In 1846 a war kicked off between the US and Mexico which the United States won. In the peace settlement, Mexico lost its northern territories but there were Americans who pushed for the total annexation of all of Mexico into the United States. So why didn't this happen? To find out watch this short and simple animated history documentary.

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In 1848, after defeating Mexico in a war, the United States annexed these territories from it.

And there were many notable individuals in the US that weren't happy at simply taking these lands.

In fact, they wanted to manifest destiny the entirety of Mexico.

Of course, they never did, but Given how thoroughly the US won the war, this does raise a question.

So the war started after the US annexed Texas and the new borders between the United States and Mexico became unclear.

The Texans, and thus now the Americans, claimed the border to be here, whereas the Mexicans said it was here.

Both sent troops and after a small skirmish, the US declared war.

The Americans won the war handily and so when it was time to make peace, President James K.

Polk had been elected on a promise to expand the United States territorially.

The war with Mexico had been contentious domestically, and there were several areas of disagreement.

Mexico had abolished slavery over a decade before the war.

But if territory was taken from it, then its status as either a slave state or a free state wouldn't be clear.

Those in the South wanted a place for the practice to expand to, and if all of Mexico could be turned into slave states then its future would be secure.

Polk was himself pro-slavery, but given that his party had just lost the midterms and the house was now controlled by the Whig party, he had to compromise.

The second issue was that Mexicans were seen as… different.

There were many US politicians who worried about a sudden influx of Spanish-speaking, non-white Catholics upsetting life there.

Polk had promised a quick war against an inferior enemy which would give Americans lots of free land.

As the war had dragged on and American troops had to move further and further into Mexico, even occupying its capital, this was no longer the case.

As such, incorporating all of Mexico would have led to a long and expensive guerrilla war.

Those on the opposing side, including future President James, I guess it's okay if you secede Buchanan, wanted all of Mexico.

Their arguments were that the US could handle any insurgency similarly to how they had handled the Native Americans before this.

They also argued that all of Mexico should be annexed on financial grounds.

Mexico's northern territories were somewhat barren, whereas the south was much more arable and would allow the US Navy access to southern ports, further expanding its reach.

It was also believed that annexing all of Mexico would make up for the cost of the war.

So why did the lesser annexation plans win out?

Well it was mostly down to a man called Nicholas Trist.

Trist was sent to negotiate a peace settlement and Polk had ordered him to obtain these territories.

Trist was largely seen as being too pro-Mexican by the army and so Polk fired him.

The problem was that Trist simply ignored him, and then negotiated a lesser settlement anyway.

He did this because he opposed the war and didn't believe that America could be both a republic and an empire.

He presented this lesser treaty to an unhappy president who just wanted everything over with at this point.

Polk had hoped that this lesser treaty would be signed off by a hostile house.

This worked, and despite most Americans actually wanting more of, but not all of Mexico, America only annexed this.

I hope you enjoyed this episode and a special thanks to my Patrons James Bizonette, Kelly Moneymaker, Sky Chappell, Corsha Wolff, Jerry Lambdin, Jordan Longley, Adam Stalter, Marcus Arsner, YN Hockey, Spencer Lightfoot, Rod D.

Martin, Words About Books Podcast, Captain Psydog, Gustav Swann, Marvin Casal, Camoon Yoon, Winston K.

Wood, Boogily Woogily, Daniel Tobian, Miss Iset, Aaron the White, Corey Turner, The McWhopper, Alex Schwin, Anthony Beckett, Copper Tone, Maggie Paskowski, Shuenin, Spinning 3 Plates, and Charles I.


Speaker 0: In 1848, after defeating Mexico in a war, the United States annexed these territories from it. And there were many notable individuals in the US that weren't happy at simply taking these lands. In fact, they wanted to manifest destiny the entirety of Mexico. Of course, they never did, but Given how thoroughly the US won the war, this does raise a question. Why didn't the US take all of Mexico?

So the war started after the US annexed Texas and the new borders between the United States and Mexico became unclear. The Texans, and thus now the Americans, claimed the border to be here, whereas the Mexicans said it was here. Both sent troops and after a small skirmish, the US declared war. The Americans won the war handily and so when it was time to make peace, President James K. Polk had a dilemma.

Just how much land should they take? Polk had been elected on a promise to expand the United States territorially. The war with Mexico had been contentious domestically, and there were several areas of disagreement. The first was slavery. Mexico had abolished slavery over a decade before the war.

But if territory was taken from it, then its status as either a slave state or a free state wouldn't be clear. Those in the South wanted a place for the practice to expand to, and if all of Mexico could be turned into slave states then its future would be secure. Polk was himself pro-slavery, but given that his party had just lost the midterms and the house was now controlled by the Whig party, he had to compromise. The second issue was that Mexicans were seen as… different. There were many US politicians who worried about a sudden influx of Spanish-speaking, non-white Catholics upsetting life there.

The third issue was 1 of practicality. Polk had promised a quick war against an inferior enemy which would give Americans lots of free land. As the war had dragged on and American troops had to move further and further into Mexico, even occupying its capital, this was no longer the case. As such, incorporating all of Mexico would have led to a long and expensive guerrilla war. Those on the opposing side, including future President James, I guess it's okay if you secede Buchanan, wanted all of Mexico.

Their arguments were that the US could handle any insurgency similarly to how they had handled the Native Americans before this. They also argued that all of Mexico should be annexed on financial grounds. Mexico's northern territories were somewhat barren, whereas the south was much more arable and would allow the US Navy access to southern ports, further expanding its reach. It was also believed that annexing all of Mexico would make up for the cost of the war. So why did the lesser annexation plans win out?

Well it was mostly down to a man called Nicholas Trist. Trist was sent to negotiate a peace settlement and Polk had ordered him to obtain these territories. Trist was largely seen as being too pro-Mexican by the army and so Polk fired him. The problem was that Trist simply ignored him, and then negotiated a lesser settlement anyway. He did this because he opposed the war and didn't believe that America could be both a republic and an empire.

He presented this lesser treaty to an unhappy president who just wanted everything over with at this point. Polk had hoped that this lesser treaty would be signed off by a hostile house. This worked, and despite most Americans actually wanting more of, but not all of Mexico, America only annexed this. I hope you enjoyed this episode and a special thanks to my Patrons James Bizonette, Kelly Moneymaker, Sky Chappell, Corsha Wolff, Jerry Lambdin, Jordan Longley, Adam Stalter, Marcus Arsner, YN Hockey, Spencer Lightfoot, Rod D. Martin, Words About Books Podcast, Captain Psydog, Gustav Swann, Marvin Casal, Camoon Yoon, Winston K.

Wood, Boogily Woogily, Daniel Tobian, Miss Iset, Aaron the White, Corey Turner, The McWhopper, Alex Schwin, Anthony Beckett, Copper Tone, Maggie Paskowski, Shuenin, Spinning 3 Plates, and Charles I.

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Why didn't the USA annex all of Mexico in 1848? (Short Animated Documentary)