahuila achieved independence from Mexico, estab-
lishing the Lone Star Republic.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: The peace agreement that
ended the Mexican American War. It resulted in Mex-
ico acknowledging the Rio Grande as the border of
Texas and agreeing to cede the territories of California
and New Mexico, an area of 525,000 square miles and
more than half of Mexico’s total territory. In ex-
change, the United States agreed to pay Mexico $15
million and forgive debts owed by Mexico to the
United States.

V
Valley of Mexico: The ancient volcanic crater (46 miles long
and 32 miles wide) in which Mexico City is located;

xiv Mexican American War

 during the mid-nineteenth century, it included
swampy lakes as well as marshes and villages.
Volunteers: Citizens who are not members of the regular
armed services but who offer to serve during a war or
other emergency in which more military forces are
needed.

Y
Yanquis: The Spanish-language version of Yankees, a nick-
name for Americans that was used scornfully by the
Mexicans.
Yellow fever: A deadly disease that, during the mid-nineteenth
century, was common along Mexico’s swampy coast in
the spring and summer. The disease was carried by
mosquitoes, although this fact was not yet known.

Words to Know xv
 Timeline of Events

1521 During the Spanish conquest of what is now Mexico,

forces under the explorer and military leader Hernán
Cortés crush the Aztec empire and kill its emperor,
Montezuma. Thus the Spanish colony of New Spain is
established.
1776 The United States declares its independence from
Great Britain.
1783 The Treaty of Paris brings the Revolutionary War to an
end and establishes the United States of America as an
independent nation.
1803 Through the Louisiana Purchase, the United States ac-
quires about 800,000 square miles west of the Ap-
palachian Mountains, doubling the nation’s size.
1810 Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla leads a revolt that
pits a small army drawn from New Spain’s poorest
against the Spanish colonial army. Hidalgo is captured
and executed, but the spirit of rebellion stays alive.
1819 An economic depression hits the western and south-
ern parts of the United States, prompting people liv-

xvii
 ing there to look beyond U.S. borders for more oppor-
tunity.

1820 The U.S. Congress approved the famous Missouri

Compromise. It outlawed slavery within the Louisiana
Purchase territory north of 36°30' latitude. Missouri it-
self entered the Union as a slave state, while Maine en-
tered as a free state.

1820–50 An estimated four million U.S. settlers move into

the western parts of North America.

1821 Mexico gains independence from Spain. This allows

the establishment of the Santa Fe Trail, enabling trade
between the United States and Mexico. At the same
time, the Mexican government grants Moses Austin
200,000 acres of land in Tejas y Coahuila (later called
Texas), to which Austin plans to bring U.S. settlers;
after Austin’s unexpected death, his son Stephen car-
ries on with his father’s plan.

1824 Mexico’s constitution establishes the nation as a re-

public.

1829 Mexico bans slavery, but most Texans ignore this law
as well as others that restrict new immigration and
gun registration.

1833 Dynamic military leader Antonio López de Santa

Anna becomes president of Mexico as well as
supreme commander of the country’s army. He abol-
ishes Mexico’s constitution and sets up a centralized
government, giving himself absolute power.

1833 Accused of urging Texans to revolt against Mexico,

Stephen Austin is imprisoned.

1835 Santa Anna sends troops to Texas. Texans resist and

take control of the towns of Gonzales, Goliad, and
San Antonio.

March 2, 1836 Texans establish an independent nation, the

Lone Star Republic. David Burnet is elected interim
president, and Sam Houston is named commander of
the Texan army. Mexico does not formally recognize
Texas’s independence.

xviii Mexican American War

March 6, 1836 A large Mexican force under Santa Anna at-
tacks less than two hundred Texans holed up in the
Alamo, an old Spanish mission at San Antonio. All of
the Alamo’s defenders are killed.
March 19, 1836 After losing a battle against the Mexican
army at Goliad, three hundred Texan soldiers under
the command of Colonel James Fannin are taken pris-
oner. On March 27, Santa Anna orders all of them ex-
ecuted. The massacres at Goliad and the Alamo en-
rage Texans, and the small Texan army expands.
April 21, 1836 In a surprise attack, Sam Houston leads 900
Texan soldiers against several thousand Mexican
troops under Santa Anna’s command. The Battle of
San Jacinto is a victory for the Texans, who suffer
only 40 casualties to the Mexicans’ 600 killed and 730
captured. Santa Anna himself is among those cap-
tured and is forced to sign a treaty recognizing the in-
dependence of Texas. This treaty is later considered
invalid by the Mexican government.
October 1836 Sam Houston becomes the first elected presi-
dent of the Lone Star Republic.
1837 U.S. president Andrew Jackson recognizes the Lone
Star Republic and wants to annex it, but these efforts
to make it a part of the United States are for now un-
successful.
1843 Mexico warns the United States that the annexation
of Texas will mean war.
1844 Avid expansionist James K. Polk is elected president
of the United States.
1845 In an article published in the Democratic Review, John
O’Sullivan coins the term “manifest destiny,” refer-
ring to the idea that white Americans have not only
the right but the duty to impose their way of life and
ideals across the continent.
March 1, 1845 Texas is annexed to the United States. In
protest, Mexico immediately cuts off diplomatic rela-
tions with the United States.
Summer 1845 Polk orders General Zachary Taylor to take
several thousand U.S. troops to Corpus Christi on the

