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Admin moved page What were the events that led to the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo of 1848? to What were the events that led to the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo of 1848
[[File:James_Polk_restored.jpg|thumbnail|left|275px|James K. Polk by Matthew Brady]]__NOTOC__
During his tenure, U.S. President [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812976746/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0812976746&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=69a3bd8f0ab5dd2a0c0838d2b5ba9c81 James K. Polk] oversaw the greatest territorial expansion of the United States to date. Polk accomplished this through the annexation of Texas in 1845, the negotiation of the Oregon Treaty with Great Britain in 1846, and the conclusion of the [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674972341/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0674972341&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=9e0b1045b3d7ff8e6f91ab801fbbc5a3 Mexican-American War] in 1848, which ended with the signing and ratification of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848.
Following the capture of Mexico City in September 1847, Nicholas Trist, chief clerk of the Department of State and Polk’s peace emissary, began negotiations for a peace treaty with the Mexican Government under terms similar to those pursued by Slidell the previous year.
<dh-ad/>====Peace Talks with Mexico began====[[File:Mexican_Cession.png|thumbnail|left|300px|Territories ceded by Mexico as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo]]Polk soon grew concerned by Trist’s conduct, however, believing that he would not press for strong enough terms from the Mexicans, and because Trist became a close friend of General Winfield Scott, a Whig who was thought to be a strong contender for his party’s presidential nomination for the 1848 election. Furthermore, the war had encouraged expansionist Democrats to call for a complete annexation of Mexico. Polk recalled Trist in October.
Believing that he was on the cusp of an agreement with the Mexicans, Trist ignored the recall order and presented Polk with the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, which was signed in Mexico City on February 2, 1848. Under the terms of the treaty, Mexico ceded to the United States approximately 525,000 square miles (55% of its prewar territory) in exchange for a $15 million lump sum payment, and the assumption by the U.S. Government of up to $3.25 million worth of debts owed by Mexico to U.S. citizens.
