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Show FAMOUS PEACE TREATIES ; By H. IRVING KING (L'opyriKh'. l'Jl'j, by the McClure News paper Syndicate.; TREATY OF GUADALUPE-HIDALGO, 1848. The End of the War Between Mexico and the United States. In April of 1815 the United States entered into war with Mexico. By September 1847, the American nag as a pacifist orator of the day put It "waved' In Insolent triumph in the halls of the Montezumas," and on February Feb-ruary 2 of the following year a wholly unauthorized private citizen signed on the part of the Americans a treaty by which the United States obtained undisputed sovereignty over a territory terri-tory more than four times the size of the German empire as it was before the recent debacle, paying Mexico In return .$1.1,01)0,000 and assuming $3,-250,000 $3,-250,000 of Mexico's debts. By the treaty with Spain In 1810, the United States had, Indeed, acquired Florida, but she had released her claims to Texas, over a part of which at least she had claimed a right under the Louisiana Purchase. When the last Spanish successor erf Cortez as viceroy of Mexico was deposed In 1821, Mexico succeeded to the right of Spain in Texas, but left that vast territory as forlorn and undeveloped as it had been under Spanish rule. A year of war ensued. Everybody remembers the name of Sam Houston and the fact that Thermopylae had its messengers of death; the Alamo had none." From 1836 to 1845 Texas was an Independent republic under the "banner of the Lone Star." In 1845 It was annexed to the United States and a dispute at once arose with Mexico over, the southwestern boundary of the newly acquired state, Mexico claiming that boundary to be the Nueces while the United States claimed ft to be the Rio Grande. John Slidel, afterwards so well known in the Mason and Slidel affair of the Civil war, was sent to Mexico to try and arrange the matter in dispute, but was refused a hearing. Early in 1846 General Taylor was ordered to move to the Rio Grande. Mexico had severed diplomatic relations rela-tions with the United States upon the annexation of Texas. General Taylor established his headquarters at a point opposite- Matamoras. His force consisted con-sisted of a little over 3,500 regulars. Learning that the Mexicans were preparing pre-paring to cross the river higher up, Taylor sent out a reconnolterlng party consisting of 63 dragoons under Captain Cap-tain Thornton who, on April 26, was surprised and captured by the Mexicans Mexi-cans after the loss of 16 men. The war had begun. The news of Thornton's Thorn-ton's capture reached Washington on May 0. President Polk sent a message mes-sage to congress stating that "Mexico has passed the boundary of the United States and shed American blood on American soil." Congress passed a Mil providing for the enrollment of 50,000 volunteers and a war appropriation appro-priation of $10,000,000, congress agreeing agree-ing with the president that "war exists ex-ists by the act of Mexico." General Taylor gained the victories of Palo Alto May 8, Resaca de la Talma May 9, captured Monterey September Sep-tember 24, and won the hard fight of Buena Vista on February 23 of the next year. In March of 1847 General Scott captured Vera Cruz and marched march-ed to the City of Mexico, winning the battles of Cerro Gordo April IS, Con-trerus Con-trerus August 19, Churubusco August 20, Molino del Key September 8, and Chapultepec September 13. The next day he stormed the Belem gate and entered the Mexican capital. When Vera Cruz fell President Polk decided that It would be well to have along with Scott's army a commissioner commission-er authorized to sign a pence with the Mexicans as soon as they had been sufllclently defeated to be amenable to terms. N. P. Trist, chief clerk of the state department, was chosen and having been given the rough draft of a treaty reached Vera Cruz on May 6 of 1847 and joined Scott. Mr. Trlst got no opportunity to exercise his diplomatic dip-lomatic powers until after the battle of Churubusco. The morning after that battle Scott-was met by commissioners commis-sioners from the Mexican president, Snntn Anna, with proposals for an armistice. This was agreed t6 and Mr. Trist wrote to the Mexican mlnis-j mlnis-j ter of foreign relations that he was i ready to enter into negotiations. A Treaty Without Authority. Five Mexican commissioners met Mr. Trist at a village lying between the American and Mexican lines which bore the impossible Aztec name of Atzcopozalen. Mr. Trlst wanted Lower Low-er California but was willing to concede con-cede that point, but he would not give up the demand for New Mexico (then comprising what Is now New Mexico and Arizona) south of the thirty-seventh degree. Nor would the Mexicans give it up. The negotiations came to nothing, the armistice was ended and Scott resumed his advance. Counter propositions which the Mexican commissioners com-missioners had made were referred by Mr. Trlst to Washington, but he was generally thought to have been too wavering at the village with the unpronounceable name and, without waiting to hear from him officially, President Polk revoked his authority and sent him a letter of recall. After the capture of the City of Mexico the Mexicans saw that further struggle was hopeless. California had meantime been occupied by Commodores Commo-dores Sloat and Stockton and the land forces of Generals Fremont and Kearny. Santa Anna resigned the presidency, which passed to General Anaya, who summoned a congress at Queretaro. One of his first acts was to appoint a commission to proceed to the City of Mexico and confer with Mr. Trlst. Mr. Trist had already received re-ceived his letter of recall. The Mexican Mex-ican commissioners, with singular reasoning rea-soning suggested that they had "not been officially notified of the American envoy's recall" and Mr. Trlst agreed to treat. Mr. Trlst met the Mexican commissioners at Guadaloupe-Hidalgo, a town about three miles north of the City of Mexico, where the treaty was signed on February 2, 1848. |