The Mexican-American War

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Prior to the Mexican –American War, Mexico had inherited the majority of the American southwest from Texas to California, after gaining independence from Spain. Attracted by the possibilities in the far west, then U.S. President James K. Polk led American expansionism into the southwest, beginning with Texas. However, Mexico claimed all of Texas as part of their territory and ultimately this dispute between Mexico and the U.S. led to the start of war in 1846. The war was brought to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty gave the U.S. control of Texas, established the U.S.-Mexican border of the Rio Grande, and Mexico ceded more than half of its territory to the U.S., including the present-day states of California, Utah, and Nevada, most …show more content…
after the Mexican-American War. “The estimated 80,000-100,000 Mexicans living in the American southwest never crossed any border. Instead the border crossed them”. Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans are among the oldest inhabitants of the U.S. It is an often forgotten and/or ignored fact that Spanish-speaking people have lived in North America since the colonization of Mexico by Spain, and well before the United States existed.
Since the Treaty of Guadalupe to the present day issues of immigration reform, the United States has periodically throughout its history exploited and discriminated against Mexican Americans for their own gain. When it was most convenient for them, the U.S. government would roll out the “welcome mat”, encouraging Mexican migration, only to later shut the door, sometimes forcefully removing Mexicans and Mexican Americans. For centuries, Mexicans have endured abuse and betrayal at the hands of American employers and politicians. Below, is a historical review of such events and