Timeline of Events xix

 Nueces River, the traditional border between Texas
and Mexico.
November 1845 Polk sends Louisiana legislator John Slidell
to Mexico to offer its government $5 million for New
Mexico and $25 million for California. The offer is re-
jected.
March 28, 1846 Taylor’s troops move several hundred miles
south to the banks of the Rio Grande, which the Unit-
ed States is now claiming as its border with Mexico.
On a site across from the Mexican city of Matamoros,
Taylor begins construction on Fort Texas (later re-
named Fort Brown).
April 11, 1846 Mexican general Mariano Arista arrives at
Matamoros and takes charge of several thousand
Mexican troops stationed there.
April 26, 1846 A small U.S. patrol unit of sixty-three soldiers
is attacked by a much larger Mexican force. Eleven
soldiers are killed, prompting Taylor to inform Polk
that hostilities have begun.
May 8 and 9, 1846 Taylor’s troops defeat the Mexican army
in the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma,
causing the Mexicans heavy casualties and exposing
the weakness of their artillery.
May 11, 1846 Polk sends a declaration of war to Congress,
claiming that Mexico has started the war by shedding
“American blood upon American soil.”
May 13, 1846 Despite a few dissenting voices, the war decla-
ration passes through both houses of Congress and is
signed by the president.
June 1836 Led by Colonel John Charles Frémont of the U.S.
Corps of Topographical Engineers, a group of U.S. set-
tlers in California revolts against Mexico, establishing
the short-lived Bear Flag Republic.
July 1846 New England philosopher and writer Henry David
Thoreau, vowing that his money will not go to sup-
port the war in Mexico, is jailed for refusing to pay his
taxes. The experience inspires him to write his famous
essay “Civil Disobedience” about the duties of a good
citizen.

xx Mexican American War

August 13, 1846 Combined navy and army forces under the
command of Commodore Robert Stockton take con-
trol of Los Angeles, capping a series of peaceful con-
quests of towns along the California coast.
August 18, 1846 General Stephen Watts Kearny arrives in
Santa Fe at the head of the U.S. Army of the West. The
town is captured bloodlessly, and Kearny soon sets off
for California with several hundred troops.
September 1846 After tricking the U.S. government into al-
lowing him past a naval blockade, Santa Anna returns
to Mexico from Cuba, where he had been exiled. Ig-
noring his promise to work for peace with the United
States, he begins building up his army to vanquish
the U.S. invaders.
September 21–25, 1846 Taylor’s troops take control of the
town of Monterrey after a bloody battle that ends
with hand-to-hand fighting. Polk is displeased when
Taylor arranges an eight-week ceasefire.
September 29, 1846 General José María Flores leads a small
Mexican force in recapturing Los Angeles.
November 1846 Polk offers General Winfield Scott com-
mand of the Army of Invasion. Scott begins to plan
an amphibious (using both army and navy forces) at-
tack to be launched from the coastal city of Vera Cruz.
From there he will lead his army west toward the cap-
ital, Mexico City.
December 6, 1846 Exhausted by their journey from Santa Fe
to California, Kearny’s troops lose the Battle of San
Pascual. They sustain thirty-six casualties, while no
Mexicans are killed.
January 8, 1847 The combined forces of Stockton, Frémont,
and Kearny reconquer Los Angeles. As a result, Cali-
fornia comes firmly under U.S. control.
February 24, 1847 Taylor’s force meets Santa Anna’s army
near the Buena Vista ranch, about 45 miles west of
Monterrey. After a long day of fighting and an estimat-
ed three thousand casualties, the Mexicans flee. The
United States casualty rate also is high, with about
seven hundred men killed, wounded, or missing.

Timeline of Events xxi

 March 22, 1847 Having landed more than ten thousand
troops near Vera Cruz, Scott begins bombarding the
city. Almost two hundred Mexicans (half of them
civilians) are killed in the attack, while the United
States loses only nineteen. The city comes under U.S.
control on March 28.

April 18, 1847 A short battle at a mountain pass called Cerro

Gordo sends the Mexican army fleeing after a thou-
sand of them are killed or wounded, and another
three thousand are captured.

May 1847 Spanish-speaking diplomat Nicholas Trist joins

Scott’s army at Puebla, where it is resting before con-
tinuing on to Mexico City. Sent to negotiate a peace
treaty with the Mexicans, Trist clashes with Scott at
first but the two eventually become friends.

August 11, 1847 Scott’s army enters the Valley of Mexico.

Their assault on Mexico City will take place over the
next month, with a series of battles culminating in a
U.S. victory.

August 19 and 20, 1847 At the battles of Contreras and

Churubusco on the outskirts of Mexico City, the Mex-
icans sustain about four thousand casualties, while
the United States has nearly one thousand. The sur-
viving seventy-five members of the San Patricio Bat-
talion, a Mexican army unit made up of U.S. Army
deserters and other foreigners, are captured; fifty are
sentenced to death by hanging while the rest are to be
severely punished.

August 21, 1847 An armistice takes effect as the two sides

enter into peace talks. Each determines that the other
is simply stalling for time, and the armistice is called
off on September 7.

