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A History of Mexican Americans in California: THE MEXICAN WAR
In 1846, the U.S-Mexican War erupted. Tensions between the two countries had
been developing for years over the obvious U.S. goal of expanding to the
Pacific coast. The United States had made several offers to purchase all or
part of northern Mexico, offers that Mexico rejected. In 1842, the United
States revealed that it was prepared to use force to take what money could
not buy, when the commander of the Pacific squadron invaded and captured
Monterey, the capital of California, and returned it with apologies.
On the other side, Mexico's antagonism toward the United States was
exacerbated by annexation of Texas, a former Mexican province that had
revolted in 1835. The Texas rebels had extracted a battlefield treaty from
Mexico recognizing the independence of Texas, but the Mexican government had
never ratified it. To Mexico, therefore, U.S. annexation of Texas was grand
theft and unconscionable aggression.
The precipitating incident of the war came in April 1846, when small units
of Mexican and U.S. soldiers clashed in disputed territory between the
Nueces River (the Texas boundary recognized by Mexico) and the Rio Grande
(the boundary claimed by Texas). The incident provided a pretext for an
annexation decision already made by U.S. President James K. Polk, who
ordered invasion by U.S. troops. Fighting in northeastern Mexico was
followed by the landing of U.S. forces at Veracruz and an advance overland
from there to Mexico City. Simultaneously, other U.S. forces occupied the
province of New Mexico and then marched to California, most of which had
already come under U.S. control as the result of a naval invasion and the
Bear Flag Revolt.
The initial U.S. occupation of California occurred without bloodshed, but
Mexican armed reaction ultimately broke out in both New Mexico and
California. Mexican patriots, mainly citizen volunteers, were victorious in
1846 in battles at Los Angeles, San Pasqual, Chino Rancho, and elsewhere.
But eventually they had to submit to the trained and better-armed U.S.
forces. By early 1847, the United States had established control over
California and the rest of northern Mexico, and proceeded to absorb this
territory. The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo between the United States
and Mexico confirmed the land transfer.
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History
