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The Mexican War was a pivotal event in US history: It marks the moment when we accepted our irresistible destiny to dominate North America. Mexico was brought to heel, our military supremacy was established, and the frontier was reserved for Anglo-American settlement.
In the 1840s, the North American continent was divided among a number of powers; in particular, the Oregon Country was disputed territory between the US and Britain, and Texas’ independence was disputed by Mexico. The future of the territories in the west were up for grabs. The United States and Great Britain had an uneasy truce in the Pacific Northwest, agreeing to jointly occupy what was called the Oregon Country. It was a highly unusual situation, enemy nations sharing a vast territory. The situation could not last for long.
Texas and Mexico had a deeply antagonistic relationship; Mexico saw it as a breakaway province controlled by rogue Americans, illegitimately in control of the lands north of the Nueces River. The Texians claimed far more territory, which Mexico lacked effective control of.
From its independence in 1821 to 1846, it had experienced military coups, a monarchy, and more than a dozen presidents— none of whom were elected. While Mexico had inherited the rich territories of what had been New Spain, it was extremely dysfunctional and unstable. Under Spanish rule, Mexico had produced great wealth from its mines, particularly silver. However, during their war for independence the Mexicans had flooded and destroyed their silver mines, resulting in economic catastrophe that fueled its constant political chaos. Mexico had rebuffed earlier good faith efforts by the US to buy these lands, preferring to keep legal possession despite being wholly unable to productively utilize them or defend their few beleaguered citizens from the constant attacks and slave raids by Comanche Indians.
The instability in Mexico concerned Americans. It’s entire existence since independence had been one of violence and constant turmoil. There was fear that eventually the British or other European powers would absorb Mexico or prop it up as an anti-American puppet state.
Conservative Mexican elites, descended from the Spanish conquistadors, were cognizant of this danger too. They believed that much of their political and economic problems, as well as their weak grip on their northern territories, were due to the racial composition of Mexico. During Spanish rule, Spain had been unable to attract many settlers to Mexico— women in particular. In the 16th and 17th century many Spaniards resorted to taking Indian or African wives. Over the centuries this produced an astounding array of racial combinations. To manage this racially diverse amalgam and maintain control over their territory, the Spanish imposed a racial caste system, which required higher political offices be held by pure bred Europeans. However, intermarriage was not prohibited, and mixed populations exploded.
This caste system fueled resentment, which culminated in the Mexican War of Independence. In its aftermath, the post-colonial regimes promoted planned miscegenation, called “mestizaje,” in an effort to increase the European genetic component in the population at large. Mexican elites felt they had not yet succeeded in melding these opposite races; they believed the majority Mestizo population (mixed Spanish and Mesoamerican Indian blood) were a vagabond people who lacked the qualities to civilize the nation and protect it’s frontiers. This motivated their policy of inviting Americans to settle in Texas. They admired the American work ethic, austere religious temperament, and willingness to fight. They felt Anglo settlers would improve the economy, fight Indians, and be a buffer against an expanding US.
Americans moved in droves to Texas to accept large land grants, quickly dwarfing the small Mexican Tejano population. The economy improved and Americans fought back the Indians tenaciously, but the Mexicans felt they were not assimilating, but instead colonizing the area. These American settlers in Texas grew weary of the rule of constantly alternating Mexican governments, who had grown distrustful of the Anglos doing the most to improve the country. By the 1830s, as Mexico cut off American immigration, their allegiance began to wane.
When strongman Santa Anna seized control of Mexico in 1835, a number of provinces rebelled. Texas was the only one to triumph, defeating Santa Anna on the battlefield and forcing him to sign a treaty recognizing its independence. Mexico later reneged on these agreements. The Republic of Texas had secured its independence, but Mexico maintained it would one day retake it. Many in Texas felt that long-term the best outcome would be for Texas to be annexed by the US, but this proved to be very politically contentious in the United States.
The election of 1844 was a heated campaign between Democrat James K. Polk and the Whig Henry Clay. This election transcended the ambitions of the two men vying for the Presidency— it’s outcome would be one of the most consequential in the nation’s history. Henry Clay, one of the most politically powerful men in the US, was the leader of the Whig Party. The Whigs felt the US needed to enter a period of consolidation. They wanted roads, bridges, and canals built; American industries to be fostered; the national bank restored. The Whig view was that the US had expanded enough— perhaps too much. Rather than antagonizing Britain with more territorial claims, they wanted to seek closer relations with Britain, to internally improve America by developing its economy and refining its national character. Fundamentally, they believed republics were risky, best kept compact, and guided by elites. If the US were to grow more, sectional rivalries between different regions would only grow worse. Clay and the Whigs felt we should be content with what we had and unify internally.
