CLEP U.S. History I 081: Mexican-American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

CLEP U.S. History I 081: Mexican-American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

U.S. History to 1877 | Chapter 15 | Lesson 15.3

President James K. Polk wanted California and New Mexico as well as the settlement of the Texas question. After annexation, the United States treated the Rio Grande as Texas’s boundary. Mexico recognized the Nueces River farther north. Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor into the disputed zone. A clash followed, and Polk told Congress that Mexico had shed American blood on American soil. Critics, including Representative Abraham Lincoln, questioned where the blood had been shed and whether the administration had provoked war.

Domestic opposition did not equal a single antiwar position. Whigs challenged presidential candor and executive war making. Abolitionists warned that conquest might enlarge slaveholding power. Some soldiers and citizens opposed particular aims while supporting troops already in the field. Congress nevertheless approved war by large margins. These differences matter because a vote for supplies, a criticism of Polk, and a rejection of territorial acquisition are three distinct political acts.

A focused video lesson

Use this lesson from Heimler's History to review the period and its central historical problem. Pause when the video reaches the turning point named above.

Video: The MEXICAN-AMERICAN War [APUSH Review Unit 5 Topic 3] Period 5: 1844-1877, Heimler's History.

Check your understanding

  1. The immediate U.S.-Mexican boundary dispute concerned land between the
    1. Sabine River and Nueces River.
    2. Rio Grande and Gila River.
    3. Nueces River and Brazos River.
    4. Nueces River and Rio Grande.
    5. Rio Grande and Colorado River.
  2. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo did which of the following?
    1. Recognized California as an independent republic beyond Mexican control.
    2. Transferred California and New Mexico to U.S. control.
    3. Returned the Nueces-Rio Grande borderland to Mexican rule.
    4. Purchased Britain’s claims throughout the Oregon Country.
    5. Prohibited slavery throughout all territory Mexico ceded.
  3. Select all accurate statements about the war:
    1. Polk sought western territory,
    2. critics challenged his account of the border clash,
    3. U.S. forces entered Mexico City,
    4. the war settled the slavery question permanently,
    5. the peace included promises concerning Mexican residents’ rights.
  4. Explain why the location of the first clash mattered to the domestic debate over the war.

    Write a brief response using a named fact from the lesson.

Open the answers and reasoning
15.3-1. D. D is correct: the disputed strip lay between the Nueces River and Rio Grande. A starts at the older U.S.-Spanish boundary. B extends the issue into the Southwest. C places both limits too far north/east. E places both westward from Mexico’s recognized Nueces line.
15.3-2. B. B states the treaty’s major territorial result: Mexico ceded California and New Mexico to the United States. A confuses U.S. military occupation in California with recognition of an independent republic. C gives Mexico the disputed strip even though the treaty recognized the Rio Grande boundary. D belongs to the separate 1846 agreement with Britain. E describes the rejected goal of the Wilmot Proviso, not a treaty term.
15.3-3. A, B, C, E. A, B, C, and E correctly describe Polk’s aims, domestic criticism, occupation of Mexico City, and treaty promises. D is excluded because acquisition immediately intensified the slavery-extension dispute.
15.3-4. Minimum complete response. Explain that if the clash occurred in disputed territory, Polk’s assertion that Mexico invaded U.S. soil was contestable. Connect location to executive candor and the legitimacy of the war request.

Independent preparation. CLEP is a registered trademark of the College Board, which does not endorse this lesson.

Effortless Math Team

Effortless Math Team

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