September 8, 1847 U.S. troops attack a fort called El Morino

del Rey, where it is suspected that the Mexicans are
manufacturing cannons. The United States sustains
its highest casualties for a single battle of the war (23
percent of those participating) and no cannon factory
is found.

xxii Mexican American War

September 12, 1847 The United States attacks Chapultepec
Hill, site of Mexico’s National Military Academy and
the last obstacle before the capture of Mexico City.
Most of the eight hundred Mexican defenders are
killed, including fifty cadets from the Academy who
will be long remembered as Los Ninos Heroes (the
boy heroes).
September 14, 1847 After a bloody two-day assault, the
United States takes control of Mexico City. Having re-
signed the presidency, Santa Anna flees. The city is
chaotic, and the Mexican government is in disarray.
November 11, 1847 A new Mexican Congress is formed and
an interim president, Manuel de la Pena y Pena, elect-
ed. The movement toward peace negotiations is ago-
nizingly slow.
November 16, 1847 Trist receives a message from Polk order-
ing him to return to the United States. Convinced that
the opportunity for peace will otherwise be lost, Trist
decides to defy the order and enter into peace talks.
January 2, 1848 Trist begins secret negotiations at Guadalupe
Hidalgo with three Mexican peace commissioners.
February 2, 1848 The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed.
Mexico agrees to recognize the Rio Grande border and
to cede California and New Mexico to the United
States, while the United States agrees to pay Mexico
$15 million and forgive all debts owed to American
citizens.
March 16, 1848 Despite his anger at Trist’s defiance, Polk
signs the treaty, which has been ratified by the U.S.
Congress.
May 30, 1848 The Mexican government ratifies the treaty,
making it official.
July 4, 1848 The United States receives its copy of the signed
treaty.
January 1849 Gold is discovered at Sutter’s Mill, near the
present-day city of Sacramento, California. Inspired
by the prospect of instant wealth, many U.S. settlers
take part in the Gold Rush.

Timeline of Events xxiii

 1850 Tensions over the slavery issue that had been intensi-
fied by the addition of new territories to the United
States after the Mexican American War are only tem-
porarily eased by the Compromise of 1850. This
agreement admits California as a free state, with both
slaveholders and others allowed to settle in New Mex-
ico and Utah. Slavery is abolished in the District of
Columbia, but the Fugitive Slave Law is to be more
strictly enforced.
1861–65 After eleven states secede from the Union to form the
Confederate States of America, the country is embroiled
in a bloody civil war over the issues of slavery and states
rights. The war ends with the defeat of the Confedera-
cy, but has long-lasting effects on the nation.
1910–11 The Mexican Revolution brings to an end the harsh
reign of dictator Porfirio Díaz.

xxiv Mexican American War

 Research and Activity Ideas

T he following list of research and activity ideas is intended

to offer suggestions for complementing English, social
studies, and history curricula; to trigger additional ideas for
enhancing learning; and to suggest cross-disciplinary projects
for library and classroom use.
• A Woman’s Thoughts: Write several entries in the jour-
nal of a woman who moves with her family from Mis-
souri to Texas in the early 1830s. Include entries that
cover a span of years through the late 1840s, to show
how the woman’s life is affected by events such as the
Texas Revolution, Texas statehood, and the Mexican
American War.
• The Many Sides of Manifest Destiny: The concept of
manifest destiny (the idea that white Americans had both
the right and the duty to settle and dominate the entire
North American continent) was viewed in different ways
by different people. Think about how a white U.S. farmer,
a Native American, and a Mexican citizen living in south-
ern California might feel about westward expansion. In
their voices, write narratives that either justify or object

xxv
 to the movement of white U.S. citizens into the south-
west.
• Is This a Just War?: With several classmates, write and
perform a skit that dramatizes the congressional debate
about whether the United States should declare war on
Mexico. Find out which members of Congress were for
and against the war, and what they said about it.
• How Officers and Soldiers Dressed: After researching
the uniforms worn by those who fought on both sides of
the Mexican American War, create a series of drawings or
other illustrations that show how both officers and regu-
lar soldiers might have looked.
• The Role of the Soldaderas: Make a table display that il-
lustrates the important role played by Mexican women in
the Mexican American War (as well as other Mexican
conflicts). Include both written text and illustrations to
help describe the jobs—including nursing, cooking,
washing clothes, and even fighting—these women per-
formed.
• Thoreau Goes to Jail: Working with one or more class-
mates, use a tape recorder to record an interview with
war protester Henry David Thoreau. Pretend you are vis-
iting the famous author and philosopher in his cell on
the evening of the night he spent in jail for refusing to
pay his taxes. Ask him why he has chosen to take this ac-
tion. You might also interview Thoreau’s jailer, and the
friend who comes to bail him out.
• The Life of a Soldier: There are many first-hand ac-
counts of what U.S. soldiers experienced during the Mex-
ican American War and how they lived in camp. Pretend
you are one of these soldiers and either write letters
home to your family or write and perform a monologue,
describing what your life is like and what you have seen
and done.
• Chronicling the War: The Mexican American War was
the first in which journalists and photographers were
able to document first-hand the people, places, and
events that made up the war. Many hometown reporters
joined the army or otherwise found their way to Mexico
and sent back their accounts. Use photocopies of pho-

xxvi Mexican American War

 tographs and other images and write text to create a full-
page feature article about the war.
• A Training Ground for Officers: Trace the careers of sev-
eral of the young men who served in the Mexican Ameri-
can War (such as Ulysses S. Grant or Franklin Pierce) and
later went on to achieve fame as military or political lead-
ers. Present what you have learned in an essay, timeline,
or chart format.
• Before-and-After Dialogue: With a classmate, write and
perform a dialogue between two friends, both of them
Mexican citizens living at the time of the Mexican Amer-
ican War in the territory that would become the state of
New Mexico. One of them chooses to stay and become
an American citizen while the other decides to move far-
ther south and retain his or her Mexican citizenship and
identity. You might wish to include a second dialogue
that takes place in the twenty-first century between resi-
dents of New Mexico and Mexico.

