The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-US War, with the US largely enforcing terms on Mexico. The treaty allowed for the purchase of large areas of former Mexican territory at a low price, including present-day California, Nevada, and Utah. The acquisition greatly influenced events leading up to the American Civil War. The war began after the US annexed Texas, which had declared independence from Mexico. The conduct of American military operations during the war demonstrated expansionist goals. The amount paid to Mexico for the land was about half of what the US had offered years earlier.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was a controversial treaty that ended the Mexican-US War. It is seen as a treaty largely enforced by the United States on Mexico rather than a negotiated settlement between the two warring nations. The treaty contained terms for the purchase of large areas of former Mexican territory, but the agreed price for these lands was very low. This major new land acquisition from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo greatly influenced the historical events in the United States leading up to the American Civil War.
A number of settlers from the southern United States began to immigrate to the area of today’s Texas in the 1820s. These settlers generally identified more with the United States than with Mexico, which ruled the region. Gradually, immigrants became the majority, became disillusioned with Mexican rule, and declared the independence of the Republic of Texas. After about six months of fighting, the Republic of Texas remained independent for ten years until annexed by the United States in 1846.
The Mexican government has never recognized Texas’ independence and viewed its annexation by the United States as an act of war. President James Polk’s offer to buy Mexican territories, including the Rio Grande border region of Texas, further angered Mexico. Finally, a US military presence in the disputed border region between the two countries prompted a Mexican attack on those forces. Hostilities soon evolved into the full-scale Mexican-American War.
Within two years, the United States had occupied the Mexican capital of Mexico City as well as Mexican territories extending as far west as California. Many historians argue that the conduct of American military operations demonstrates the expansionist goals of US leaders at the time. In Mexico, the war is known as the US intervention in Mexico.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in Mexico City on February 2, 1848. It stipulated that 1.36 million square kilometers (525,098 square miles) would be ceded to the United States in exchange for $15 million US dollars (USD) (equal to $ $380 million today). This land transfer is known as the Mexican Cession. The territories included the present-day U.S. states of California, Nevada, and Utah, and large parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. The US also agreed to take on $81.4 million worth of debt today.
The amount of money paid to Mexico as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was about half of what the United States had offered years earlier for land. Additionally, the United States paid Mexico $10 million dollars for a much smaller piece of land in the Gadsden Purchase of 1854. The peacetime Gadsden Purchase involved only about 6% of the amount of land acquired by Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; the United States, however, was willing to pay more than half the amount paid for the Mexican Cession.
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