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→President Polk Provokes war the Mexico-American War
Following the failure of Slidell’s mission in May 1846, Polk used news of skirmishes inside disputed territory between Mexican troops and Taylor’s army to gain Congressional support for a declaration of war against Mexico. On May 13, 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico.
Following the capture of Mexico City in September 1847, Nicholas Trist, chief clerk of the Department of State and Polk’s peace emissary, began negotiations for a peace treaty with the Mexican Government under terms similar to those pursued by Slidell the previous year. Polk soon grew concerned by Trist’s conduct, however, believing that he would not press for strong enough terms from the Mexicans, and because Trist became a close friend of General Winfield Scott, a Whig who was thought to be a strong contender for his party’s presidential nomination for the 1848 election. Furthermore, the war had encouraged expansionist Democrats to call for a complete annexation of Mexico. Polk recalled Trist in October.
Believing that he was on the cusp of an agreement with the Mexicans, Trist ignored the recall order and presented Polk with the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, which was signed in Mexico City on February 2, 1848. Under the terms of the treaty, Mexico ceded to the United States approximately 525,000 square miles (55% of its prewar territory) in exchange for a $15 million lump sum payment, and the assumption by the U.S. Government of up to $3.25 million worth of debts owed by Mexico to U.S. citizens.
