History Project
Storyboard Text
- James Starts a New Life in Laredo, Texas (1828)
- Of course not, that’s only what early settlers did. They even try to tell us that we can’t own slaves and have to speak Spanish, but just ignore that.
- Hey neighbor, I’m James from Virginia. Moved down here looking for a better life for the fam, but Is it really true that we have to adopt Mexican citizenship and become Catholic?
- Hoorah! No one will take my pride and American values away from me!
- Citizens of Laredo Celebrate the Annexation of Texas (1845)
- Who cares, we already voted to join the United States, so we are safe now. Cheers to becoming the 28th state!
- Citizens from America are so good at rebelling! If we didn’t rebel we would have never declared our independence from Mexico.
- Saloon
- Yeah, but it really scared me when Mexico wasn’t recognizing us as independent and thought the border was the Nueces River
- Once Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, increased immigration of American settlers into the territory occurred throughout the next decade. Early on, Mexico allowed slaveholding U.S. settlers to live in and own land in Texas. While early settlers agreed to adopt Mexican citizenship, convert to Catholicism, and speak Spanish, many later settlers did not.
- Meanwhile in Washington D.C...Polk Wants to go to War with Mexico (1846)
- We must go to war with Mexico. They owe us $3 million in unpaid war debt and refused to see John Slidell. But besides that, American blood was shed on American soil near the Rio Grande River! This is unacceptable. I will start writing a declaration of war and send it to Congress as soon as possible.
- Mexico banned slavery and prohibited the settlement of Texas in 1829, sparking uproar in the American settlers which later became full-scale war as the settlers declared themselves independent. The Texans emerged with a victory, declaring themselves to be The Republic of Texas, despite the fact that Mexico failed to recognize Texas’ independence and the Rio Grande River boundary. In 1836, Texas was recognized as an independent nation by America but still not Mexico; as a result, in 1845, Texans voted to join the United States, and the “Lone Star” state was annexed by the United States.
- The War Ends and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Is Signed (1848)
- Yeah. And Scott captured Mexico City, which ended all of this fighting.
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- After Mexican troops crossed the Rio Grande and fought with American military forces, Polk declared war on Mexico, which was approved by Congress in May 1846. Disapproval of the war came from northerners who believed that President Polk was trying to gain more slave states for the south, as he was a Southerner himself, and from those who thought that it was immoral to use war to get land from Mexico.
- My fellow Northerners and I do not support this. To us, it seems like you are trying to gain land that will become more slave territory.
- Officially declaring America as the winner, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed in 1848, gave America the lands of New Mexico and California. Also, Mexico agreed to officially give up Texas, including the disputed area. In return, Mexico received $15 million and the assumption of their debts to Americans. Now, America was forced to determine if slavery would be allowed in these new territories.
- We owe it to Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott, coming out with victories even when we were outnumbered.
- I think the war was especially great for us Texans. In the treaty Mexicans finally recognized the disputed area as ours, and America gained the land in New Mexico and California, which I’m hoping will become slave states!
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- Joey Kozimbo and Manir Hede
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