Research and Activity Ideas xxvii

 Almanac

Chapter 1: The United States and Mexico: Close Neighbors with

Different Goals…3
Chapter 2: The Fight for Texas Independence…17
Chapter 3: Two Nations on the Brink of War…34
Chapter 4: The War Begins in Northern Mexico…57
Chapter 5: The Conquest of Mexico City…82
Chapter 6: Peace, But at What Cost?…102
The United States and Mexico: 1
Close Neighbors with
Different Goals

I t would be hard for most U.S. citizens to imagine their

country without the area known as the Southwest. The
states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California (as well
as the southern parts of Nevada and Utah) make up an impor-
tant, colorful, and much treasured corner of the United
States. In the Southwest exists a blend of traditions that can
be found nowhere else and that grew out of the intermin-
gling of the different peoples who have lived in the region.

During the sixteenth century, European explorers

began arriving in the southern part of the North American
continent. Native Americans were already in the area follow-
ing their own traditions. Until the middle of the nineteenth
century, the Southwest would be dominated by the Spanish,
who conquered Mexico, which then included territory that
later became part of the United States. When the Spanish ar-
rived in the area in the early 1500s, they brought their own
language, customs, and religion with them, adapting these
things to this new environment. Later, people from the east-
ern and southern United States also settled in the Southwest.
As far as most them were concerned, they had little in com-

3
 mon with the Mexicans or Native Americans already inhabit-
ing the region, yet they, too, had to adapt to the place, and
they, too, were changed by it.

The unique southwestern tapestry

Over the years, these strands of different people came
together in a tapestry as bold as the blankets woven by the
southwestern Native Americans, as rugged as the worn hat of
a vaquero (cowboy), and as delicate as the silver comb in the
black hair of a woman on a Mexican hacienda (ranch). Accord-
ing to U.S. Census Bureau figures collected in 2000, close to
twenty one million people in the United States (or 7.3 percent
of the total population) claim Mexican heritage, and Spanish
is the nation’s second most widely spoken language. Mexican
food is enjoyed by Americans from coast to coast, and
teenagers dance to Latin-flavored music. Tourists from all fifty
states (as well as other countries around the world) travel long
distances to view the dramatic geography of the Southwest:
from the towering redwood trees of California to the rolling
ranch lands of Texas, and from the lonesome spread of Death
Valley to the awesome depths of the Grand Canyon.
There are probably few U.S. citizens who have never
tasted a tortilla or heard “La Bamba” (an old Mexican folk
song made popular in the late twentieth century by several
U.S. singers). But many more have never heard the story of
how their nation acquired this unique part of its territory and
culture. Although the story begins earlier and continues later,
it centers on the Mexican American War, a relatively short,
but very bloody conflict that took place between 1846 and
1848. When it was over, Mexico had given up two-fifths of its
total territory to the United States, land that was gradually di-
vided into the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Cal-
ifornia (as well as the southern parts of Nevada and Utah).

A controversial conflict
In some ways, the Mexican American War brought
positive results for the United States. Yet it was and continues
to be a controversial conflict that highlights troubling issues.

4 Mexican American War

On the U.S. side, the war was viewed by most as necessary if
the young and growing nation was to push its boundaries
westward. Most U.S. citizens believed it was the “manifest
destiny” (the God-given right and duty) of white Americans
to take over this vast, resource-rich land, even if it meant tak-
ing land from the Mexicans or Native Americans who had
been living there for hundreds, and even thousands, of years.
Mexicans, on the other hand, had lived on and ruled
over this area for centuries. They believed that it belonged to
them, and that the United States was simply trying to steal
their land. A notable minority of U.S. citizens agreed with the
Mexicans, including a young Illinois congressman and future
U.S. president named Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865); a pas-
sionate New England idealist named Henry David Thoreau
(1817–1862); and an army lieutenant named Ulysses S. Grant
(1822–1885), who fought in the war but later condemned it.
(Grant later gained fame as one of the most important gener-
als on the Union side in the American Civil War [1861–65].)
Despite this controversy, most U.S. citizens supported
the Mexican American War. A little more than one hundred
thousand of them fought for the United States, while an even
larger number took up arms in defense of Mexico. As in all
wars, there was bravery and sacrifice as well as death and bru-
tality on both sides. But it seems that it is the Mexican peo-
ple, perhaps because the outcome was tragic for them, who
have most nurtured the bitter memory of this war, and best
honored their fallen soldiers.

