The Mexican-American War: A Short History America’s Fulfillment of Manifest Destiny

By Doug West

When Texas was annexed by the United States in 1845 Mexico’s foreign minister in Washington, D.C. angrily left the country and returned to Mexico. Mexico had warned the United States that if Texas became a U.S. state it would be cause for war. By April of the next year a shooting skirmish had broken out along the contested border between Mexico and the state of Texas. General Zachary Taylor, who was in charge of the U.S. forces along the border alerted President James K. Polk with the message “Hostilities may now be considered as commenced.” President Polk wasted no time, alerting Congress in protest that the Mexican soldiers had “...shed American blood upon American soil.” With this news, Congress quickly brought the United States to a war footing. Both nations were ill prepared for war. Mexico with a much larger army seemingly had the advantage, however, the Americans were better trained, had state-of-the-art artillery, and possessed a navy that could move troops quickly as well as shell a coastal city into submission.

For nearly two years the Americans pushed deeper into Mexico, winning every major battle. Mexico finally admitted defeat when General Winfield Scott marched his men across Mexico to capture Mexico City. General Scott, or “old fuss and feathers” as he was known, was a master tactician and with a much smaller army was able to defeat the Mexican soldiers led by General Santa Anna. It was not until February 1848 when the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed that the war came to an official end. The Americans gained much from the treaty, including the modern-day states of California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. For this vast territory the U.S. compensated Mexico with a little over $18 million.

Though this war is seldom mentioned today, the Mexican-American War had a profound and lasting impact on both nations. The book “The Mexican-American War: A Short History” gives a concise look at the factors leading up to the war, the details of the battles, and reveals the impact the war had on both countries. To illustrate the story there are over a dozen pictures of the people, places, and events that were part of the war. In addition, a list of reference books for further reading is included. A timeline of the war puts the events in sequence and there is a section that contains short biographical sketches of the key individuals in the book.

30-Minute Book Series
This is the 41st book in the 30-Minute Book Series. Books in this series are fast-paced, accurate, and cover the story in as much detail as a short book possibly can. Most people complete each book in less than an hour, which makes the books in the series a perfect companion for your lunch hour or a little down time.

About the Author
Doug West is a retired engineer and an experienced non-fiction writer with several books to his credit. His writing interests are general, with special expertise in history, science, and biographies. Doug has a Ph.D. in General Engineering from Oklahoma State University.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Doug West
• Release date: Jan 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463706893

Doug West

Doug West is a retired engineer, small business owner, and an experienced non-fiction writer with several books to his credit. His writing interests are general, with expertise in science, history, biographies, numismatics, and “How to” topics. Doug has a B.S. in Physics from the Missouri School of Science and Technology and a Ph.D. in General Engineering from Oklahoma State University. He lives with his wife and little dog “Millie” near Kansas City, Missouri.

Book preview

The Mexican-American War: A Short History

America’s Fulfillment of Manifest Destiny

By Doug West, Ph.D.

The Mexican-American War: A Short History

America’s Fulfillment of Manifest Destiny

Copyright © 2020 Doug West

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author. Reviewers may quote brief passages in reviews.

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For my grandson Brooks

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 – Setting the Stage for War

Chapter 2 – Causes of the War

Chapter 3 – Flashpoint of the War

Chapter 4 – General Taylor’s Campaign in Northern Mexico

Chapter 5 – Conquest of the West

Chapter 6 – A New Phase of the War

Chapter 7 – The Conquest of Mexico City

Chapter 8 – The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and Aftermath

Timeline of the Mexican-American War

Biographical Sketches

References and Further Reading

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Additional Books by Doug West

Preface

Welcome to the book, The Mexican-American War: A Short History. This book is volume 41 of the 30 Minute Book Series and, as the name of the series implies, if you are an average reader this book will take less than an hour to read. Since this short book is not meant to be an all-encompassing story of the Mexican-American War, you may want to know more about this important military conflict. To help you with this, there are several good references at the end of this book. I have also provided a Timeline, in order to link together the important events before, during, and after the war, and a section titled Biographical Sketches, which includes brief biographies of some of the key individuals in the book.

Thank you for purchasing this book, and I hope you enjoy your time reading about the Mexican-American War.

Doug West

January 2020

Introduction

Though it was a small war by some standards and has been largely forgotten by the public, the war between Mexico and the United States in the mid-1840s greatly affected both nations. The war was precipitated by the United States’ annexation of the Republic of Texas, which Mexico considered a breakaway rebellious northern province. President James K. Polk was elected in 1845 on an expansionist platform and wanted to acquire much of the territory to the west of the United States, thus making America stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Though the Mexican army was much larger than the American army, the Americans possessed a more modern, better equipped, and better funded military. Mexico had suffered for decades with internal struggles for power; this left a void of leadership. The war, which lasted less than two years, was lopsided--the Americans didn’t lose a major battle.

With the capture of Mexico City by General Winfield Scott, the Mexicans were forced to sign the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. The treaty was a land grab for the Americans as Mexico lost about half of its territory, with America gaining much of the land west of Missouri to the Pacific Ocean. In return, the Mexican government received over $18 million in compensation. The effects of this war would be felt by the people on both sides of the Rio Grande River for generations.