THE WAR WITH MEXICO

ROBERT E. LEE

• Robert E. Lee was born to a prominent family in
• 1807 from Virginia.
• His father was a hero from the American Revolution.
• He followed his father in to a military career.

JAMES K. POLK

• President of the U.S.
• Polk now believed that war with Mexico would bring states to the Unioin,
• Texas, New Mexico, and. California.
• He supported Texas's claims in disputes over the Texas-Mexico border.

SLIDELL'S REJECTION

• 1845, John Slidell was sent to Mexico to purchase California and
• New Mexico.
• Also, he went to gain the approval of the Rio Grande as the Texas border.
• Mexican affiliates refused to receive him.

MARCHING THE RIO GRADE

• Zachary Taylor was sent to march on the Rio Grade.
• His goals were to blockade the river.
• Mexicans viewed this action as a violation of their rights.

SECTIONAL ATTITUDES TOWARD WAR

• There were mixed feelings on startng a war.
• Southerners had a different view than Northerners.
• Northerners opposed war.
• Southerners saw this as an opportunity to extend slavery.

THE WAR BEGINS

• Taylor positioned forces at the Rio Grade.
• Mexico responded to Taylor's invasion of the territory.
• Mexico sent troops across the River and they killed 9 U.S. soldiers.

POLK'S MESSAGE

• Polk persuaded the House to go to war with Mexico.
• Polk's theory of manifest destiny had launched the U.S. In to a war.
• The war was fought on foreign ground.

KEARNY MARCHES WEST

• Stephen Kearny was ordered to march across Santa Fe Desert.
• Met by upper-class Mexicans who wanted to join the U.S.
• Not a single shot was fired, and led the long trek to Southern California.

THE REPUBLIC OF CALIFORNIA.

• Spanish settlers had set up missions throughout California.
• By the mid-1840s, 500 U.S. settlers lived in California.
• American settlers seized the town of Sonoma in 1846.
• This marked the independence from Mexico.
• Mexican troops gave way, leaving U.S. Forces in control of California.

THE WAR IN MEXICO

• American invasion of Mexico was led by two generals who
• were Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott.
• Taylor captured Monterrey, Mexico in 1846.
• Yet the Mexican garrison escaped.

THE WAR IN MEXICO

• Santa Anna returned to Mexico, he resumed presidency.
• He took command of the army, in February 1847.
• In February 1847, he ordered an attack on Taylor's troops at Buena Vista.
• After covering 260 miles, Scott's army had not lost a single battle.

AMERICA GAINS THE SPOILS OF WAR

• Mexico had lost at least 25,000 lives.
• Lost nearly half of the land, this marked an ugly milestone for Mexico.
• Even though the Americans won it, cost them 13,000 lives.

THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO

• February 2, 1848, the U.S. And Mexico signed the treaty.
• Mexico agreed to the Rio Grade border for Texas.
• Mexico ceded New Mexico and California to the U.S.
• The treaty guaranteed Mexicans living in these territories certain freedoms.
• The Gadsden Purchase established the current borders of the lower 48 States.

TAYLOR'S ELECTION IN 1848

• A small group of antislavery Democrats nominated Martin Van Buren.
• Van Buren got 10% of popular votes, but no electoral votes.
• Taylor's victories were soon over shadowed.
• It was overshadowed by a discovery in one of the new territories.

THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH

• James Marshall, discovered gold at Sutter's Mill.
• Word of chance discovery traveled East.

THE RUSH BEGINS

• Residents traveled to the Sacramento Valley in search of gold.
• June 6, 1848, Monterey's Mayor sent a scout to report on what was happening.

THE RUSH BEGINS

• Forty-niners were the people who flocked to California, 1849.
• Gold rush was a movement of people to newly discovered gold fields.

IMPACT OF GOLD FEVER

• San Francisco's population expanded from 1,000 to 35,000 in 2 years.
• Louisa Clapp settled in a log cabin and tried mining, but found it hard to
• like her husband practiced in medicine.

GOLD RUSH BRINGS DIVERSITY

• 1849, California's population expanded to over 100,000.
• The wealthiest African-Americans were living in California, 1855.
• The fast-growing population included large number of Mexicans.

CALIFORNIA'S STATEHOOD

• California had slaves, but the state did not allow salves.
• California's application for statehood provoked Congress.
• It became a sore point for the Country on winning the argument over slavery.
• California won statehood in 1850.

THE WAR WITH MEXICO