15,697
edits
Changes
no edit summary
== Mexican-American War ==
Samuel Houston became the second president of independent Texas and attempted to affect territorial compromises with the Plains tribes. Relative peace ensued until his successor, Mirabeau Lamar, assumed the office in 1839, whereupon he sought “‘an exterminating war upon their [South Plains tribes] warriors; which will admit no compromise and have no termination except in their total extinction or total expulsion.’”<ref>Quoted in James L. Haley, ''The Buffalo War'' (New York: Doubleday, 1976), 4-5.</ref>Within seven years of Lamar’s statement, the U.S. became embroiled in a war with Mexico that was directly impacted by the South Plains Indians.
[[File:Mirabeaulamar_2.jpg|thumbnail|300pxleft|250px|Mirabeau Lamar, circa 1839.]]In order to arrive at the theater of war, federal troops needed to traverse Indian territories along the Santa Fe Trail. In order to ensure the safety of his army, President James K. Polk invited chiefs from all of the tribes to Washington City. Forty-one chiefs made the trip to the nation’s capital and reached an agreement with Polk. The native tribes agreed to allow the military forces to pass unscathed in exchange for food and provisions supplied by the federal Federal Government and a guarantee from Polk that the United States, which had annexed Texas in 1845, would not interfere with the tribal raids into Old Mexico. A similar agreement; however, was made with Mexico at the conclusion of the war.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was agreed upon in 1848 by both governments after the United States claimed victory in the Mexican-American War. The most significant outcome of the treaty was the new boundaries established for each nation. More importantly to the native tribes was a promise of the U.S. delegates to prevent Native American raids into Mexico; this was a direct contradiction to the promise made two years earlier to the tribal chiefs. As the United States deemed the relationship with Mexico of greater importance than that of its relationship with the South Plains tribes, military forts and outposts arose in Texas for the purpose of patrolling the newly established national borders. Further, with the increased military presence the soldiers were also able to guard the boundaries of the southern and western frontiers from the South Plains tribes.