The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. which came into consequence on 2 February 1848. ended the Mexican-American war and officially resolved territorial differences ensuing from that struggle. The pact required the U. S. authorities to pay the Mexican authorities $ 15 million dollars. this in return for an sweep of district that subsequently became the provinces of Arizona. New Mexico. and parts of Utah. Nevada. and Colorado. I intend to reason that the pact benefitted the people who inhabited. and subsequently came to populate. that district. I besides propose that. as a consequence of the transportation of district from a dictatorial government to one that was based on democratic rules. both Mexico and the United States finally benefitted in several ways.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was non easy negotiated. for the differences which underlay it went back to the inquiry of Texas. Following the successful rebellion of the Texans. including Mexicans who lived North of the Rio Grande. against the dictator Santa Ana. the Mexican authorities did non accommodate itself to the loss of this huge district. Alternatively. it plotted and planned to retrieve Texas. by military force if necessary. The accession of Texas to the Union in 2 March 1845 poisoned dealingss between the United States and Mexico and set the phase for the Mexican-American War.
The American President. James K. Polk. wanted to decide these and other issues peacefully. but he besides wanted to get California for the Union. When the Mexican authorities rejected his emissary. John Slidell. the phase was set for war. The causus belli was the corssing of the Rio Grande by a organic structure of Mexican military personnels. A skirmish broke out and several American soldiers were killed. America declared war and drove the Mexican force out of U. S. district. A force under General Stephen Kearny took Arizona. New Mexico. and California. while General Zachary Taylor drove south into Mexico. While his run was a letdown. General Winfield Scott was much more successful. He landed at Veracruz. on the Mexican seashore. and marched to Mexico City. The Mexicans capitulated. The war had lasted 21 months. The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was signed in a suburb of Mexico City. stoping the territorial tensenesss between the United States and Mexico for all clip. The two states ne’er once more fought a war.
Why was the Mexican-American War fought. Was it driven by a blood lecherousness for triumph on the portion of America? Some historiographers argue that the war was caused by America’s hungriness for land. a signifier of greed. Other historiographers. seeing Mexico as a corrupt absolutism. argue that war was a consequence of Mexican aggression. non merely against its American neighbours. but besides against their ain people. In this reading. Mexico was so determined to retrieve Texas. regardless of the wants of the people who resided in that province. that it was willing to put on the line war with the United States.
The two most of import America figures during the Mexican-American War were President James Polk and General Zachary Taylor. When Pres. James Polk was sworn into office. war with Mexico became more likely. since he wanted to spread out U. S. district. The general contempt for his political schemes every bit good as his attitude towards territorial aggrandisement. particularly in the South. made him widely disliked by many in the North. Following the Mexican invasion. President James Polk did non waver to inquire the U. S. Congress to declare war. Did Polk. by his actions and determinations. provoke the Mexicans into assailing the U. S. ? Some historiographers argue that he did. Harmonizing to Richard R. Stenberg. Pres. James Polk was. “responsible for the war. It was Polk who thirsted for war. . . he had even encouraged the Republic of Texas to assail Mexico. ” ( The Mexican War 5-6 ) . This proves. in Stenberg’s position. that he wanted war all along. He non merely wanted war. he endorsed it.
The other of import individual in this scenario was General Zachary Taylor. President Polk ordered Gen. Taylor to travel his “army on the Rio Grande. . . . to occupy the bosom of Mexico. ” ( Encyclopedia Britannica 376 ) . Taylor’s run focused on the Mexican province of Nuevo Leon. finally taking the province capital of Monterrey. This was. at the clip. one of the most thickly settled metropoliss in Northern Mexico. holding a population of “of about 15 thousand dwellers. ” ( The Mexican War 33 ) . About the same clip. Taylor and his ground forces won the conflict of Buena Vista. The terrain in northern Mexico is hard. and H2O scarce.
Possibly this is why. after a figure of backbreaking runs in the North. Taylor seemed to lose involvement in contending. Alternatively of pressing south towards the Mexican capital. he was content to stay in the North. Because of his deficiency of contending spirit. Pres. James Polk lost religions in him as a leader. Alternatively. he turned to General Winfield Scott. who lost no clip in doing for the Mexican capital. “The American ground forces and generals proved significantly superior to the Mexican forces and in less than a twelvemonth and a half the American ground forces had captured Mexico City and the Mexican Republic had to action for an unfavourable peace. ” ( The Mexican-American War ) .
The pact of Guadalupe-Hidalgo contained 20 articles. The most of import of these were the payment of $ 15 million already mentioned. and the transportation of district. The U. S. pledged to retreat its military personnels from the Mexican capital. discontinue its blockading of Mexican ports. and to retreat all of its forces from Mexico within three months of the sign language of the pact.
In the districts ceded to the United States. the Mexicans there occupant were allowed to go on to populate at that place. No extra revenue enhancements or levies would be imposed on them. Rather. they would bask the same rights that the citizens of Lousiana and Florida received when these were ceded to the U. S. by France. They were besides promised that they would be free to go on to idolize as Roman Cathlics. and that their churches would be free to run without authorities intervention. While the United States received big sums of land. the people at that place resident were free from the oppressive absolutism of the Mexican authorities.
