1. Chapter 13 Section 4 notes
How did the United States gain Oregon and Texas?
Oregon Texas
• The United States and Britain agreed to a
compromise. The two countries divided
Oregon at latitude 49°N latitude.
• Later, the Oregon Territory became the
states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.
• In 1844, Texan president Sam Houston
signed a treaty of annexation with the
United States.
• Fearing war with Mexico, the United States
Senate refused to ratify the treaty.
• Houston pretended that Texas might ally
itself with Britain. This move prompted
Congress to pass a joint resolution
admitting Texas to the Union.
What were the causes and results of the United States war with Mexico?
Causes Mexico did not accept Texan independence and was outraged by the United States
annexation of Texas.
Americans resented Mexico’s rejection of President Polk’s offer to buy California
and New Mexico.
A border dispute sparked war. Both nations claimed land between the Rio Grande
and the Nueces River and sent troops into the area. President Polk claimed Mexico
had invaded American soil and asked Congress to declare war
Results During the war, Americans in northern California revolted against Mexican rule and
declared California an independent republic, the Bear Flag Republic.
In the fighting, the United States won control of all of New Mexico and California.
Despite the heroic stand of young Mexican soldiers in a battle at Chapultepec near
Mexico City, American forces took over the Mexican capital.
The Mexican government moved to make peace. In 1848, it signed the Treaty of
Guadalupe-Hidalgo, ending the war.
What new lands did the United States acquire as a result of the Mexican War?
In the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, Mexico had to cede, or give up, some of its lands.
• Mexico ceded all of California and New Mexico to the United States. These lands were called
the Mexican Cession.
• In return, the United States paid Mexico $15 million.
• The United States agreed to respect the rights of Spanish-speaking people in the Mexican
Cession.
In 1853, the United States bought the Gadsden Purchase.
• The United States wanted to build a railroad across an area that is now the southern part of
Arizona and New Mexico.
• The United States paid Mexico $10 million for the strip of land, known as the Gadsden Purchase.
•
How did a mix of cultures shape California and the Southwest?
After 1848, English-speaking settlers flocked to the Southwest. They brought their culture and ideas about
democracy.

2. Ideas and practices that Americans adopted from the Mexican Americans who lived
in the Southwest.
• Silver mining techniques.
• Methods of irrigation.
• Spanish and Native American words, for example, stampede, buffalo, tortilla, soda, and tornado.
• Some Mexican laws, for example, one law that said that a husband and wife owned property
jointly and another law that said landowners could not cut off water to their neighbors.