What Led To The Mexican War

The U.S Mexican War The whereabouts of the proposed Mexican-American border resulted in a war between the two countries lasting over 2 years. Major leaders on both sides were U.S President Tyler and President Polk as well as Mexican President Santa Anna. The main disputes the annexation of Texas, territorial issues and poor leadership.
With more Americans moving into Texas, the territory seemed promising to newly elected US Polk. The expansionist mentality of the country led Polk to try and acquire Texas. On March 1st, 1854 “President John Tyler signed the proposal of statehood for Texas but it didn’t pass through Congress” (softschool) . Mexico warned of war as a result. In June of 1845 the Texas is officially annexed. However, Mexico doesn’t
Slidell was to offer Mexico thirty million dollars to buy its Northern Territories, which included present day California, Nevada, Utah, parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. Mexico rejected Slidell and refused to negotiate with the United States. Not happy with the refusal, Polk ordered troops to the Rio Grande knowing it was the disputed territory between the U.S. and Mexico. Once the troops reached the Rio Grande, they built a fortress named Fort Texas. Tensions immediately rose between the two countries. Polk had hoped that Mexico would feel intimidated by the American soldiers' presence and would agree to sell their Northern Territories to the United States. If intimidation did not work, Polk was counting on Mexican soldiers to fire the first shot. One month after American soldiers arrived at the Rio Grande, Mexican troops attacked a United States patrol party and killed eleven soldiers and captured fifty-two prisoners. Following the attack, Polk demanded that Congress declare war on Mexico on May 13, 1846. The Mexican-American War lasted for two years, until the United States won the war gaining more than five-hundred thousand square miles of Northern Mexican
Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna signed the treaty but the problem lied in the fact that the Mexican Congress did not ratify it, nor did Mexican presidents after Santa Anna acknowledge Texas’ independence. When Texas was annexed by the United States in 1845, Mexico claimed the international border to be the Nueces River, while the U.S. claimed the border to be at the Rio Grande. Santa Anna. Therefore, both countries were trying to expand their territory. It was a long negotiation process that ultimately led to the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo on February 2, 1848. President Polk sent “Peace Ambassador” Nicholas Trist to central Mexico to set the terms of the Treaty. On a note of interest, Trist was recalled by Polk but disobeyed orders to go back to Washington; he was the only American to sign the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. If Trist would have left for Washington like he was ordered to do, the treaty would probably never have