The pact of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was a political triumph for Pres. James Polk. California came under U. S. control. along with all of the district in between. The war was brought to a close comparatively rapidly. and without a high cost in human footings. He proved that. one time once more. the United States was the resistless force in the Americas. and that no state could stand in its manner. His territorial aspirations were now satisfied. even if war had been necessary to accomplish them. The people at that place resident were a secondary consideration.
Anti-slavery groups opposed the acquisition because they believed that these new districts would be fall ining the Union as slave provinces. as Texas had. Furthermore. with their high sense of morality. they could non convey themselves to back up anything they saw as unjust or unfair. They saw the new districts as a genteelness land for more bondage. With the United States in ownership of this new land. all South of Mason-Dixon line. it would likely detain for decennaries the riddance of the flagellum of bondage. They suspected that programs were already afoot. in secret supported by Polk. to carry through merely this.
Expansionists had their ain unfavorable judgment. They regretted that the footings of the pact had been so modest. They wanted more land. and were convinced that Mexico could hold been forced to yield more. They were non satisfied with the districts that came into being when the pact was drawn up. They wanted Chihuahua. Neuvo Leon. Baja Californai. and all of the other provinces in northern Mexico. They were displeased with Pres. James Polk for non being more aggressive in demanding district. If he had been repetitive. they argued. the U. S. could hold had all the land down to the cardinal Mexican tableland. His chief concern. delivery in California after the war. seemed excessively limited.
There are many benefits from the pact of Guadalupe Hidalgo. All of them have made a significant difference in history. We all enjoy the benefits today. Were it non for the pact of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. the United States would be a smaller. poorer. less thickly settled state today. Mexico would hold been so big as to be indocile. and would hold been even more wracked by rebellion and agitation that than it was.
The pact of Guadalupe-Hidalgo benefitted the United States in the sense that it was able to hold more land and accept more immigrants. from Mexico every bit good as other states. With this new acquisition of land. the United States was given more opportunity to better the public assistance of the provinces every bit good as the public assistance of the people. As the frontier grew to California. the great westbound March began.
Mexico was benefitted from this pact in the sense that there was now hope for the future economic system of Mexico. Now. people might really be able to acquire occupations and earn an income. This in bend would promote trade and gross revenues which brings up the economic system. Peoples were now free to populate outside the dictatorship of a oppressive controlling authorities. They could now travel approximately in freedom and non hold to worry about person describing them to the authorities governments for the slightest misdemeanor of the regulations.
There is noteworthy importance of the pact of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in today’s society. Without it. the United States might be really different. For illustration. we might non hold the freedoms that we do today. If in some manner we were connected to a dictator tally state so our state would hold suffered. This is said because. people wouldn’t be able to travel and make what they want when they want. Everything would be controlled by the authorities. no 1 would be free to do their ain determinations. No 1 would be free. we in a sense. would all be slaves in one manner or another. There would be no freedom. there would be no peace.
Another cardinal factor and of import consequence of the pact is democracy for the people of northern Mexico. The Bill of Rights guaranteed the people of the new districts cherished freedoms that they were denied in Mexico. Democracy is the “free and equal representation of people: the free and equal right of every individual to take part in a system of authorities. frequently practiced by electing representatives of the people by the people. ” ( Encarta ) This signifier of authorities was virtually invented by the United States wanted to make more for it’s people so Mexico did for it’s people. Mexico may hold tried to assist it’s people but someplace along the manner. it lost site of what was good for the people and it resulted in a dictator tally state. The United States on the other manus. ever had in it’s head what would be best for the people.
In decision. after analysing the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. one may detect the importance it has served in the defining of our democratic state. Besides. the United States helped a state that was in despairing demand of alleviation from an imposing. absolutism. For all the unfavorable judgment of the pact of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. it remains true that the people of the American conquering were better off following the cession of this huge piece of land of land from Mexico to the United States so they were earlier. The American South west. the population of these districts is today. about every bit great as that of Mexico. and enjoys a criterion of life 10s times higher. Hundred of 1000s of Mexicans continue across the boundary line established by the pact each twelvemonth hankering for a better life. While I. as a Mexican-American. wish Mexico good. it is merely in the last 10 old ages that the long absolutism of the Party of the Institution Revolution or PRI for short had ended. Democratic election have now been held. and. for the first clip in Mexican history there was a peaceable passage of power from one to another. There are all things to observe. to be certain. but they do non wipe out the fact that the Mexican-Americans. in the South west have enjoyed political and economic freedom for the past one hundred 55 old ages under a authorities of the people. by the people. and for the people.
Occasionally. Chicano militants will propose that the South West should rejoin Mexico. I say. allow it be put to a ballot. Were a popular referendum held today. I dare state that 99 per centum of the electors would reject either brotherhood with Mexico or an independent Chicano province. The finding of fact of history on the pact of Guadalupe-Hidalgo must be that it was. on balance. a good thing. However impure. self-interested. or even pervert the motivations of those Americans who wished to widen the United States to the Pacific. 10s of 1000000s of people have benefitted as a consequence.
