The Mexican-American War was an armed military conflict between the
United States and
Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S.
annexation of
Texas. Mexico did not recognize the
secession of Texas in 1836; it considered Texas a rebel province. In the United States, the war was a partisan issue with most
Whigs opposing it and most southern
Democrats, animated by a popular belief in the
Manifest Destiny, supporting it. In Mexico, the war was considered a matter of national pride. The most important consequence of the war for the United States was the
Mexican Cession, in which the Mexican territories of
Alta California and
Santa Fé de Nuevo México were ceded to the United States under the terms of the
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In Mexico, the enormous loss of territory following the war encouraged its government to enact policies to colonize its northern territories as a hedge against further losses.
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