A variety of problems lead to war

The Mexican American War took place at an impor-
tant moment in U.S. history, when a whole variety of prob-
lems were about to reach a boiling point. Immigrants were
streaming into the United States (often to be greeted with re-
sentment and even discrimination), and this resulted in a
rapid growth of the U.S. population. This growth made eco-
nomic pressures more intense and created a need for more
space and new opportunities.
Another problem facing the United States was the
issue of slavery. It was at this time that people were becoming

The United States and Mexico: Close Neighbors with Different Goals 5
 more and more divided on the issue, with southerners set on
defending their way of life, which was dependent on slave
labor, and northerners just as set on ending a practice that
many viewed as inhumane. The Mexican American War
would take its place in a chain of events that finally led to the
American Civil War (1861–65), when U.S. citizens fought
each other over the issues of slavery and the rights of individ-
ual states.
In addition, when the Mexican American War was
over, the United States acquired more than 50,000,000 square
miles of land, which created a whole new set of issues. These
included how to manage the region’s plentiful mineral re-
sources (including gold, silver, copper, and uranium), how to
deal with hostile Native American populations, and how to in-
tegrate the Mexicans who were now living within the United
States’ borders into U.S. society. In Mexico, the political insta-
bility and widespread poverty that had plagued the country
before, during, and after the Mexican American War would
eventually erupt into the Mexican Revolution (1910–11). Ex-
isting side by side in an uneasy relationship, both the United
States and Mexico would face struggle and hardship in the
years to come. Certainly both had some inkling of this future
as they began a war played out amidst the arid landscapes and
graceful Spanish architecture of Mexico and Texas.

Americans are eager to settle the West

In 1776, the residents of Great Britain’s thirteen
North American colonies (New Hampshire, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Delaware,
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Car-
olina, and Georgia) declared their independence and began
the Revolutionary War, in which many lost their lives in pur-
suit of freedom. The 1783 signing of the Treaty of Paris ended
the war, but brought a whole new set of difficult tasks to the
new United States of America. The government of this young
nation had not only to protect and govern the citizens of the
first thirteen states, but it also had to shepherd the country
into a period of rapid expansion.
Due to immigration and a high birth rate, which was
nurtured by the belief that families needed many children to

6 Mexican American War

 A map of the land that was
in dispute during the
Mexican American War.
Photograph reproduced by
permission of Getty Images.

keep their farms and businesses afloat, the U.S. population

grew rapidly during the early nineteenth century. In fact, it
expanded from five million in 1800 to more than twenty-
three million by 1850. And all those people needed space! As
a result of this growth, many people began moving past the
country’s original borders into the vast territory that lay west
of the Appalachians (the mountain chain that runs north to
south through the eastern United States). Between 1790 and
1803, Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio became
states, and settlers began pouring into them.

Another large chunk of western land opened up for

settlement in 1803, when the United States signed the
Louisiana Purchase. This area, totaling about 800,000 square
miles, was to become the states of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa,
North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming,
and Colorado and included parts of western Minnesota, east-
ern Montana, and western Louisiana as well as most of Kansas
and the city of New Orleans. Long held by Spain, this territory

The United States and Mexico: Close Neighbors with Different Goals 7
 had been taken over by France at the end of the eighteenth
century. Strapped for cash to support his war against his Euro-
pean neighbors, especially Great Britain, French emperor
Napoleon I (1769–1821) offered to sell this land to the United
States for $15 million. This was an incredibly good bargain,
and President Thomas Jefferson jumped at the chance to dou-
ble the size of the United States.
The Louisiana Purchase added fuel to an already burn-
ing expansionist fire. Things heated up even more nine years
later when the United States went to war once again with
Great Britain. Although the War of 1812 (1812–14) was sup-
posedly fought over the issues of trade and sailors’ rights,
some who supported the conflict hoped it would allow the
United States to acquire both Canada and Florida.
The war did not actually accomplish this, but it did
secure the Northwest Territory (now the states of Ohio, Indi-
ana, Illinois, and Michigan) for settlement by U.S. citizens. In
fact, all of the West became safer for white settlers after the
War of 1812, for the great Native American leader Tecumseh
(c. 1768–1813), a Shawnee war chief who had tried to con-
vince Indian tribes to join together to resist white settlement,
had been killed in the war. After the War of 1812, Native
Americans would continue to be pushed off their traditional
lands, despite treaties made with the U.S. government, and
forced to move farther and farther west. Eventually, most Na-
tive Americans would be required to live on reservations,
blocks of land designated for their use and often located far
from their original homes and in undesirable locations. It is
estimated that between 1820 and 1850, almost four million
white settlers moved west.

A newly divided society

The United States was becoming a much different
place from that created by the first colonists. Once the na-
tion’s life had been concentrated on the East Coast, where
farmers, artisans, and traders had all lived and worked togeth-
er. As the nineteenth century progressed and people spread
out across a rapidly expanding country, U.S. society split into
three main regions. One was the West, with its frontier settle-
ments and emphasis on hard work and self-reliance. Another

8 Mexican American War

was the South, where the owners of large plantations used A map showing the area
slave labor to maintain a lifestyle that imitated that of the encompassing the Louisiana
British upper class. The third region was located in the north- Purchase. This land purchase
eastern states, where residents had turned from farming to doubled the size of the
United States and added
fishing, shipbuilding, and trade to support themselves. These
fuel to an already burning
divisions in livelihood and outlook would become more pro-
expansionist fire. Photograph
nounced in the decades just before and just after the Mexican courtesy of the Gale Group.
American War.

The United States and Mexico: Close Neighbors with Different Goals 9
A group of white settlers
moving west. Many people
“Manifest destiny” is used to justify
moved to the West hoping U.S. actions
for a better life. Photograph Several important factors drove the expansionism of
reproduced by permission of the early nineteenth century. One was the hardship suffered by
Getty Images. many citizens during the economic depressions of 1818 and
1839. Western lands were cheap, and sometimes even free to
those willing to settle and cultivate them, and to many Ameri-
cans, land ownership signified wealth, self-sufficiency, and in-
dependence. It took a great deal of courage and optimism for
U.S. citizens to pack up their families and belongings and head
west toward a future in which the only certainty was a lot of
back-breaking work and hardship. Yet these white settlers also
were armed with their own arrogance. Most of them believed
that people of European ancestry were superior to others.
These settlers believed that this cultural superiority was simply
a fact upon which everyone, even God, agreed. The idea that
people of Native American, African, Mexican, or mixed her-
itage deserved equal rights or equal respect was alien to them.