Polk was of an entirely different mindset. He sought to continue the legacy of Jackson & Jefferson, emphasizing the interests of the small farmer, checking the influence of the moneyed elites, and to expand US territory to fortify our prosperity and independence. Polk presented voters a very straightforward platform in his campaign. He pledged to serve only one term and laid out four clear objectives:
- To reform the tariff
- To set up an independent treasury
- To annex the Republic of Texas
- To secure the Oregon Country
The election was exceptionally close, but Polk prevailed by the narrowest of margins. President John Tyler then shocked the nation, submitting Texas’ annexation to Congress on his last day in office. To the horror of Whigs and Mexicans, Congress approved Texas’ statehood. Although not a religious man in terms of Christian doctrines, Polk was a firm believer in Manifest Destiny: that the American people, the free branch of the Anglo-Saxon race, were destined by Providence to overspread the North American continent. Polk did not feel it was his design that US should extend from Atlantic to Pacific— he believed it was GOD’S ETERNAL DECREE that the American nation would dominate North America. He was merely God’s instrument; Polk would not resist the destiny Providence had ordained. The idea that American success was due to their ancestry was a common notion; their Anglo-Saxon blood, mixed with the finest European strains of the Caucasian race, enabled them to perfect the art of self-governance and continental dominance, Reginald Horsman points out. With these beliefs guiding his thoughts, Polk sent diplomat John Slidell to Mexico to negotiate an agreement for the territory, but the Mexicans refused to meet with him.
Shortly after Slidell’s return, a coup by military hard-liners overthrew the Mexican government. As Pat Buchanan points out in this piece in The National Interest, Polk’s overtures to negotiate after annexation appeared to the Mexicans as an act of desperation and weakness. The Mexicans threatened invasion of Texas and the mobilized its forces south of the Rio Grande. Mexico had a much larger army than the US and was egged the British to resist the United States. The European perception of the US was of a incompetent nation, filled with hicks living in the wilderness and chaotic cities made up of ignorant religious zealots. Polk would not be deterred. He made a show of force, ordering General Taylor to move his army to the Rio Grande, building Fort Texas across from the Mexican town of Matamoros.
Mexican president General Paredes then declared a “defensive war” and informed Taylor of such. A contingent of Mexican troops then crossed the Rio Grande and ambushed an American cavalry unit doing a reconnaissance mission, killing 14 American soldiers in the attack. Shortly after, more than 3500 Mexican troops crossed the river and besieged Fort Texas. Taylor then launched a rescue mission with 2000 troops to save the fort, and encountered the Mexicans, commanded by General Mariano Arista. The fight was on.
Arista launched two cavalry charges against Taylor, but American artillery cut them to pieces, and Arista retreated. Taylor pursued the Mexicans to a wooded area near a lake called Resaca de la Palma. As Taylors forces approached, the Mexicans laid down fierce artillery fire, hidden in thick forest. Though outnumbered, Taylor ordered a charge into woods to capture Mexican artillery. In the fighting that ensued, Taylor’s men succeeded in seizing the Mexican canons and, after brutal close quarters combat, forced Arista’s men to make a chaotic retreat across the Rio Grande, back into Mexico.
Upon learning this, Polk delivered a message to Congress:
“Mexico has passed the boundary of the United States, has invaded our territory and shed American blood upon the American soil… hostilities have commenced, and that the two nations are now at war.”
Although some in Congress were sympathetic to Mexico, such as the young Whig Congressman Abraham Lincoln, who demanded to see the spot on US soil where blood had been shed, Congress overwhelmingly voted to declare war. General Taylor led the army down from the Rio Grande into the heart of Mexico; simultaneously, Colonel Stephen Kearny, moved American forces towards New Mexico and California. Kearny met virtually no resistance, and swiftly the US secured all the lands to the Pacific. As California and New Mexico were conquered, Taylor penetrated into the north of Mexico proper. In a short period of time, Taylor seized the strategic cities of Monterrey and Saltillo. Within a few months, northern Mexico had been completely neutralized as a threat.
