Take the Land, Not the People · Episode 3 of 8 · 37 min
All Mexico, and Why We Stopped
The U.S. Army held Mexico City and expansionists cried 'All Mexico!' So why did America take only the thinly settled north and hand the heartland back? The episode sets out the evidence for the racism thesis in Calhoun's claim that America was 'the government of a white race,' then tests it against the free-soil versus slave-power fight and fear of guerrilla occupation. Nicholas Trist defies his recall to sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Who's who
- John C. Calhoun+2 more episodesSenator who opposed absorbing Mexico's people on racial grounds
- James K. Polk+2 more episodesPresident who wanted more territory than his envoy secured
- Nicholas P. TristNegotiator who defied his recall and signed the treaty
- David WilmotCongressman whose proviso would bar slavery from Mexican land
- Winfield Scott+4 more episodesGeneral whose army occupied Mexico City
- Reginald Horsman+1 more episodeHistorian who reads expansion as structured by racial Anglo-Saxonism
Where it happens
- Mexico City+2 more episodesOccupied in September 1847
- Puebla, MexicoSite of a month-long siege of a U.S. garrison
- Villa de Guadalupe Hidalgo, MexicoWhere the treaty was signed
Timeline
- August 8, 1846Wilmot offers his proviso barring slavery in any territory won from Mexico.
- September 14, 1847Scott's army occupies Mexico City.
- October 6, 1847Polk orders Trist recalled.
- January 4, 1848Calhoun delivers his Senate speech against annexing Mexico.
- February 2, 1848Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed.
- March 10, 1848Senate ratifies the treaty, 38-14.
Still debated
Historians disagree about how much race did on its own versus the free-soil fight over slavery and the fear of guerrilla occupation, and the episode lays out the three causes without ranking them.
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Connected episodes in other series
How Andrew Jackson Turned Conquest Into Federal PolicyAs Long as the Grass Grows · Episode 5Also features Winfield Scott
The Highland Clearances and the Trail of Tears: Removal by LawEmpty the Land · Episode 2Also features Winfield Scott
The Supremacy Clause: Why Every Nullification Theory Has Lost in Court for 200 YearsHomemade Sovereignty · Episode 7Also features John C. Calhoun
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