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The Mexican-American War

As soon as the United States gained its independence from Britain, it began to expand. New states entered the union and new territories were formed on its borders. Soon these territories became states and the process started all over again. The United States also gained land from other countries such as Florida from Spain and the Louisiana Purchase from France. In the case of the southwest it was no different. Mexico had recently gained its independence from Spain and it sought to form and alliances and gain new trading partners. Conflict soon began and the ensuing conflict changed United States history forever. During the Mexican-American War, the United States experienced a renewed feeling of nationalism and asserted its dominance economically and militarily by defeating Mexico and winning the war.
Mexico began the fight for independence with Spain in 1810. Spain had been steadily declining in power in the 1500s. It had tried to desperately to hold onto its most valuable possession in the New World but lost it in 1821 to a group of rugged Mexicans led by Miguel Hidalgo and Father Jose Maria Morales (Christensen pg. 9). After gaining its independence, the government became aristocratic. It was led by a group of New World born Spaniards called Criollos. In 1821, one Criollo, Agustin de Iturbide, emerged and became emperor of the newly formed nation He was later overthrown and for the next few years, rebellions throughout the country were common as its economy remained stagnant and the country remained leaderless. It fell into a loose scattering of provinces and states who argued constantly. In 1824, a constitution modeled like that of the United States was passed and it promised presidential elections. Later that year, the government
passed a colonization law offering land in Texas for cheap and minimal taxes for its settlers. Land speculators or empresarios, rushed to the capital where they were granted parcels of land which were to be distributed evenly...