Polk had hoped by this point the Mexicans would realize what the Americans had always known: Mexico was simply not coherent or competent enough to control California, New Mexico, or Texas, and that peace terms should be made. Yet the Mexican government would not hear it. General Taylor, a Whig, was known to be less than enthusiastic about pushing the war into the heart of Mexico. Polk turned to General Winfield Scott to devise an audacious plan to launch an amphibious landing on the Gulf of Mexico and then push to Mexico City. Polk pulled all but 500 of Taylor’s regulars to serve in Scott’s amphibious assault; Taylor was instructed to maintain a defensive position in the north, on the sidelines, while Scott was to lead an invasion from the sea, an unprecedented plan in American military history.
The Mexicans discovered this plan. General Santa Anna, realizing that Taylor’s force was now mostly inexperienced volunteers, decided to rapidly march north, catching Taylor by surprise and annihilate his forces, before heading south to meet Scott’s amphibious landing. Word of Santa Anna’s March north reached Taylor, but he was dismissive of the threat. Taylor believed that the arid desert was too inhospitable for a force of any size to survive the journey and mount a serious challenge. As a show of his lack of fear, Taylor advanced his units southward to a ranch called Buena Vista, which he converted into a supply depot. Meanwhile, Santa Anna drove his men hard across the scorched landscape towards the Americans at Buena Vista, to turn the tide of war.
A contingent of Texas Rangers spotted the Santa Anna’s army advancing. To their horror, it was not small, but an army of 15-20,000 men coming fast to take on Taylor’s 500 regulars and 4000 volunteers. Taylor realized he now faced almost certain, catastrophic defeat. Deep in enemy territory, surrounded by desert, outnumbered 4-to-1, Taylor and his men quickly realized their situation was extremely dire. This was to be not only a fight for their lives, but also the entire war effort; if he fell, Santa Anna would destroy Scott as well.
Santa Anna sent a Dutch surgeon as a messenger to secure Taylor’s immediate surrender:
“You are surrounded by twenty thousand men and cannot in any human probability avoid suffering a rout and being cut to pieces with your troops… I wish to save you from catastrophe”
Despite his abysmal circumstances, Taylor was too proud a soldier and American to surrender. Indeed, he was furious at the suggestion, telling his translator:
“Tell Santa Anna to go to hell! Major Bliss, put that in Spanish for this damned Dutchman to deliver!”
Upon receiving this refusal, Mexican howitzers began to fire. Infantry units then attacked the Americans, who fled as the massive Mexican forces poured upon them, running for their lives to the Buena Vista Ranch on the mountaintop. Taylor ordered his cavalry to defend the supplies at the Buena Vista ranch, while a Congressman turned colonel named Jefferson Davis would launch an immediate counterattack to prevent the American lines from breaking completely.
Davis and his Mississippi regiment swept down from the mountain in a desperate assault, opening fire upon the Mexican units advancing. Rifles ringing out and explosive cannon volleys firing, Davis’ men broke the Mexican attack, reducing them to disorder. Suddenly, Davis found himself staring down 1500 Mexican lancers barreling toward his men in an all out charge. Davis’ men held their fire until the lancers were close, then in a single volley of mercilessly accurate rifle fire, annihilated the head of their column. The Mexicans turned and fled, leaving the Americans utterly jubilant, yet still knowing they were horribly outnumbered.
That night Santa Anna met with his officers. They had lost 1/4 of their troops, more than 3500 men, while on inflicting ~600 casualties on Taylor. At sunrise the Americans were astonished to find Santa Anna and his army had retreated. Against impossible odds, we had won. News of this providential victory swept the United States and buoyed the American spirit; Taylor and Davis were instantly elevated to hero status.
Against the backdrop of Taylor’s victory, General Scott launched his amphibious invasion of the Caribbean coast of southern Mexico Nothing of this scale had ever been attempted. In Britain, when the Duke of Wellington heard of Scott’s, he mockingly remarked that Scott was lost. On the day of the American army’s landing, the largest amphibious assault till the one by the US World War II, the navy bombarded the coast heavily, while the Mexicans fired back from their fortifications, nearly hitting the ship with all the US general officers on board. Despite this near catastrophe, the landing succeeded as 10,000 Americans took the beach and the Mexicans fell back from to the fortifications of Veracruz. In the first day, not single American soldier was killed by the Mexicans.
The Americans began a 20 day siege of Veracruz, bombarding the city and its forts. Extensive damage was done before the Mexicans finally surrendered. Scott then proceeded to have a string of victories as he pressed deeper into Mexico. As Scott marched toward Mexico City, outside of Cerno Gordo, Santa Anna arrived with a larger army, blocking the path to the Capitol, and took position on a hill, a strategic stronghold, surrounded by lava beds. Scott knew he could not take them head on.
