Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

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Territory of Mexico to the USA: Mexican-American War (red), Gadsden purchase (yellow)
The contract in English (left) and Spanish

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of February 2, 1848 ended the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). After the defeats Mexico suffered in the war, the Mexican government had no choice but to sign the treaty.

The treaty was signed on February 2, 1848 on the altar of the old cathedral in the city of Guadalupe Hidalgo (now a district of Mexico City ) by Nicholas Trist for the United States and Luis G. Cuevas , Bernardo Couto and Miguel Atristain for Mexico and Ratified by the United States Senate on March 10 and by the Mexican government on May 19.

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The treaty redefined the border between the United States and Mexico . The war brought considerable territorial gains to the United States. The affiliation of Texas to the USA was recognized by Mexico and the Texas border was moved to the Rio Grande . In addition, the Mexican administrative units Alta California and Nuevo Mexico went to the USA. The United States thus gained the entire area between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific coast : the present-day states of California , Arizona , New Mexico , Utah , Nevada , Texas and part of Colorado and Wyoming .

In return, the United States paid to Mexico 15 million US dollars (in today's money 500 million US $ ) and agreed to pay all Americans, in which Mexico still claims had open. For this, the US government had to spend another 3.25 million dollars (in today's purchasing power 108 million US dollars). All private real estate in the territories transferred to the United States was guaranteed by the United States. This mainly concerned the large land grants customary in Nuevo Mexico , but also individual water usage rights in California.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo also gave Mexicans who lived in what is now the Southwestern United States the option of either emigrating to Mexico within a year or adopting US citizenship. Most became US citizens .

Further development

In 1853 the United States acquired a few more areas of Mexico in the Gadsden purchase , creating the border between the United States and Mexico , which is still valid today .

literature

  • Richard Griswold del Castillo: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: A Legacy of Conflict, Norman 1990.
  • Christopher D. Ruiz Cameron: One Hundred Fifty Years of Solitude: Reflections on the End of the History Academy's Dominance of Scholarship on the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in: The Legacy of the Mexican and Spanish-American Wars: Legal, Literary, and Historical Perspectives, ed. by Gary D. Keller / Cordelia Candelaria, Tempe, Ariz. 2000, pp. 1-22.
  • Richard J. Salvucci: Santa Anna Never Had an iPhone: Some Thoughts on the Price of Peace and the Financial Misfortunes of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, in: Journal of the Historical Society 9/1 (2009), p. 67– 86.

Web links