The Mexican-American
War
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 With this PowerPoint you will learn about:
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The reasons for people flocking to Texas
Why Mexico closed its’ borders
Who were the main people involved
What were the major battles
What was the overall outcome of the war
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Expansion in Texas
Main Individuals
How It Started
Major Battles
Outcomes of the War
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Expansion In Texas
 For Americans, land represented potential
income, wealth, self-sufficiency and
freedom. Expansion into the western
frontiers offered opportunities for selfadvancement.
 Nearly 4,000,000 Americans moved to
western territories between 1820 and 1850.
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Expansion In Texas
 Mexico achieved its independence from
Spain in 1821, but the country suffered
terribly from the struggle (economic
struggles)
 Mexico won vast northern territories with
its independence from Spain. These
borderlands were under populated and
were not very productive initially
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Expansion In Texas
 This area needed help because of:
 Native American attacks (Comanche)
 Too few presidios (Mexican forts)
 Too few Tejanos (Anglo / Mexican people) to
farm the land (raising cattle)
 Frontier area was poor and not well
connected to the central government
 Solution…
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Expansion In Texas
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Mexican Government offers land grants to
agents called empresarios
The empresarios organized land for people to
settle so that more people could come
US settlers thrilled (started to call themselves
Texans)
Only two conditions for the land:
A. Obey Mexican Laws
B. Official religion Roman Catholic
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Expansion In Texas
 US settlers flocked because of the
availability of cheap land
 Southern plantation owners were excited
because they thought this area would
soon become a slave territory and
eventually a state
 Northerners were cautious about heading
into this area still controlled by another
nation (Mexico)
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How It Started
 Lots of US settlers started to flock to Texas
(1835 – 1000 people a month)
 Cultural differences started to conflict:
 More English spoken than Spanish
 US settlers brought slaves in, but Mexico
abolished slavery in 1824
 More Protestants than Roman Catholics
 Texans wanted more self-government
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How It Started
 Mexico started to try to gain further control
by:
 imposing heavy import taxes on goods
coming from US
 sealing the US – Texas border
 Intentions were good, but impractical
because of a lack of enforcement (too
large of an area to govern)
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How It Started
 Texans wanted to move towards
independence
 Not join the US right away, but to be a
separate nation (The Lone Star State)
 If this happens they could:
 Trade freely with the US
 Establish their own schools
 Collect and issue their own taxes
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How It Started
 Sam Houston along with Stephen Austin
became the leaders of the push for Texas
independence
 Mexico did not want to give it up and a
conflict occurred at a small Spanish
mission called the Alamo in San Antonio.
 Santa Anna lead the force (of 4,000) that
would soon put down this uprising, but
history tells a different story…
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Remember the Alamo
 In 1835,187 fighters
gathered at the Alamo
and fought for 13
days
 Famous individuals
included: Davy
Crockett, Colonel
William Barrett Travis
and Sam Bowie
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Remember the Alamo
 Santa Anna deployed his troops around the
structure and, when his artillery arrived,
launched an intensive assault. The Texans, who
were reinforced by 32 men on March 1,
withstood the Mexicans until March 6, when the
enemy succeeded in breaching the mission
walls
 All of the 187 defenders died during this siege,
only a few women and children survived
 This event became a rallying cry for those who
supported Texas Independence
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Remember the Alamo
 After a victory at Goliad,
Santa Anna was
surprised by Commander
Sam Houston at San
Jacinto
 Within 18 minutes,
Houston and his men
were able to kill 600
Mexican soldiers and
captured Santa Anna
 In exchange for his life,
Santa Anna agreed to
free Texas in the Treaty of
Velasco
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Republic of Texas
 The Lone Star Republic was born and
Sam Houston became the first President
 Texans wanted the US to annex
(incorporate) Texas as the 28th State, but
slavery issues clouded the debate until
President James K. Polk was elected in
1844
 Mexico was furious and this action lead to
the Mexican American War of 1845
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Major Battles Begin
 Mexico and the US disagreed on the
southern border of Texas:
 US recognized the Rio Grand River
 Mexico recognized the Nueces River (farther
north than the Rio Grand)
 President Polk sent John Slidell to
negotiate terms with Mexico
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Major Battles Begin
 John Slidell wanted
to:
 Purchase the
territories of California
and New Mexico
 Agree upon which
river would be the
border of Texas
 He was not seen by
the Mexican
Government
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Major Battles Begin
 President Polk wanted Texas either way,
so he ordered Zachary Taylor to occupy
the Rio Grand area of the border
 Mexico saw this as a violation of their
treaty they signed and opened fire
 A small fight broke out near Matamoros
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Major Battles Begin
 9 Soldiers were killed and Polk called for the
American people to rise up because American
blood had been spilled on American soil
 Public opinion was in favor of war.
