THE MEXICAN WAR

CAUSES FOR THE MEXICAN WAR

• Potential expansion of slavery to the U.S Southwest
• Was not sure if Texas was an American state or Mexican province
• The U.S. declined to take Texas into the Union because northern political interests were against another slave state
• President Polk wanted to expand the country to the Pacific Ocean by taking control of California

CAUSES FOR THE MEXICAN WAR

• "In the end, Mexico went to war with the United States not in spite of its weakness but because of its weakness."

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE WAR?

• On April 25, 1846, Mexican soldiers attacked U.S. soldiers under the command of General Zachary Taylor
• Mexican soldiers killed dozens
• On May 13, 1846, Congress declared war on Mexico
• Polk claimed that Mexico had "invaded our territory and shed American blood on American soil"
• The Battle of Palo Alto was the first major engagement of the U.S-Mexican War

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE WAR?

• The Battle of Buena Vista was the most dramatic fight of the U.S.-Mexican War
• The most important Mexican port and stronghold of Veracruz fell to the Americans
• The Battle of Casa Mata became one of the bloodiest days for American forces
• General Quitman's attack on Chapultepec caused the entire Mexican line to give way and fall back to Mexico City
• On September 14, the Mexicans surrendered the city

RESULTS OF THE WAR

• The Mexican War was about slavery, labor, and profit
• Together, the United States and Mexico lost upwards of 38,000 soldiers
• Only about 1,700 U.S. deaths were directly battle-related; the rest came from disease

RESULTS OF THE WAR

• Families were split in half
• An artificial political border was created and split the families
• Approximately 525,000 square miles of new territory was acquired
• The addition of new lands brought debates of slavery
• Mexico lost about 50% of their territory
• For the Americans, the war shaped the areas from Texas all the way to California