The Election of 1844

• expansionists gain control of the Democratic Party

• they nominate James K. Polk (Tennessee)

  • staunch pro-slavery expansionist

• platform: “the reoccupation of Oregon and the reannexation of Texas”

  • appeals to the Northern and Souther expansionists

• Polk narrowly wins

• Tyler pushes Texas annexation through Congress via the Joint Resolution, days before leaving the White House

• Mexico severs diplomatic relations

The US-Mexico War, 1846-48

• contested Texas border

• Polk sent the United States Army into disputed territory, 1845

• April 24, 1846, skirmish on Rio Grande which led to battles

  • United States Congress declared war on May 13

• United States invaded and occupied the northern Mexico, 1846-48

  • claimed New Mexico and California as conquered United States territory

  • Mexico refused to surrender

• March 1847, the United States invaded central Mexico by the sea

  • captured Mexico City in September

  • still there was no surrender

War’s Outcomes

• the United States negotiator Nicholas Trist agreed to a smaller territorial cession against Polk’s orders

• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 1848

  • Mexico cedes nearly 1/2 of it’s territory, acknowledges Texas annexation

  • United States pays $15 million to Mexico + $3.75 million to the United States citizens with claims against Mexico

  • 500,000+ square miles at 5 cents per acre (not counting Texas)

• 1848, Gold Rush sends thousands to California

• conflict over the expansion of slavery into new territory began immediately