10 Mexican American War

 In addition, most U.S. citizens believed that God had
put the continent of North America in the possession of white
people, and that it was not only their right to expand across its
vast reaches, but their duty. They had come to “civilize,” or in
other words, to reshape according to their own ideas and cus-
toms, this land and the people already living in it. They be-
lieved that all countries and peoples should adopt the U.S.
form of democratic government, in which power is held by the
people and not by a supreme ruler. (It is important to remem-
ber, though, that they did not believe that people of non-
European descent, including blacks and Native Americans,
were capable or deserving of this kind of self-government.)
Described as the “manifest destiny” of the United States in an
article published at the time of the Mexican American War (see
Chapter 3), this concept of superiority would be used to justify
the nation’s aggression toward its neighbor to the south.

Mexico’s colonial background

While the nineteenth century found U.S. citizens feel-
ing confident and eager to expand their borders, Mexicans of
the period were struggling with poverty and political instabil-
ity. These conditions had resulted from forces put in motion
several centuries earlier.
European explorers who arrived in Mexico during the
first quarter of the sixteenth century found not only an inviting
landscape, but also a rich, thriving civilization of the Aztec peo-
ple. The Aztec empire was crushed when, from 1519 to 1521,
Spanish forces under Hernán Cortés (1485–1547) conquered
those lands of the Aztec king Montezuma (c. 1480–1520).
Spain’s New World colony continued to grow during the seven-
teenth and eighteenth centuries, when the Spanish conquered
the areas that are now New Mexico and California. In the early
1700s, they also took control of land occupied by the Tejas Indi-
ans, which became the Mexican state of Tejas y Coahuila. It was
a dispute about the ownership of this area that would set off the
Mexican American War in the mid-nineteenth century.

A rigidly stratified, Catholic society

In the Mexico (then called New Spain) that took shape
during the 1700s, the Spanish culture and traditions were

The United States and Mexico: Close Neighbors with Different Goals 11
Aztec king Montezuma dominant while those of the Native Americans, along with
greeting Spanish explorer their rights, were oppressed. Mexican society was, in fact,
Hernán Cortés as he and his rigidly stratified or divided into five layers. At the top were the
party arrived in Mexico. gachupines, Spaniards who had been born in Spain and who
Spanish forces under Cortés
now ran the colonial government of Mexico. Next came the
conquered Aztec land and
criollos, people of unmixed Spanish heritage who had been
began Spanish rule of the
country. Photograph
born in Mexico and who were often frustrated by their lack of
reproduced by permission of the power. Mestizos, people of mixed Spanish and Native Ameri-
Corbis Corporation. can blood, had even less status. Next came Native Americans,
whose miserably paid labor supported those above them on
the social and economic scale. On the bottom rung were black
slaves and free blacks (who had never been slaves, had paid
their way out of slavery, or had been released by their masters)
as well as those called zambos (a mixture of Native American
and African heritages). Even after Mexico gained its indepen-
dence from Spain, this social hierarchy would remain in place,
with a small number of wealthy people living in luxury while
the vast majority of Mexicans worked for little or no pay, en-
dured harsh living conditions, and received no education.

12 Mexican American War

 Another fact of life in colonial Mexico was the Roman
Catholic Church. One of the most important aspects of their
culture that the Spanish had brought with them from the Old
World was their religion, which dominated life in Mexico as
it did in Spain. The church was state-sponsored, which meant
that it took an active part not just in people’s private lives but
in public matters, such as education and law. Mexicans were
required to be members of the Catholic Church. (By contrast,
the political system of the United States calls for a strict sepa-
ration of church and state and upholds the value of freedom
of religion.)

The seeds of rebellion

During the American Revolution, Mexicans support-
ed the colonists’ war for freedom and even lent them some
assistance. In turn, the Mexican people were influenced by
the independence ideals expressed not only in the United
States but in France, where a revolution against the ruling
monarchy took place from 1789 to 1799. All over the world,
the concept of the republic—in which power is held by all of
a nation’s citizens who elect representatives to pursue their
interests—as the most just form of government was being dis-
cussed and even put into practice. At the same time, Mexico’s
criollos were increasingly resentful of the power and status
held by the gachupines and by Spain’s tight control of the
colony’s politics and economy.
This rebellious mood was heightened in 1808, when
Napoleon invaded Spain and replaced its ruling monarch,
King Ferdinand VII (1784–1833), with his own brother,
Joseph Bonaparte (1768–1844). Mexicans cheered when the
Spanish revolted. Ferdinand would be returned to his throne
six years later, but in the meantime, the spark of revolution
had been lit in Mexico. Soon an on-again, off-again war for
independence had begun there.
This rebellion started with an 1810 revolt led by a
Catholic priest, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811), who
managed to gather an army of sixty thousand mestizos before
he was captured and executed by the Spanish. Despite his fate,
Hidalgo became a popular folk hero, and the first day of his re-
volt, September 16, is still celebrated as Mexico’s independence

The United States and Mexico: Close Neighbors with Different Goals 13
 day, even though independence had
not yet been achieved. From 1813 to
1815, another priest emerged to lead a
rebellion against the Spanish. Like his
predecessor, Father José María Morelos
de Pavón (1765–1815) was eventually
put to death by the Spanish.

