Political Awareness

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

February 2nd marked the end of the Mexican American War in 1848 ceding 55% of Mexican territory to the United States in exchange for $15 million. This was done by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This included present day states of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona, parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming. Mexico also ceded all of Texas and recognized the Rio Grande as the southern boundary with the United States. The treaty was signed in Guadalupe Hidalgo city, which is where the Mexican government fled to when US forces advanced.

The Negotiation and Signing of the Treaty

Mexico City fell in September of 1847 and the Mexican government surrendered shortly after. Peace talks and negotiations began shortly after; however they were unsuccessful the first two attempts. The US diplomatic team, led by Nickoals Trist, Chief Clerk of the State Department, reorganized his strategy to treat Mexico as a conquered enemy. President James Polk recalled Trist after believing negotiations would be carried out by a Mexican Representative in Washington D.C, but the message took six weeks to deliver. In those six weeks, Trist received word that the Mexican government had named their special delegation to negotiate. When Trist finally received word of his recall, he defied the order and negotiated the treaty anyways. Trist sent the copy to Washington and President Polk sent it to the Senate for advice and their consent.

Ratification and Aftermath

The Senate ratified the treaty 34 to 14 on March 10th, 1848. They removed Article 10 which granted protection of Mexican land grants. After the ratification, US troops withdrew from Mexico City. Over 525,000 square miles of land were ceded to the United States. It greatly expanded the US territory to the Pacific Ocean. It also created the modern-day borders between the United States and Mexico. The US government also paid Mexico $15 million and agreed to pay American citizens debts owed by Mexico. Mexican nationals living in the ceded territories were granted protection of property and civil rights, however many nationals ended up losing their land due to costly legal battles. It also established the US right to police its new southern border.

The war and the treaty shaped modern Mexican and US relations, mainly pertaining to its southern border, which still affects our nation today.

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