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The Mexican-American War (1846-1848): Part I

© Hans Hereijgers

As I mentioned in the article about Antonio López de Santa Anna, Mexico and the United States of America were not the best of friends in the middle of the nineteenth century. Both countries had acquired their independence fairly recently and their territories had yet to obtain their current shape and size. In 1846 a war broke out that opposed both nations and whose outcome would mean amongst other things an entire reorganization of the North American geopolitical maps of the time. It would last for two years.

Ten years earlier Mexico had suffered a humiliating defeat against the Texans, who wanted to become an independent republic. Sam Houston and his army had captured Santa Anna and had made him sign two treaties. One of them said that Mexico would never take up arms against Texas, and another treaty, which was kept a secret, stipulated that Santa Anna would try to make the Mexican cabinet recognize Texas as an independent nation. Naturally, as with most secrets, the contents of the latter treaty was soon known. Santa Anna was said to have betrayed his country but, fortunately for him, was able to restore his reputation rapidly by defeating the French in Veracruz (1838). As for the treaties, they were not to be respected due to the fact that Santa Anna had been forced to sign them, a good reason why Mexico should refuse to recognize the independence of Texas.

On the other hand, Mexico did not manage to get Texas back either. This was due to the enormous political instability that reigned on home soil, where two factions, i.e., the Federalists and the Centralists, had diametrically opposed views concerning the future of the country. The Federalists desired a constitutional democracy whereas the Centralists preferred an autocratic government led by a dictator or a monarch. Santa Anna was, obviously, an adherent to the latter faction and served as the dictator. However, in December 1844 a coalition of moderates and Federalists succeeded in driving Santa Anna into exile and installing José Joaquín Herrera as a president.

Meanwhile, the United States had already recognized the independence of the Lone Star Republic, as had several other countries such as Great Britain and France. Voices were heard in favour of annexing Texas but many U.S. congressmen were not prepared to engage in a war against their neighbours. That situation would change, though: in 1844 James K. Polk was elected as president on a platform that included annexation and it was not very long before Congress passed an act (1845) allowing Texas to become a part of the United States. Mexico suspended all diplomatic relations with the U.S. War had become inevitable.

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