What Were the Causes of the Mexican War?
On August 8, 1812, the Gutierrez-Magee Expedition crossed the Sabine River from Louisiana into the Spanish territory that we now know as Texas. The expedition was composed of both antiroyalist subjects of Spain and U.S. officials who sought to enter that country's territory as observers for President Monroe. The military conflicts that followed the expedition's arrival sowed the first seeds of discontent between the United States and New Spain--seeds that would eventually grow into the contest that history now records as the Mexican-American War.
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Treaty of Córdoba
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From September of 1810 until the summer of 1821, a prolonged struggle against Spanish rule took place in New Spain--a huge chunk of territory stretching from the Sabine River on the east to California on the west, and from what are now parts of Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska on the north to the Yucatán Peninsula and Guatemala on the south. On August 24, 1821, the Spanish Crown ceased its struggle for control and signed the Treaty of Córdoba, thus recognizing Mexican independence.
U.S. Migration into Texas
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With an independent Mexico to contend with, American and European cartographers fixed that country's northern border at the Neuces River, which lies some 150 miles north of the Rio Grande. In 1823 Stephen Austin received a grant from the Mexican government and began colonization in the area near the Brazos River. Other Americans followed suit during the 1820s and migrated into Texas in such large numbers that the Mexican government, in growing alarm, banned further migration into that region in April of 1830.
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The Revolt Begins
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In the middle of 1824 Mexico took on a republican form of government; still, its constitution did not very well define the rights of its states, including Texas. When General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna seized the reigns of power in mid-1834, he established a virtual dictatorship, which disallowed slavery. Texans, finding the antislavery and other laws unsatisfactory, began the revolt against Mexican rule.
Texas Declares Independence
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Between 1832 and 1836, American settlers in Texas fought a series of battles against Mexican forces and emerged victorious. On March 2, 1836, the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed by members of the Convention of 1836. An interim government was formed, as it was the desire of most Americans there to annex into the United States.
The Surrender of Santa Anna
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Around February 23, 1836, a leading contingent of Santa Anna's army laid siege to the Alamo, an old Spanish Mission where fewer than 200 Americans held out against its onslaught for some 2 weeks. On March 6, however, and with the Mexican army now counting over 2,000 soldiers, the Alamo fell with most of its defenders either killed in battle or later executed. On April 21, Santa Anna's force was defeated by Sam Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto. In exchange for his freedom, General Santa Anna agreed to Texan demands for independence--a move that was not agreed to by his own countrymen.
The Conflict Begins
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Upon winning its independence, the new republic declared that its border extended to the Rio Grande--a claim supported by the U.S. government. In March of 1845, Texas was admitted to the union along with New Mexico and several other western states. Mexico broke off diplomatic relations with the United States and in April of 1846, Mexican forces crossed the controversial river into U.S. territory. The stage was now set. On May 13, Congress officially declared war upon Mexico.
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