The treaty added an additional 525,000 square miles to United States territory, including the land . America's blockade of Mexican ports worsened an already difficult situation, as Mexico couldn't import and export goods, or levy taxes on imports. How did Mexico lose land to America? nation against a weaker one. Mexico received a little more than $18 million in compensation from the United States as part of the treaty. Mexico ceded the Texas-claimed areas as well as a large area of land consisting of all of present-day California, Nevada, and Utah, most of Arizona, and portions of Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. In the Golden State, the program was wildly popular. causing Mexicans to flee their villages and abandon their
The war officially ended with the February 2, 1848, signing in Mexico of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The Mexican Cession (Spanish: Cesin mexicana) is the region in the modern-day southwestern United States that Mexico ceded to the U.S. in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 after the Mexican-American War. At roughly 529,000 square miles (1,370,000km2), the Mexican Cession was the third-largest acquisition of territory in U.S. history, surpassed only by the 827,000-square-mile (2,140,000km2) Louisiana Purchase and the 586,000-square-mile (1,520,000km2) Alaska Purchase. And while they were fighting the Americans, they were also trying to suppress a series of internal rebellions that were further draining resources. Finally, on Feb. 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, establishing the Rio Grande (and not the Nueces River) as the U.S.-Mexican border. Taylor became a national hero for his valor at Buena Vista, which earned him the nickname Old Rough and Ready., General Santa Anna (who also served several stints as president during the war) has been largely criticized for his decision-making skills. Under the treaty, Mexico also recognized the U.S. annexation of Texas, and agreed to sell California and the rest of its territory north of the Rio Grande for $15 million plus the assumption of certain damage claims. As a result, Mexico broke relations with the United States shortly after Polk took office. // -->