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What Is The Mexican-American War?

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The Mexican-American war (1846-1848) is the first war involving the United States fought on foreign soil. After gaining Texas land, President James K. Polk wanted to obtain all the Mexican land between Texas and the Pacific Ocean (Henretta, 2012). President Polk was prepared to go to war with Mexico, unaware of the crisis over slavery that would result in the expansion as well as the war being a costly military and political alternative (Henretta, 2012). The fight started at the border of Rio Grande and followed by a sequence of United States victories. Mexico eventually lost about one-third of their land with the loss, including what is known today as California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico (“Mexican-American War”, 2009).
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On February 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed and ended the Mexican-American war. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo states that the Rio Grande not the Nueces River as the United States-Mexican border. Also in the treaty, states that Mexico recognizes the annexation of Texas and has agreed to sell California and the territory north of the Rio Grande for fifteen million dollars (“Mexican-American War”, 2009). The signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo marked the end of the war it also marked the beginning of United States political debates over slavery in the territories and the conflict continued with Mexico over boundaries. There was a political debate between the Northerners and Southerners on whether the new acclaimed land would be free or slave states. The Mexican-American war has made what the United States is today. The end result of the war had many casualties with United States having 13,000 and Mexico having 16,000. There was some negative impacts that came about the Mexican-American war with the conflict of free and slave states and the loss of what was the Mexican Territory. The United States gained land known today as California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New

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