Mexico achieves
independence
Morelos’s uprising had in-
volved people from many different
levels of Mexican society, including
Native Americans and mestizos. The
revolution that finally did liberate
Mexico from the Spanish, however,
was dominated by the criollos. Led by
Agustín de Iturbide (1783–1824), a for-
mer officer in Spain’s army, it took
place in 1821. Weakened by its own
troubles at home, Spain had no choice
but to sign Mexico’s declaration of in-
dependence. Iturbide became presi-
Catholic priest Miguel dent but soon declared himself emperor of Mexico. In 1823,
Hidalgo y Costilla began the Gaudalupe Victoria (1785–1843) led a successful revolt
Mexican rebellion against against the very unpopular Iturbide, and by the next year
the Spanish. Photograph Mexico had a constitution that established the country as a
courtesy of The Library republic. This still did not mean that all Mexicans were better
of Congress. off, however, for only criollos (who made up 10 percent of
the nation’s population of seven million) could vote.
The new country’s borders stretched from what is
now the country of Panama in the south to the present-day
state of Kansas in the north. The area contained 1,000,000
square miles of diverse landscapes and climates, including
jungles, deserts, plains, and fertile farmland. The years of war
had left Mexico drained both socially and economically, and
its new leaders had little experience in running such a large,
troubled nation. As a result, two groups formed and now vied
for dominance. One group, known as the conservatives, be-
lieved that political power should reside in a strong, central-
ized government that worked side by side with the Catholic

14 Mexican American War

Church. The other group, the liberals, thought that power
should be spread across the separate Mexican states and that
the church’s influence should be limited. The liberals also ad-
vocated public education and social reforms that would bene-
fit more ordinary people. It was these two very different out-
looks that would lead to turmoil in the days to come.

A national hero emerges

In 1829, the liberal Vicente Guerrero (1783–1831) was
elected president. He oversaw the abolishment of slavery in
Mexico, but was soon killed by forces loyal to the conserva-
tive Anastasio Bustamente (1780–1853), who then became
president. Meanwhile, Spain made one last attempt to recap-
ture its lost colony by attacking Mexico at the coastal city of
Vera Cruz in 1829. Mexico’s successful resistance to this at-
tack was led by Antonio Lopéz de Santa Anna (1794–1876; see
biographical entry), a general who quickly became a national
hero, and who would play an important role in the nation’s
later war with the United States.
Santa Anna was a criollo born in Vera Cruz in 1794.
He had joined Spain’s colonial army at the age of sixteen, and
spent a decade as a cavalry officer. In Mexico’s war for inde-
pendence, he had first fought on the Spanish side but for un-
known reasons joined the rebels in 1821. Two years later, he
led the revolt that ousted the dictatorial Iturbide from power.
Santa Anna’s strong leadership during Spain’s attempt to re-
capture Mexico was much appreciated by the Mexican peo-
ple, and he made as much of their adoration as he could. For
example, during the fighting, Santa Anna had received a se-
vere leg wound and the leg had to be amputated, so he
arranged to have his severed limb buried with full military
honors! Dressed in fancy uniforms bedecked with shining
metals and parading astride a powerful horse, Santa Anna es-
tablished himself as a grand figure in the public eye.
After Bustamente became president, conditions in
Mexico grew even worse than before. Santa Anna helped to
overthrow Bustamente in 1832, and in the next year elections
were held. Santa Anna was elected to the presidency and,
backed by the conservative faction, spent the next few years
stripping away any remaining traces of liberal reform. In

The United States and Mexico: Close Neighbors with Different Goals 15
 1835, Mexico’s 1824 constitution was abolished and a strong
centralist government was established. This meant that the
individual Mexican states were now under the control of the
federal government, which was based in Mexico City. It also
meant trouble for the large, thriving colony of U.S. settlers
who were living in the area called Tejas y Coahuila, (called
Texas by U.S. citizens) some 800 miles north of Mexico City.

For More Information

Books
Frazier, Donald, ed. The United States and Mexico at War. New York: Simon
and Schuster, 1997.
George, Isaac. Heroes and Incidents of the Mexican War. San Bernardino,
CA: Borgo Press, 1982.
Meyer, Michael C., and William L. Sherman. The Course of Mexican Histo-
ry. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.
Nardo, Don. The Mexican-American War. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books,
1991.
Nevin, David. The Mexican War. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1978.

Web Sites
Descendants of the Mexican War Veterans. The U.S.-Mexican War:
1846–1848. [Online] Available http://www.dmwv.org/mexwar/
mexwar1.htm (accessed on January 31, 2003).
PBS Online. U.S.-Mexican War: 1846–1848. [Online] Available http://
www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/ (accessed on January 31, 2003).

16 Mexican American War

 The Fight for 2
Texas Independence

P erhaps it was inevitable that as both the U.S. population

grew and economic pressures increased, U.S. citizens look-
ing for new horizons would turn their gaze south toward
Mexico. There they saw miles and miles of unpopulated land
well suited for growing cotton and grazing cattle. Tejas y
Coahuila, called Texas by Americans, the part of Mexico that
was closest to the U.S. border, was sparsely populated for sev-
eral reasons. Located about 800 miles from the Mexican capi-
tal, Mexico City, it was difficult for either the government or
the Roman Catholic Church (Mexico’s state religion) to exert
much control or influence over Texas. The military could not
do much to protect settlers from attack by hostile Native
Americans, communications were minimal, and most Mexi-
cans were too poor to consider a move to the frontier.

