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Anyone ever notice how Mexico is composed of states (the official name is the United States of Mexico), but everyone thinks its composed of provinces? Neither here nor there I guess, but its funny.
Would the US have tried to take some of the land? Probably. It would have been a good acquisition and the majority of the folks in these places probably would have wanted to be in the US instead of Mexico. Mexico has been one the verge of collapse a lot of times in its history while even in the US Civil War the USA would have gone right along if the CSA had won. For all the new settlers brought by the gold rush (many who were Americans or who travelled overland through the US) to the Mexican Far North the US sure would have looked like a much more stable and reliable government than Mexico who had a new president pretty much every year for a long period in the middle of the 1800s.
Would the border have ended up where it is now? Probably not. It absolutely boggles my mind that the US didn't annex or buy Baja California at one point or another since come on its right there. Looking at a map it would be more logical to be part of the US than Mexico since it shares a much bigger border with the US than with Chihauhau (or is it Sonora). At the same time a lot of Texas is less than desirable (more so then than now since it was full of relatively powerful and hostile Indian nations). Same goes for a lot of New Mexico and Arizona except you have a good passage for a railroad in the far south.
Something that's often overlooked about the parts of Mexico the US took after the Mexican War is that they were lands the Republic of Texas had claimed from its beginning, and it was more or less empty of European settlers from Mexico. You had Santa Fe and a few places in California, but that was about it. As far as Mexico and the US at the time were concerned it was empty land. The Russians reached San Francisco Bay before the Mexicans for crying out loud, and Russia was barely trying to do anything in North America.
Would the border have ended up where it is now? Probably not. It absolutely boggles my mind that the US didn't annex or buy Baja California at one point or another since come on its right there. Looking at a map it would be more logical to be part of the US than Mexico since it shares a much bigger border with the US than with Chihauhau (or is it Sonora). At the same time a lot of Texas is less than desirable (more so then than now since it was full of relatively powerful and hostile Indian nations). Same goes for a lot of New Mexico and Arizona except you have a good passage for a railroad in the far south.
Something that's often overlooked about the parts of Mexico the US took after the Mexican War is that they were lands the Republic of Texas had claimed from its beginning, and it was more or less empty of European settlers from Mexico. You had Santa Fe and a few places in California, but that was about it. As far as Mexico and the US at the time were concerned it was empty land. The Russians reached San Francisco Bay before the Mexicans for crying out loud, and Russia was barely trying to do anything in North America.
the US did try to get Baja during negotiations during the writing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo after we won the war. It just didn't work out.
when the politically correct say "we moved the border on the poor mexicans" it's simply not true. the mexican gov't moved the border on them when they gave the land to the US after they lost the war. They signed a treaty and much of the west/southwest was formed from that.
and btw, about 5% of "mexico's" population lived in the area that was transferred via the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. They had a choice to be come americans or go back to mexico. most stayed of course and it was amercia that built the west.
and btw, about 5% of "mexico's" population lived in the area that was transferred via the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
1/20 of Mexico's population in what 1/3 of its then territory? As I said it was more or less empty of European settlers from Mexico. Of course I'm not really sure if you were disagreeing or agreeing with me.
1/20 of Mexico's population in what 1/3 of its then territory? As I said it was more or less empty of European settlers from Mexico. Of course I'm not really sure if you were disagreeing or agreeing with me.
The war with Mexico was going to happen no matter what. Even if Texas had lost, the US goverment would have found a reason to provoke war. The excuse for the war would have been different, probably a border dispute with Mexican Texas or the treatment of American settlers in Texas but war would have happened. Manifest destiny was going to happen, and a small weak state like Mexico was not going to stop it. Im sure the war would have happened near the same time too, as Polk wanted it badly, as did most Americans who lived in the south, west and midwest. The Mexicans did not stand a chance.
If the southwest somehow was never lost to Texas or the US, yes it would still be Mexican. There would be no Indian reservations, however their indigenous cultures would be more pure and they would probably speak spanish as a second language. Texas was part of Coahuila once, so that would probably be the name of this state. The southwest would probably look a lot like the Northern Mexican states.
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