Ted, it is nice to see that you have absorbed a sanitized version of American history -- which shows you do know a little about it. Yet vast portions of what is now the United States were in fact stolen from Mexico, and this is because of the choices given to the people living in what is now our Western area.
Your description of the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty is merely a surface description of that treaty. It is "Feel-Good History," of the sort taught in many of our lousy public schools, and which continues to be promulgated in many secondary school textbooks. It does not reveal what was really going on
The Mexicans in the area had one of two choices. Choice number one was that they could refuse to accept the Treaty and they could fight over the issue. The American powers were much, much, much stronger than Mexico's. If the Mexicans resisted the treaty they were going to be defeated and wiped out -- as in the sense of killed, dead, no more, and no citizenship, etc.
The other choice was to accept the treaty terms offered. Mexico would be paid a few million, people living within the territorial limits could stay there, etc., etc. Now, if one is given a "die or agree" choice, which one do you think a wise person would take ?
In realty, the Mexicans in that area had the choice of live on the one hand or being defeated, losing thousands of lives in the process. Which choice would you have taken ? What happened was a power play that amounted to stealing, a fact which you seem quite happy to cover up.
Many Americans were against this war, which was correctly seen as, among other things, an attempt to expand slavery into a vast, Western area. If you want details other than the sanitized version you are giving us, check out Zinn's History of the American People, Chapter 8. It isn't a pretty a version of that situation as you want to make us believe.
But that's history, isn't it -- a series of stories about people screwing over other people, with a few rare bits of the contrary now and then.
ted45 wrote:
You really need to study history. The United States did not steal anything from Mexico. After attaining independence from Spain in 1821 Mexico stole most of its Northern territory from the Comanche, Apache, and Navajo Indians. The Indians were warring on the fractured Mexican government in retaliation. The Mexican government encouraged American settlers to move into the Texas territories because they believed the settlers would provide a buffer between them and the Indians. After Texas fought its war of independence from Mexico it was annexed to the United States and the U.S., based on the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, paid Mexico $15 million for the territories that included Texas, New Mexico and Southern California. In addition the U.S. assumed $3.2 million in debt owed by the Mexican government to U.S. citizens. Nothing was stolen.
Of course in your post you assume that California has no stupid laws either. It is perfectly reasonable that you cannot legally set a mousetrap in Los Angeles without a hunting license or state in writing that a hotel has roaches, even if it is true.
You really need to study history. The United Stat... (
show quote)