A reconnaissance team led by Captain Robert E. Lee discovered that there was a trail, apparently unknown to the Mexicans, that cut through the impassable lava beds, and would allow the US to flank Santa Anna. Scott’s force hit the force from the front and from behind. Santa Anna’s men were shocked to find themselves flanked by the Americans; taking fire from all sides, the terrified Mexican army fled with such haste that Santa Anna left behind his prosthetic leg, a trophy which delighted the American army.
In his retreat, Santa Anna also ordered his troops to take hold of a Franciscan Convent in Churubusco. They built up earthworks and filled it with canons to hit the Americans with 5-miles outside Mexico City. Santa Anna had another trick besides militarizing a convent… Among the Mexican ranks at Churubusco was the San Patricio Battalion— a unit comprised of American army deserters, mostly Irish and German immigrants that Santa Anna had persuaded to switch sides in light of their common religion, fighting under the banner of Saint Patrick. General Scott ordered his soldiers to attack the convent, but the Mexicans managed to force the Americans to withdraw in the face of heavy canon fire. In the midst of battle, two of the Mexican cannons had melted down, and another fell from its position. With reduced firepower, the Mexican commander ordered an infantry charge. When this failed, the soldiers in the convent were wanted to surrender.
The San Patricio’s refused to allow this, and close quarters combat ensued, until finally the US forces prevailed. The actions of the San Patricios hardened American opposition to Catholic immigration. Seeing Irish and German immigrants, who swore loyalty to the United States, betray it to side with the Mexicans was incredibly infuriating; many San Patricios were hung for treason.
The American invasion force was now just outside the Mexican capital. The city was built in an ancient lake bed; to enter it required coming through one of a series raised causeways to enter the gates of the walled city. To the southwest was a castle on a 200 ft hill. Assessing the situation, Scott decided it was necessary to storm the castle first. To keep Santa Anna and his force of 15,000 confused, Scott ordered some of his units south and southeast of the city, while he ordered his artillery began to bombard the castle. Scott then ordered his infantry to attack the castle, using laddders, ropes, and pickaxes in the early morning hours to scale the rocky cliffs. In a mere two hours, American troops had driven the Mexicans from the castle.
From the castle, American soldiers charged along a causeway, attacking the gates of the city’s northwest corner. Army soldiers and a battalion of Marines broke through the walls and entered Mexico City. As Americans attempted the city, Mexican resistance would not budge. US forces could barely enter. To give US forces more cover, Ulysses Grant helped hoist a cannon into the belltower of a nearby church, then began firing down on into the Mexicans below. Two gates now fell to the Americans and soldiers and marines poured into the city as nightfall came. When the sun rose, the Americans found that many Mexican units had fled their positions. Santa Anna had withdrawn from the city, but only after releasing 30,000 prisoners. The prisoners climbed on top of roofs and began firing onto American forces in the streets. After a period of skirmishing, these assaults too were subdued. The Mexicans surrendered and General Scott marched through the city victorious.
With Mexico defeated, Polk’s representatives began negotiations for a treaty. There was some confusion about where negotiations were to take place, as Polk had recalled his representative in Mexico, Nicholas Trist, with the expectation of a Mexican delegation coming to DC. In DC, some were advocating the US take possession of all of Mexico. Polk was greatly opposed to this; America would benefit greatly from taking the sparsely populated northern territories. What would become of an America that had millions of mestizos? Thus, when Trist sent a copy of his treaty to Washington, President Polk ignored that fact that he had recalled him and forwarded the treaty to the Senate, where it was ratified, and thus the “All of Mexico” movement was defeated.
Polk’s victory was monumental. In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Mexico relinquished all its claims to Texas, and recognized the Rio Grande as the southern border, and gave the US California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming. The British were stunned by the raw aggression of Polk in the invasion of Mexico, as well as US military competence. The Duke of Wellington, upon learning of General Scott’s victory, proclaimed that Scott was “the greatest living general."
Realizing that they were not interested in war with the Americans, the British government started negotiations to resolve the Oregon Country border dispute. Ultimately, a treaty was signed giving the US what is now Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Furthermore, Polk had achieved his campaign promises, adjusting the tariff to reduce sectional strife caused by it, and reforming the US treasury system without establishing a national bank. He stands alone among US Presidents in achieving everything he promised in one term.
The Mexican War was the culmination of the first phase of American history that began at Jamestown. The seeds planted in the colonies bloomed with the fusion of the Anglo-Teutonic settlers’ heirs into the American people, who then conquered this land from sea to sea.