Title: 
Headings: Compromise of 1850
Article
Compromise of 1850
A Temporary Peace

Content: Mexico had four different presidents in that one year, the final government holding power was nationalistic and claimed Texas was still a part of Mexico’s territory. In April 1846 Mexican soldiers attacked a small number of American soldiers, sparking a war over the disputed border. The Mexican-American War lasted only two years, and concluded with the American army capturing Mexico City. Yet, the war had a long lasting impact on both countries. The United States and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo concluding the war establishing Texas’s southern border as the Rio Grande and giving America the New Mexico Territory and California for 15 million dollars. The land the US acquired became known as the Mexican Cession. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo radically expanded the United States, and completed the goals of Polk’s Manifest Destiny, while also forcing the nation to confront questions about slavery and self-determination in the new American territory. Having completed all his campaign promises, Polk did not run for a second term. However, his acquisition of the Mexican Cession created tension his successor would have to calm. Texas was a state committed to slavery and claimed a large portion of New Mexico, which they never truly controlled or governed.