The War With
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
In 1848 James Polk was the President of the United States. He sent U. S. soldiers to the Rio Grande River. One of his goals was to expand our country’s borders from ocean to ocean. Congress declared war on Mexico in 1848 when Mexico claimed all of Texas. The fighting lasted only about a year. When the Mexicans surrendered and signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, they had given up their land holdings north of the Rio Grande.
The Mexicans living in that area were promised that they could keep their land and they would be free to either remain United States citizens or they could return to Mexico. After the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed much of the land that had been owned by Mexican-Americans had been taken from them by settlers to the area.
Historians refer to the War with Mexico and its aftermath as a "dark chapter" in the history of the United States. Mexican-Americans have many reasons for distrusting United States foreign policies even today.
Mrs. Huber's Class | Pocantico Hills School
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