And this is a perspective most Americans DO NOT KNOW about the ensuing Mexican American War - a perspective presented in a Mexican textbook on the annexation of Texas and the U.S. intervention in Mexico, As Others See Us.
"Texas was annexed to the United States by the treaty of April 12, 1844, despite the protests of our [Mexican] government and even though the treaty was rejected by the American Congress. Thereupon the annexation of the territory was proposed in the House and approved on March 1, 1845, which forced our Minister in Washington to withdraw. The Texans, backed by the American government, Map of Mexican American War boundary disputeclaimed that its boundaries extended to the Rio Bravo del Norte [Rio Grand], whereas in fact the true limits had never passed the Nueces River. From this [boundary dispute] a long controversy developed [during which negotiations were carried on] in bad faith by the Americans.
They ordered troops to invade places within our territory, operating with the greatest treachery, and pretended that it was Mexico which had invaded their territory, making Mexico appear as the aggressor. What they were really seeking was to provoke a war, a war in which the southern states of the Union were greatly interested, in order to acquire new territories which they could convert into states dominated by the slavery interests. But since the majority of the people in the United States were not pro-slavery nor favorable of a war of conquest, President Polk tried to give a defensive character to his first military moves, foreseeing the opposition which he would otherwide encounter. Once he obtained a declaration of war, Polk made it appear that he wanted nothing more than peaceful possession of the annexed territory...
The Mexican War was a brilliant move astutely planned by the United States. The magnificent lands of Texas and California with their ports on both oceans, the gold deposits soon to be discovered in the latter state, and the increase in territory which made possible the growth of slave states compensated the United States many times over the costs in men and money of the unjust acquisition..."
Today, we are going to sort out some of the myths and realities of Mexican American relations before, during, and after the Mexican American War.
Discussion Goals:
To understand the economic, social, and political status of Mexico at the time of American immigration.
To examine the causes that led up to the Mexican American War and the way it contributed to the growth of the U.S. at Mexico’s expense.
To explain why the Mexican American War was so unpopular among many Americans.
To study the consequences of the Mexican American War.
To learn how the Mexicans fared in “Occupied Mexico” - that portion of Northwest Mexico that came under control of the US after 1848.
Goal #1: To understand the economic, social, and political status of Mexico at the time of American immigration
In 1821 - the year that the first large American migration into Texas began - Mexico was in deep financial trouble after winning an eleven-year war of independence with Spain. As Rodolpho Acuna notes, in 1821, the new nation was "bankrupt, and it needed time to build an infrastructure to unify the new country."Chart of Mexican society in 1821
It was an independent nation of people who lived within a rigid social hierarchy that had evolved through the years of Spanish contact and conquest. The minority - whites of European/Spanish blood - were at the top of the economic, political, and social hierarchy, followed by Mestizos of mixed blood, and at the bottom of the rung were the largest number of people - the Indians.
The indigenous people had lost most of their political and economic power and their languages had begun to disappear. (Today, only one Indian tongue is recognized as the national language in a Latin American nation - Guarani in Paraguay.)
The new Mexican Constitution, adopted on October 4, 1824, made the new nation a federal republic with nineteen states and four territories
Texas was one of the 19 new states. Because it was so sparsely populated, Texas was combined with Coahuilla to create a new state - which quickly became known as the poorest in the Mexican federation. As the map below indicates, Texas was sandwiched in between the United States to its east Map Mexico 1821and to the north and the state of Nuevo Mexico to the west. It is also worth noting the size of its largest territory - the sparsely populated and commercially unprofitable territory of California.
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