Gaughan

Let us Go West! : The Harsh Conflict Between the U.S. and Mexico By: Anthony Gaughan The Battle of Palo Alto Objectives: 1) Determine the causes and main battles of the Mexican-American War. 2) Compare its effects on the United States and Mexico.

An swer: The Mexican-American War had two basic causes. First, was the Texas War of Independence and the succeeding annexation of that area to the United States. Mexico offered settlers to live in the northern parts of their country, which is now present day Texas, if they would convert to Catholicism and take an oath of allegiance to Mexico. The "Texicans" living their did not like how the Mexican government ran things so they revolted and forced Santa Anna to sign the treaty of Velasco, giving them their independence. Texas and Mexico were continuously involved in border fights and on July 4th, 1845, Texas became part of the United States.

The second, and main cause of the war, between Mexico and the U.S., was the desire of the U.S. to expand across the North American continent to the Pacific Ocean which caused conflict with all of its neighbors; from the British in Canada and Oregon to the Mexicans in the southwest and, of course, with the Native Americans. Ever since President Jefferson's purchase of the Louisiana Territory in 1803, Americans migrated westward in ever increasing numbers, often into lands not belonging to the United States. By the time President Polk came to office in 1845, an idea called "Manifest Destiny" had taken root among the American people. In both 1835 and 1845, the United States offered to purchase California from Mexico, for $5 million and $25 million, respectively. The Mexican government refused the opportunity to sell half of its country to Mexico's most dangerous neighbor. The main battles of the Mexican-American war were the Battle of Palo Alto and Monterrey and Buena Vista. To many people, the Battle of Palo Alto is considered the first battle, or start of the Mexican-American War. The first major engagement of the U.S.-Mexican War, was fought on May 8, 1846, just north of present-day Brownsville, Texas. Weeks earlier, U.S. General Zachary Taylor had led 3,000 troops to the Rio Grande and established Fort Texas opposite the Mexican City of Matamoros, as well as a supply base, Fort Polk, at Point Isabel about forty miles away on the Gulf Coast. Mexican General Mariano Arista countered by bringing a 4,000-man force, the Army of the North, to Matamoros.

Meanwhile, Taylor began his advance on Monterrey. He reached that fortified town, which had a garrison of more than 10,000 troops, on September 19 and began his attack on the morning of September 21. With about 2,000 men, Gen. William J. Worth captured the road between Monterrey and Saltillo and by noon was storming Federation Hill. Six companies of charged up the hill, seized the enemy artillery, and turned the cannon on retreating Mexican forces. On the opposite side of the city a diversionary attack penetrated the town, despite much confusion. On September 22 the Americans rested, but they resumed the attack the next day. In January 1847, Santa Anna moved north with about 20,000 men to dislodge Taylor. Dispatches captured by the Mexicans had revealed that most of Taylor's forces were being withdrawn to take part in Gen. Winfield Scott's proposed landing at Veracruz. Word of Santa Anna's approach reached Taylor on February 21, and although outnumbered almost three to one, he took up a position at the hacienda of Buena Vista, a few miles from Saltillo. The Mexican attack began on February 22, when troops led by Ampudia gained an advantage and forced the Americans to abandon important defensive positions. The next morning the main Mexican force nearly overcame the U.S. defense. However, a dramatic charge led by Col. Jefferson [|Davis] about noon and a determined artillery advance under Capt. Braxton [|Bragg] finally saved the day for the Americans.

The Mexican-American War had many long-term effects. The first and most obvious is the vast territory Mexico was forced to give up to the United States, including the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. California also became a state after the war, following the short-lived 'California Republic' which had been declared in Sonoma by American settlers in revolt against Mexico (their flag is now the California state flag). The leading American general of the war, Zachary Taylor, would later be elected the 12th President.

For Mexico, the war was a series of tragedies. Besides the thousands of military and civilian deaths directly attributed to battles, the war left tens of thousands of orphans, widows and cripples. Artillery shelling and small-arms gunfire caused extensive destruction to buildings in a number of cities, in addition to damage to port facilities and roads. The naval blockade and movement of thousands of troops across the land severely affected the economy, disrupting internal and external trade, and the massive conscription of peasants caused a steep decline in agricultural and mineral production. The war also destroyed or upset political careers and caused chaos in the national government — there were seven presidents and 10 different ministers of foreign relations during the two years of war. The political instability during and immediately after the war led to a new despotic regime and eventually to another civil war.

Websites

Davidson, James West, and Michael B. Stoff. //America History of Our Nation//. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2009. //Pearsonsuccessnet.com//. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/snpapp/iText/ BrowseITEXTServlet?eventType=openIEXT&ISBN=0-13-365295-5&ISBNUrl=%2FiText%2Fprodu cts%2F0-13-365295-5%2Findex.html&ITEXTOID=0-13-365295-5&EnrollmentOID=ABA89D0DAFA FC9B2E040A00A7F344E56&DisplayTitle=America%3A+History+of+Our+Nation+©+2009&TitleI nFrame=Y&classPeriodOid=f6b0ec7715864824a335a2e638ebb71e&isbnUrlIsJavascript=fals e>.

"Mexican-American War: U.S. Army Routes." //American History//. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.

"U.S.-Mexican War." //Pbs.org//. PBS, 14 Mar. 2006. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/index_flash.html>. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> Picture "US MEXICAN WAR." //Ushistoryimages.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. <http://ushistoryimages.com/us-mexican-war.shtm>.