LibGuides: Primary Sources: Wars &amp; Conflicts: Mexican-American War

The Mexican-American War fought from 1846 to 1848, stemmed from tensions over the annexation of Texas and territorial disputes along the U.S.-Mexico border. American expansionist fervor and Manifest Destiny fueled the conflict, leading to significant battles such as the Siege of Fort Texas and the Battle of Buena Vista. The war concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in which Mexico ceded vast territories, including California, New Mexico, and Texas, to the United States in exchange for $15 million. The war's outcome reshaped the map of North America and exacerbated tensions over slavery in the United States.

Book Sources: Mexican-American War

Click the title for location and availability information.

An artillery officer in the Mexican War, 1846-7 by Robert Anderson
Call Number: Online - free - HathiTrust
letters of Robert Anderson, captain 3rd attillery, U.S.A., with a prefatory word / by his daughter, Eba Anderson Lawton, with 21 illustrations.
The Diary of James K. Polk during his Presidency, 1845 to 1849 by James K. Polk
Call Number: Online - free - Internet Archive
Free from the Internet Archive
Journal of Francis Collins : an artillery officer in the Mexican War by Maria Clinton Collins (editor)
Call Number: Online - free - HathiTrust
Publication Date: 1915
Letters of Zachary Taylor, from the Battle-Fields of the Mexican War by Zachary Taylor
Call Number: Online - free - Internet Archive
The Mexican War Diary of George B. McClellan by William Starr Myers (editor)
Call Number: Online - free - HathiTrust
Pensions to soldiers and sailors of the Mexican War. by United States. Congress. House.; United States. Congress. House. Committee on Pensions.
Call Number: View Online
Publication Date: 1890
War With Mexico by Tom Reilly; Manley Witten (Editor)
Call Number: Boca Raton General Collection E415.2.P74 R45 2010
ISBN: 9780700617401
Publication Date: 2010-11-10

Online Sources: Mexican-American War

A Continent Divided - The U.S. - Mexico War The University of Texas Arlington - Contains essays, documents, images, lesson plans and other resources related to the war.
Library of Congress - Web Guides - The Mexican War (Library of Congress) The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of material associated with the Mexican War, including manuscripts, broadsides, pictures, newspaper articles, and government documents. This guide compiles links to digital materials related to the Mexican War that are available throughout the Library of Congress website. In addition, it provides links to subscription databases, external websites focusing on the Mexican War, and a bibliography containing selections for both general and younger readers.
Mexican-American War: Primary Sources The United States' armed conflict with Mexico largely emerged from Americans' eagerness to expand their nation westward to the Pacific Ocean. As American trappers and settlers poured across the Great Plains, many began to resent the fact that lands to the south and west of the Louisiana Purchase tract remained territories of Mexico, which had freed itself from Spanish colonial control in 1821. Americans' persistent attempts to settle these lands led to conflict with the Mexican government and, eventually, war.
Mexican War (National Archives) More Resources through the National Archives)
Mexican War: A Resource Guide (Library of Congress) The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of primary source materials associated with the Mexican War, including manuscripts, books, printed ephemera, government documents, newspaper articles, books, sheet music, and maps. Provided below is a link to the home page for each relevant digital collection along with selected highlights.
Military Resources: Mexican War, 1846-1848 (National Archives) Reference at Your Desk -- Archives Library Information Center > Military Resources > Military Resources: Mexican War, 1846-1848
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo "The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed by the United States and Mexico on February 2, 1848, ending the Mexican War and extending the boundaries of the United States by over 525,000 square miles. " Library of Congress
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: Primary Documents in American History Library of Congress resources along with External Websites.

Videos on the Mexican American War

Growth of a nation. 4, Manifest destiny - 2017 (Mexican-American War) - Available Online

Mexican and American War Documentary Part 1 The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the Intervención Estadounidense en México (United States intervention in Mexico), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed in the wake of the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas, which was not formally recognized by the Mexican government, who disputed the Treaties of Velasco signed by Mexican caudillo President/General Antonio López de Santa Anna after the Texas Revolution a decade earlier. In 1845, newly elected U.S. President James K. Polk, who saw the annexation of Texas as the first step towards a further expansion of the United States, sent troops to the disputed area and a diplomatic mission to Mexico. After Mexican forces attacked U.S. forces, the United States Congress declared war. U.S. forces quickly occupied the regional capital of Santa Fe de Nuevo México along the upper Rio Grande and the Pacific coast province of Alta California, and then moved south. Meanwhile, the Pacific Squadron of the U.S. Navy blockaded the Pacific coast farther south in lower Baja California Territory. The U.S. Army under Major General Winfield Scott eventually captured Mexico City through stiff resistance, having marched west from the port of Veracruz on the Gulf Coast, where the U.S. staged its first ever major amphibious landing. The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, forced onto the remnant Mexican government, ended the war and enforced the Mexican Cession of the northern territories of Alta California and Santa Fe de Nuevo México to the United States. The U.S. agreed to pay $15 million compensation for the physical damage of the war and assumed $3.25 million of debt already owed earlier by the Mexican government to U.S. citizens. Mexico acknowledged the loss of what became the State of Texas and accepted the Rio Grande as its northern border with the United States. The victory and territorial expansion Polk envisioned inspired great patriotism in the United States, but the war and treaty drew some criticism in the U.S. for their casualties, monetary cost, and heavy-handedness, particularly early on. The question of how to treat the new acquisitions also intensified the debate over slavery. Mexico's worsened domestic turmoil and losses of life, territory and national prestige left it in what prominent Mexicans called a "state of degradation and ruin".

Mexican and American War Documentary Part 2 The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the Intervención Estadounidense en México (United States intervention in Mexico), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed in the wake of the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas, which was not formally recognized by the Mexican government, who disputed the Treaties of Velasco signed by Mexican caudillo President/General Antonio López de Santa Anna after the Texas Revolution a decade earlier. In 1845, newly elected U.S. President James K. Polk, who saw the annexation of Texas as the first step towards a further expansion of the United States, sent troops to the disputed area and a diplomatic mission to Mexico. After Mexican forces attacked U.S. forces, the United States Congress declared war.