Mexico attracts U.S. attention

Before Mexico gained its independence, the Spanish
colonial authorities had forbidden all trade between the Mexi-
can outpost of Santa Fe (now located in the state of New

17
 SANTA FE NATIONAL Kansas City Franklin
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A map of the Santa Fe Trail. Mexico) and the United States. After the revolution, however, the
The route was established new Mexican government began to encourage trade between the
after the Mexican Revolution northern part of Mexico and the southern part of the United
in order to extend trade States. As a result, the Santa Fe Trail was established in August
between the United States
1821, linking St. Louis, Missouri, to Santa Fe and extending trade
and Mexico. Photograph
as far south as Chihuahua in north-central Mexico. Mexicans in
reproduced by permission of the
Corbis Corporation.
this region now began buying goods from U.S. traders.
At the same time, many in the United States realized
that gaining ports on the western coast of the continent
would allow access to trade with Asia and the rest of the Pa-
cific region. The Mexican state of California, located even far-
ther from the capital than Texas, offered several such ports.
At this time there were about seven hundred Americans liv-
ing in California.
An economic depression (a period of economic hard-
ship, when many people are out of work) called the Panic of
1819 hit hardest in the most western part of the United
States, especially in Missouri, Kentucky, and Illinois. Many
people in these states as well as those bordering on Texas,
such as Arkansas and Louisiana, were desperately looking for
a place to make a new start. So it is no surprise that several
hundred of them were willing to follow a man named Moses
Austin into an unfamiliar land.

18 Mexican American War

Moses Austin plans
a colony
Moses Austin (1761–1821) was
a land speculator (someone who buys
and sells land in the hope of making a
profit) who had lived in Connecticut,
Virginia, Missouri, and Arkansas and
who was now facing bankruptcy.
Austin decided that Texas was the an-
swer to his own and other people’s
problems. In early 1821, he convinced
Mexico’s colonial government to
grant him 200,000 acres on which to
establish a colony of U.S. settlers. In
June of that year, however, Austin
died unexpectedly. As result, the role
of leading the U.S. settlers into Texas
fell on the somewhat unenthusiastic
shoulders of his twenty-seven-year-old
son, Stephen.

Soft-spoken Stephen Austin

(1793–1836) had been a Congression-
al delegate from the territory of Missis-
sippi, but he was now studying law in New Orleans. Feeling a After his father’s death,
sense of familial duty, he agreed to take over for his father. Stephen Austin took over as
Soon Stephen Austin was leading a group of three hundred the leader of the colony
families (including many whose farms, plantations, or busi- that settled in Texas.
nesses had failed in recent years) to an area of Texas that lies Photograph courtesy of The
between the Colorado and Brazos rivers. The settlers worked Library of Congress.
hard to establish their colony, while Austin tried to convince
the newly independent Mexican government to honor the
land grants. Mexico’s president, Agustin de Iturbide
(1783–1824), was a self-styled emperor who did not like the
idea of U.S. citizens settling in Mexico. But in 1823 Iturbide
was ousted and a new president, Guadalupe Victoria
(1785–1843), took power. He approved of the settlements, but
with certain conditions.

At this early stage, the Mexican authorities could see

the advantages of Austin’s proposal. The newcomers would
cultivate land that was currently uninhabited, and they could
help to keep the local Native Americans under control. Even-

The Fight for Texas Independence 19

 tually, it was thought, they would blend in with the Mexican
people and culture around them, bringing more stability to
the region. So the Mexican government agreed to let the U.S.
settlers to stay, as long as they became Mexican citizens and
Roman Catholics, giving up their U.S. citizenship and any
other religion they may have previously followed. Austin’s
followers agreed to these conditions.

Trouble brewing between Mexicans and

U.S. settlers
For the next few years, the colony flourished. Texas
was viewed as a land of hope and opportunity, where a per-
son who was down on his luck could buy as many as 600
acres at a very cheap price. According to Nathaniel W.
Stephenson in his book Texas and the Mexican War, Texas was
a powerful magnet:
“From every section, from every class, pilgrims were drawn
to Texas, the very seat of fortune in the American mind during
the [eighteen] twenties. Young and old, rich and poor, wise and
foolish, a great host of Americans poured into the colonies of
Texas.”

By 1827, there were twelve thousand U.S. citizens in

Texas, while the area’s Mexican population numbered only
five thousand. Problems, however, were already developing.
Austin had made his bargain in good faith, promising that
the settlers would obey Mexican laws, follow the Catholic re-
ligion, and, in effect, attach themselves to the community
and culture that had allowed them inside its borders. But that
is not what happened.
One big issue of tension was slavery. Many of the U.S.
settlers were slaveholders, and they insisted on bringing their
slaves with them to Texas even though the practice was
frowned upon in newly independent Mexico. In 1829, the
Mexican government actually passed a law banning slavery,
but the Texans ignored it. Many also broke the Mexican law
that required them to register their guns; the settlers regarded
such a law as a direct assault on their personal freedom. In ad-
dition, few of them bothered to learn Spanish or become
Roman Catholics. Most kept themselves apart from the local
people, whom they considered racially inferior to themselves.

20 Mexican American War

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