The State of Texas - 1845
Jan 05, 2016
The State of Texas - 1845
December 15, 1845
• James Pinckney Henderson – first governor of Texas
• Thomas J. Rusk and Sam Houston – first two U.S. Senators of Texas
Treaty of Velasco
• Mexico refused to honor the treaty that Santa Anna had signed.
• His life was in danger so they claimed it was not valid
• They still considered Texas Mexican territory• They saw U.S. intervention as an attempt to
take Mexican territory• They warned that the annexation of Texas could
mean war
Border disputes
• U.S. – Rio Grande River• Mexico – Nueces River• U.S. wanted Manifest Destiny• This was the belief that they could maintain
and own all of the land between Texas and the Pacific Ocean.
John Slidell
• Slidell was sent by the president to make a deal with Mexico
• U.S. citizens had claims against Mexico for damage to their property.
• Slidell offered to waive those claims for Texas and all of the land west of Texas.
• Mexico was offended that the U.S. would expect them to give all of their land for $$$.
Mexican War – 1846-1848
• President Polk sends Zachary Taylor and troops to the Nueces River and then later further south to the Rio Grande.
• Fighting broke out just north of the Rio Grande in 1846.
• After the battle of Palo Alto, the U.S. declared war on May 13, 1846.
• General Taylor marched his army into Mexico and won at the battles of Buena Vista and Monterrey.
Winfield Scott
• The Commander, Winfield Scott took his men across the Gulf of Mexico into Veracruz from the east and then into Mexico City (a much easier route).
• Scott’s men faced heavy opposition in trying to take Mexico City at a fort known as Chapultepec.
• Many Texas Rangers fought with the Americans in the Mexican War.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo - 1848
• 1. War was over• 2. Texas belonged to the U.S.• 3. They gave all land west of Texas – Mexican
Cession• 4. U.S. paid Mexico $15,000,000• 5. U.S. waived all land claims and agreed to
respect the rights of Spanish speaking people