Free Republic

On July 7, 1846, a contingent of Marines raised the American flag over Monterey, California, to mark a proclamation by U.S. consul Thomas Larkin that the territory was being annexed as a consequence of the war with Mexico. Much of the future state had already been taken from Mexico's nominal control by an uprising of American settlers under the Bear Flag. Victory in the Mexican War meant that the country gained Texas, California, and everything in between, comprising most of what is now New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. Next to the War of Independence and the Civil...

In early 1846, Pres. James K. Polk dispatched an expeditionary force to the border hoping to provoke hostilities. It worked. In April, Mexico declared war. The American Army won two back-to-back victories. The U.S. formally declared war in May, and – after a series of very bloody battles – Mexico was defeated in 1848. America's victory resulted in the vast acquisition of new U.S. territories stretching to the Pacific: A bone of contention for some Mexicans (and other Hispanics) in the current immigration reform debate.