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Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo was born to an influential Californio family in Monterey. He joined the Mexican army shortly after Mexico’s independence from Spain. He was soon put in charge of Mexico’s efforts to increase settlement in northern California. Vallejo eventually became the richest man in California, owning enormous amounts of land and livestock. He welcomed American rule of California, believing it would result in self-government for Californios. Vallejo served at the state constitutiona
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the mexicans offered american citizens land if they moved to mexico
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it was the war between the mexican government and texas colonists and resulted in the republic of texas.
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A hastily created army of Texas volunteers had been clashing with Mexican troops for months. Under Colonel Jim Travis, a small force took the town of San Antonio. It then occupied the Alamo, an abandoned mission near San Antonio that became an important battle site in the Texas Revolution.
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Santa Anna was confident of victory, but he was careless in choosing the site for his camp. On the afternoon of April 21, 1836, while Mexican troops were resting, Houston’s forces swarmed the camp, shouting, “Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!”
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During the Bear Flag Revolt, from June to July 1846, a small group of American settlers in California rebelled against the Mexican government and proclaimed California an independent republic. The republic was short-lived because soon after the Bear Flag was raised, the U.S. military began occupying California, which went on to join the union in 1850. The Bear Flag became the official state flag in 1911.
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In Mexico General Taylor finally got the reinforcements he needed. He drove his forces deep into enemy lands. Santa Anna, thrown from office after losing Texas, returned to power in Mexico in September 1846. Quickly, he came after Taylor.
The two armies clashed at Buena Vista in February 1847. After a close battle with heavy casualties on both sides, the Mexican Army retreated. In the morning, the cry went up: “The enemy has fled! The field is ours!”
Taylor’s success made him a war he -
After the two-day Battle of Buena Vista, the American army gained control of northern Mexico. At the beginning of the battle, Mexican forces outnumbered the Americans. But the Mexicans suffered more than twice as many casualties.
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In exchange for this vast territory, the United States agreed to pay Mexico $15 million. In addition, the United States assumed claims of more than $3 million held by American citizens against the Mexican government. The treaty also addressed the status of Mexicans in the Mexican Cession. The treaty provided that they would be “protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty and property, and secured in the free exercise of their religion.” The Senate passed the treaty in March 1848.
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Today Mexican Americans are about 8 percent of the U.S. population. More than 20 million Mexican Americans live in all 50 states. Many who live in the West are descended from people who lived there long before the region became part of the United States.
