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Primary Documents in American History

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Major General Winfield Scott. General in chief, United States Army
Major General Winfield Scott. General in chief, United States Army.
Currier & Ives, c1846.
Prints & Photographs Division.
Reproduction Number:
LC-USZC2-2800

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. In addition to establishing the Rio Grande as the border between the two countries, the territory acquired by the U.S. included what will become the states of Texas, California, Nevada, Utah, most of New Mexico and Arizona, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. In exchange Mexico received fifteen million dollars in compensation for the territory and the U.S. agreed to assume claims from private citizens of these areas against the Mexican government.

Library of Congress Web Site | External Web Sites | Selected Bibliography

American Memory Historical Collections

Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress

Abraham Lincoln gave a speech to Congress on the Mexican War on January 12, 1848. Search Lincoln's Papers using the phrase "Mexican War" to find additional documents on this subject.

An American Time Capsule: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera

Contains a copy of President James Polk's proclamation on the Mexican War from May 13, 1846, as well as an article from the Mobile Daily Advertiser on the Mexican War and a telegraph announcing that Mexico City was captured and an armistice was signed.

A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation

President James Polk submitted to Congress on May 11, 1846, his reasons for declaring war on Mexico. Within two days, the Senate and the House of Representatives formally voted to declare war, and President Polk signed the declaration into law. Upon completion of a peace treaty nearly two years later, the Senate ratified the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty by a vote of 38 to 14 on March 10, 1848. Additional information on the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty and the Mexican War can be found by searching in the 29th and 30th Congress.

Issued in 1848, House Executive Document No. 60 reprinted all of President Polk's messages on the Mexican War.

Map Collections: 1500-2004

Includes a map of the Mexican War campaign in Mexico by Alvino Herrera. To view additional maps of the Mexican War, search this collection using the phrase "Mexican War."

Music for the Nation, American Sheet Music, ca. 1820-1860

Search this collection using the phrase "Mexican War" to view the sheet music for over fifty songs written about the war.

The Nineteenth Century in Print: Periodicals

The United States Democratic Review published an article on the Mexican War in April 1847. Additional articles written on the Mexican War can be found by searching on the phrase "Mexican War."

America's Story

Jump Back in Time: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Was Signed In Mexico City.

Online Presentation

The Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty

In honor of the 150th anniversary of the treaty signing, the Library of Congress created an online presentation on the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty. It includes page images of the original treaty housed in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division and the area map used during the negotiations from the Geography and Map Division.

Today in History

May 8, 1846

General Zachary Taylor defeated a detachment of the Mexican army in a two-day battle at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma on May 8, 1846.

February 2, 1848

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in Mexico City on February 2, 1848.

February 23, 1847

The Battle of Buena Vista was won by the United States on February 23, 1847. General Zachary Taylor, future president of the United States, was the commander of American troops in this victory over Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.

Link disclaimerExternal Web Sites

American Military History, Chapter 8: The Mexican War and After, Center of Military History, U.S. Army

Mexican-American Diplomacy: 1848-1861, The Avalon Project at Yale Law School

Our Documents, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, National Archives and Records Administration

Teaching with Documents: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, National Archives and Records Administration

The U.S. Mexican War (1846-1848), PBS

Selected Bibliography

Mahin, Dean B. Olive Branch and Sword: The United States and Mexico, 1845-1848. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 1997. [Catalog Record]

Ohrt, Wallace. Defiant Peacemaker: Nicholas Trist in the Mexican War. College Station, Tex.: Texas A&M University Press, 1997. [Catalog Record]

Drexler, Robert W. Guilty of Making Peace: A Biography of Nicholas P. Trist. Lanham: University Press of America, 1991. [Catalog Record]

Griswold del Castillo, Richard. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: A Legacy of Conflict. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1990. [Catalog Record]

Frazier, Donald S., ed. The United States and Mexico at War: Nineteenth-Century Expansionism and Conflict. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1998. [Catalog Record]

Johannsen, Robert Walter. To the Halls of the Montezumas: The Mexican War in the American Imagination. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985. [Catalog Record]

Younger Readers

Carey, Charles W., Jr. The Mexican War: "Mr. Polk's War". Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Enslow Publishers, 2002. [Catalog Record]

Mills, Bronwyn. U.S.-Mexican War. New York: Facts On File, 2003. [Catalog Record]

Nardo, Don. The Mexican-American War. San Diego, Calif.: Lucent Books, 1999. [Catalog Record]

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