Manifest Destiny: The Mexican-American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
![handle is hein.journals/sjlta5 and id is 41 raw text is: MANIFEST DESTINY:
THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR
AND THE TREATY OF
GUADALUPE HIDALGO
Richard Griswold del Castillot
Conquest gives a title which the courts of the conqueror cannot
deny, whatever the private or speculative opinion of individuals may
be. '
1. THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo2 is one hundred and fifty years
old this month, having been signed by United States and Mexican
negotiators on February 2, 1848. The Treaty ended a war between
Mexico and the United States, and ceded to the Americans about half
of Mexico's national territory. As a result, it created a new ethnic
minority group, the Mexican-Americans.
The Mexican-American War and the Treaty that ended it were
undertaken against the backdrop of Manifest Destiny. This body of
ideas and sentiments purported to justify the territorial expansion
of English-speaking Americans into territories held, occupied, or
claimed by Mexicans and Indians. Disparate groups, from rustic back-
woodsmen to sophisticated New England poets, from northern aboli-
tionists to southern slave-holders, fervently believed that God had
t Dr. Griswold del Castillo earned his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in history from the Univer-
sity of California, Los Angeles. He specializes in Chicana/o history and is the author of many
books, including, THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO: A LEGACY OF CONFLICT (1990). His
most recent book is NORTH TO AZTLAN: MEXICAN AMERICANS IN UNITED STATES HISTORY
(1996)(with Arnoldo De Leon). Professor Castillo is currently Acting Director of the Masters
Program in Liberal Arts at San Diego State University.
1. United States v. Tillamooks, 329 U.S. 40 (1946).
2. Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits and Settlement with the Republic of Mexico, Feb. 2,
1848, U.S.-Mex., 9 Stat. 922 [hereinafter Treaty].](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/sjlta5&div=10&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
What Is HeinOnline?
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
Manifest Destiny: The Mexican-American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most