The Costs and Benefits of the Mexican War

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 was negotiated with Santa Anna by Nicholas P. Trist, the chief clerk of the State Department, and gave America the area from California to Texas for only $15 million plus a United States promise to assume the claims of Americans against the Mexican government. This gave America the prize of California, which it had sought before, as well as respect from foreign nations, particularly Britain, that looked down upon the American military as week and ineffective. The war had a downside, however, it created more conflict over slavery, and basically traine…