Key Terms for 5.3 Mexican-American War

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James Polk

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Taking office in 1845, President Polk dispatched a special envoy to the government in Mexico City to persuade Mexico to sell the California and New Mexico territories to the United States.

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Mexican-American War

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A conflict between the United States and Mexico that lasted from 1846 to 1848, beginning after the U.S. annexed Texas in 1845 and a dispute over the location of the Texas-Mexico border.

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Nueces River

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The Mexican government insisted Texas’s southern border was on the Nueces River.

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Rio Grande

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Polk asserted that the border lay farther to the south, along the Rio Grande.

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Bear Flag Republic

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The new republic’s flag included a California grizzly bear.

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Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848

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The treaty negotiated by diplomat Nicholas Trist with Mexico consisted of terms favorable to the United States: Mexico recognized the Rio Grande as the southern border of Texas, and the United States took possession of the former Mexican provinces of California and New Mexico.

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Mexican Cession

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The United States paid $15 million and assumed responsibility for any claims of American citizens against Mexico.

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Wilmot Proviso

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David Wilmot proposed that an appropriations bill be amended to forbid slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico.