Mexican American War Timeline
Cause and Effect of Texas Independence
| This timeline is a road map of a one way street. There are no off ramps, but numerous temporary stops that begin “deep in the heart of Texas” and end in the deep blue Pacific. The fuel for this trip was the belief that providence had designed the fate of the American nation called “Manifest Destiny”. This political philosophy preached that the United States had the God given right to expand America's borders from sea to sea. |
After your review of this timeline, we call your attention to the additional links located below this table detailing the decisive elements of this war.
| 1821 | Mexico revolts against Spanish rule | Mexican independence; gained south western territories from Texas to California | |
| 1822-1824 | Mexico encourages Americans to settle Texas and particularly areas subject to Comanche Indian attacks to provide a defense for Mexican settlers. | Americans, attracted by cheap land, many with their slaves, settled large areas of Texas. Immigrants were required to swear oath of allegiance to Mexico and to follow the State religion. The latter requirement was more honored in the breach. | Stephen F. Austin establishes a colonial judicial system. |
| 1827 | United States offers to purchase Texas for $1,000,000 | Mexico rejects | President John Quincy Adams |
| 1829 | United States offers to purchase Texas for$5,000,000 | Mexico rejects | President Andrew Jackson |
| 1830 | Mexico outlaws slavery in Texas | Settlers adjust by converting slaves into indentured servants | Mexican President Anastasio Bustamante |
| 1830 | Mexico halts American immigration | Mexico unhappy with American actions | Mexican President Anastasio Bustamante |
| 1832 | Battle of Velasco | Mexicans and Americans engage in combat. Settlers sign Texas Declaration of Independence. Political seeds planted for Mexican American war. | |
| 1836 | General Santa Ana led a force of 1500 Mexicans in a 13 day siege of a compound known as the Alamo. They ultimately overwhelmed the American garrison in a “no quarter” battle. | Two defenders survived out of a force of approximately 175 Texians as the Americans were known. Their loss became a battle cry for the future and a door leading to ultimate annexation by the United States. | |
| Battle of San Jacinto | Mexican general captured and agrees to Texas sovereignty ultimately rejected by Mexico. Texas recognized by France, Britain and United States. | General Santa Anna | |
| 1845 | United States attempts to annex Texas | U.S. senate rejects over slavery issue | President John Tyler |
| 1845 | U.S. Presidential election | New expansion policy and reinstatement of Monroe Doctrine. The last nail sealing the Mexican American war. | President James K. Polk |
| 1845 | Annexation of Texas by Joint Vote of U.S. Congress | Resolution fails to include Rio Grande River as southern boundary of Texas |
Mexican American War
| 1846 | Several battles over a period of three months including occupation of a new American fort on the Rio Grande with the intent to establish the international boundary between Mexico and the United States. | Declaration of War enacted by congress | President James K. Polk General Zachary Taylor |
| 1846 | Private topographical survey conducted by U.S. team near Monterey, California.Proponents of a free California. | Ousted by Mexican authorities | John C. Fremont future presidential candidate 1856 |
| 1846 | Texas declared 28th state of the Union | Congressional action | |
| 1847 | Last Mexican fort in California surrenders to U.S. forces | Mexico surrenders California to the United States | |
| 1847 | U.S. forces victorious in battle of Vera Cruz and then enters Mexico City | Effectively ended Mexican resistance | General Winfield Scott and Santa Anna |
| 1848 | Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo | Mexico ceded California, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada to U.S. |
| Every American war was defined and illuminated by thousands of moving parts. In a sense, a war machine is like a huge wheel designed to advance a strategy, a goal, but inherently capable of sudden stops and reversals. You may examine the wheel and its component spokes (links) that propelled the American war machine, all trans-formative, and the human hands that created the turns and pivots that marked this war and our times. |
Mexican American Culture Differences
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