The Positive And Negative Effects Of The Treaty Of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Following the defeat of the Mexican army and the fall of Mexico City, in September 1847, the Mexican government surrendered and peace negotiations began. The war officially ended with the February 2, 1848, signing in Mexico of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Whether the treaty itself was a just conclusion to end the war, is up to everyone to decide, but those decisions mark whether we support or decline the treaty. I do not believe this was a just conclusion for the weight of benefits and positive outcomes were with the U.S. and not merely with Mexico.

There was positive and negative effects on both sides of the Treaty, I will first begin with the country of Mexico. The outcome of the treaty of Guadalupe had made some matters worse for Mexico,

Even though Mexico had lost a great portion of its land, it could have been worse. The United States had the ability to defeat and conquer all of Mexico, but because most Americans had great racist attitudes towards anyone who is not white is, what saved Mexico at the end, for the United States believed “ours is the government of the white man”. Previously Mexico had in its possession a state full of opportunity to grow and pay off the debts to the European countries, but it was taken away from them in the treaty. California the land of gold, had many resources that could of helped the industrial revolution for Mexico, but this put Mexico behind at the end for it was in the possession of the United States now. Additionally since the war was fought on Mexican territory, many buildings, roads, and ports were destroyed and had to be rebuild after the war. When trying to re-develop a nation after a war, and

Whenever there is a foundation of a law, the law needs to be precise, exact, non-altering, and most importantly not ambiguous. Article IX dealt with civil, property and citizenship rights of former Mexican citizens living among the states that had been sold to the USA. Article IX is all valid based on Mexican law, but according to the U.S. law they would have to be proven in American courts. The Mexican version of the article was very specific and had no ground for ambiguousness, but on the other hand the U.S. version was more general and ambiguous. Personally, when any law is written with a general ambiguousness it is meant to help those participating with this law, which in this case is the U.S. The U.S. knew that if anything went wrong or not the way they wanted it, they could interpret it according to the way that would most benefit them. A wise man, named Franklin D. Roosevelt, once said, “In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way”, Roosevelt himself was living among the times of the Mexican-American war, so he knew when a government wanted something their way, they most definitely would plan it beforehand. Article X was very important to all Mexicans living in the U.S., for this article declared protection of Mexican Texas land grants. Article X was deleted by the