Timothy Birdnow

California was itching to be liberated from Mexico. That's why it fell to a few American rebel citizens in the first place.

The Claim That America Stole California from Mexico is an Ignorant Lie

Zoro was about this very dissatisfacttion. He wasn't fighting Americans; he was fighting Mexicans.

These same people make this claim over Texas too. Texas was largely settled by Americans because it was a dangerous and naturally poor place, full of the most hostile Indians who ever existed. Mexicans were unwilling to risk it by moving there. And what claim did Mexico have to this land? Just that it was part of the original Spanish claim. In the end they had no real claim on it, nor did they develop it.

The Texans had a lot of reasons to rebel; they had all settled there under the Constitution of 1824, and first Bustamante' then Santa Ana suspended that constitution. The Texans lost all their rights with the stroke of a pen. When Stephen Austin went to complain he was arrested and thrown in prison.

Texas wasn't the only northern Mexican province to try to secede; there was also the short-lived Republic of the Rio Grande' which encompased parts of Texas and New Mexico as well as much of northern Mexico. Santa Ana crushed that. He pillaged all the northern states but he couldn't get Texas because his supply lines were too stretched (Texas is notoriously difficult to reach by sea as tides move what are safe harbors.) Sam Houston lured Santa Ana into a swamp and then attacked for the first time and took "The Napoleon of the West" prisoner, forcing him to sign the treaties of Velasco ( May 14, 1836) at gunpoint. Texas applied immediately for annexation by the U.S. but was turned down and so became independent for ten years (and had constant trouble with the sore loser Mexicans.)

At any rate we did NOT steal Texas, nor did we steal California. These were places that wanted to be in the Union.

On the other hand a good chunk of Texas and the southwest were part of the original Louisiana Purchase but claimed by Mexico and we let them keep it until they picked a fight with us.

Now they want it all "back" when it never really was theirs to begin with. If anyone got the shaft it was the Indians native to the area - Apache, karankawa, etc. (Comanche came later from the mountains once they got horses.)

Well, California wanted to be part of the U.S. and that should have included lower (Baja) California. Maybe we should demand that "back" from Mexico?

By the way the U.S. paid Mexico for the land it annexed, so how is that "stealing"?

James Polk wanted it (the most successful President in American history) but was willing to let it go because we weren't just trying to conquer Mexico (which we already had) and so we tossed them that bone. Baja was mostly desert at the time. Still is.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 08:11 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 508 words, total size 3 kb.