 Congress was unsure because of slavery and
the way this incident started
 But the Mexican American War begins…
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The Battle of Palo Alto
 On May 8, before Polk signed the declaration of
war, the first major engagement of the Mexican
War began. This was the Battle of Palo Alto,
which took place along the Gulf Coast north of
Matamoros and the Río Grande
 Taylor pitted his approximately 2200 troops
against Arista’s 3200 Mexican soldiers. The next
day another pre-war battle occurred south of
Palo Alto at Resaca de la Palma, sending the
Mexicans reeling back to Matamoros
 Finally, on May 13, Polk signed a declaration of
war
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The Battle of Palo Alto
 This battle showed the
superiority of the US
artillery against the
cavalry advancements of
the Mexican army
 Arista, the Mexican
Commander, lost
between 250 and 400
men at Palo Alto, double
the number of American
losses
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The Capture of Monterrey
 Zachary Taylor planned a two-pronged assault
for September 21, with General William J.
Worth’s Division to attack from the west and
southwest while the regulars under the
temporary command of John Garland
demonstrated against Monterrey’s eastern
defenses. Worth’s assault won the important
position atop Federation Hill. He then moved on
to capture Independence Hill, giving U.S. troops
command of the heights overlooking the city.
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The Capture of Monterrey
 The strategy was
successful, and on
September 24 the
Mexicans
surrendered that
portion of the army
 Taylor's victories
made him a hero
throughout the nation
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The Capture of Vera Cruz
 The vitally important Mexican port and
stronghold of Vera Cruz fell to American
forces on March 28, 1847, after a twoweek siege. General Winfield Scott, with
the assistance of Commodore David E.
Conner’s Home Squadron, landed an
army of 10,000 men at Collado Beach to
the south of Vera Cruz on March 9.
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The Capture of Vera Cruz
 The American shelling caused little
damage to Fort San Juan de Ulúa, but the
three-day bombardment breached the city
walls, smothered counter-battery fire, and
collapsed buildings inside Vera Cruz
 Vera Cruz served as a vital supply base
for Scott’s invasion of Mexico and became
crucial to U.S. victory
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The Capture of Vera Cruz
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Entrance into Mexico City
 The final blow to General Antonio Lopez
de Santa Anna’s defense of Mexico City
came on September 13 and 14
 Americans killed or captured some 3,000
Mexican troops in this close, brutal, and
deadly combat, while suffering 800
casualties of their own
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Entrance into Mexico City
 With the Americans inside the gates and in
control of the roads to the south and west,
officials believed that their cause was lost and
that the capital city would soon become a
battleground
 In the early hours of September 14, instead of
having to fight his way through town, Scott
instead received a delegation of Mexican
politicians who surrendered the city
unconditionally
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Entrance into Mexico City
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Main Individuals
 Stephen Austin
 In 1833, a convention
of Texas colonists
delegated Austin to
persuade Mexican
authorities to grant
them self-government
 Assumed command of
the Texans settlers'
army
 Later became a
governor of Texas
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Main Individuals
 Winfield Scott
 Nicknamed “Old Fuss
and Feathers”
because of his full
dress appearance
 Helped lead the victory
at Vera Cruz
 His army did not loose
a single battle
 Helped organized the
attack on Mexico City
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Main Individuals
 Zachary Taylor
 Lead the campaign
into the disputed area
to start the war
 Became the major
hero of the MexicanAmerican war
 Popular support lead
to him being elected
President of the US for
the Whig party
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Main Individuals
 Antonio López de Santa
Anna
 Mexican general and
dictator, who dominated
Mexican politics for a
quarter of a century
 Overthrown in 1845, he
was recalled the following
year to lead the army
against the United States in
the Mexican War
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Outcomes of the War
 The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended
the war, set the southern boundary of
Texas, and ceded the Mexican territories
of New Mexico and California to the United
States
 The United States paid Mexico an
indemnity of $15 million and assumed over
$3 million in claims that U.S. citizens had
against the Mexican government
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Outcomes of the War
 The treaty was ratified on March 10, 1848, by
the United States and on May 19, 1848, by
Mexico
 Mexicans living in these territories were
guaranteed freedom of religion, protection,
bilingual elections, and open borders
 United States acquired more than 500,000
square miles of valuable territory and emerged
as a world power in the late nineteenth century
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Outcomes of the War
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Outcomes of the War
 For the United States, this was the
nation's first foreign war fought almost
entirely on foreign territory
 More than 5,800 Americans were killed or
wounded in battle, and 11,000 soldiers
died from diseases
 The enormous financial cost, estimated at
more than $75 million
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Outcomes of the War
 Rich gold and silver deposits in California
and Nevada were an unexpected surprise
that greatly contributed to the national
economy and to the westward movement
of the population
 However, it also upset the balance
between free and slave states, which
helped bring on the catastrophe of the
American Civil War
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Outcomes of the War
 The War with Mexico has been viewed by
many historians as:
 A selfish conquest for National territory
 Did not promote the common good for any
particular people, just US landowners
 A bigger country picking on a smaller newer
country
 Americas opportunity to show the world they
can use National power in war
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