DOCUMENT RESUME SO 033 583 ED 462 343 Gray, Tom AUTHOR The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The Constitution Community: TITLE Expansion and Reform (1801-1861). National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, INSTITUTION DC 2001-00-00 PUB DATE 30p.; For related lesson plans, see ED 461 604-607 and ED NOTE 461 609-615. Photographic images may not reproduce clearly. National Archives and Records Administration, 700 AVAILABLE FROM Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20408. Tel: 866-325-7208 (Toll Free); e-mail: [email protected]. For full text: http://www.nara.gov/education/cc/main.html. Classroom Guides Teacher (052) PUB TYPE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE *Federal Government; Foreign Countries; *Government Role; DESCRIPTORS *Primary Sources; Secondary Education; Social Studies; *Treaties; *United States History *Mexican War; Mexico; National Civics and Government IDENTIFIERS Standards; National History Standards; Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ABSTRACT The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which brought an official end to the Mexican American War (1846-1848) was signed on February 2, 1848. Nicholas Trist, chief,clerk of the U.S. Statement Department at the time, negotiated the peace treaty in defiance of 1845-1849 President James K. Polk. Trist believed that Mexico must surrender fully, including surrendering territory. Polk forwarded the Treaty to the Senate, which reluctantly ratified it. This lesson on the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo examines the power granted to the President and the Senate to make and approve treaties with foreign nations. The lesson correlates with the National History Standards and with the National Standards for Civics and Government. It (1) the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; furnishes three primary sources: (2) Lincoln's Spot Resolutions; and (3) a photograph of a border marker being rebuilt in the 1890s. The lesson provides historical background on the circumstances of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Trist's actions, and the surveying of new U.S. territories ceded from Mexico. The unit contains eight diverse teaching activities, including locating and distributing prepared map sets to help students identify the boundary changes after the treaty. Students are asked to write a position paper supporting or opposing the following thesis: "Considering the events that led to the Mexican American War, the terms negotiated in the Treaty were a just conclusion to the crisis." (Contains a written document analysis worksheet and a photograph analysis worksheet.) (BT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the ori inal document. ational Archives and Records Administration THE CONSTITUTION COMMUNITY Expansion and Reform (1801-1861) The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo By Tom Gray CO National Archives and Records Administration CC) 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20408 1-866-325-7208 CO CO http://www.nara.gov/education/classrm.html C") 0 (I) 2001 education specialists from The Constitution Community is a partnership between classroom teachers and and activities that address the National Archives and Records Administration. We are developing lessons of primary constitutional issues, correlate to national academic standards, and encourage the analysis arranged according to historical era. source documents. The lessons that have been developed are U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) .43This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization BESTCOPY AVAILABLE originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. ational Archives and Records Administration THE CONSTITUTION COMMUNITY The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Constitutional Connection This lesson relates to the power granted to the president and the Senate to make and approve treaties with foreign nations ( Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 , of the U.S. Constitution). This lesson correlates to the National History Standards. Era 4 -Expansion and Reform (1801-1861) Standard 1C -Demonstrate understanding of the ideology of Manifest Destiny, the nation's expansion to Northwest, and the Mexican-American War. This lesson correlates to the National Standards for Civics and Government. Standard III. B.2. -Explain the major responsibilities of the national government for foreign policy and how foreign policies, including trade and national security, affect everyday lives and communities. Standard IV. A.1. - Explain how nation-states interact with each other. Standard IV. B.2 .- Describe the various means used to attain the ends of United States foreign policy, such as diplomacy; economics, military and humanitarian aid; treaties; sanctions; military intervention; covert action. Cross-curricular Connections Share these lessons with your history, government, and language arts colleagues. 3 List of Documents 1. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( page 1 , signature page ) 2. Lincoln's Spot Resolutions 3. Photograph of border marker being rebuilt in the 1890s Note: A transcript of the treaty is available online from the California State University at http://www.monterey.edulother-sites/history/treaty.html Historical Background The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (GWAHduhloop hihDALgoh), which brought an official end to the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) was signed on February 2, 1848, at Guadalupe Hidalgo, a city north of the capital where the Mexican government had fled with the advance of U.S. forces. To explore the circumstances that led to this war with Mexico, visit the Teaching with Documents lesson, "Lincoln's Spot Resolutions." <http://www.nara.gov/education/teaching/lincoln/home.html> With the defeat of its army and the fall of the capital, Mexico City, in September 1847 the Mexican government surrendered to the United States and entered into negotiations to end the war. The peace talks were negotiated by Nicholas Trist, chief clerk of the State Department, who had accompanied General Winfield Scott as a diplomat and President Polk's representative. Trist and General Scott, after two previous unsuccessful attempts to negotiate a treaty with Santa Anna, determined that the only way to deal with Mexico was as a conquered enemy. Nicholas Trist negotiated with a special commission representing the collapsed government led by Don Bernardo Couto, Don Miguel Atristain, and Don Luis Gonzaga Cuevas of Mexico. author Otis Singletary states that President Polk had recalled Trist In The Mexican War, , under the belief that negotiations would be carried out with a Mexican delegation in Washington. In the six weeks it took to deliver Polk's message, Trist had received word that the Mexican government had named its special commission to negotiate. Against the president's recall, Trist determined that Washington did not understand the situation in Mexico and negotiated the peace treaty in defiance of the president. In a December 4, 1847, letter to his wife, he wrote, "Knowing it to be the very last chance and impressed with the dreadful consequences to our country which cannot fail to attend the loss of that chance, I decided today at noon to attempt to make a treaty; the decision is altogether my own." In Defiant Peacemaker: Nicholas Trist in the Mexican War, , author Wallace Ohrt described Trist as uncompromising in his belief that justice could be served only by Mexico's full surrender, including surrender of territory. Ignoring the president's recall command with the full knowledge that his defiance would cost him his career, Trist chose 4 to adhere to his own principles and negotiate a treaty in violation of his instructions. His stand made him briefly a very controversial figure in the United States. Under the terms of the treaty negotiated by Trist, Mexico ceded to the United States Upper California and New Mexico. This was known as the Mexican Cession and included present-day Arizona and New Mexico and parts of Utah, Nevada, and Colorado (see Article V of the treaty). Mexico relinquished all claims to Texas and recognized the Rio Grande as the southern boundary with the United States (see Article V). The United States paid Mexico $15,000,000 to compensate for war-related damage to Mexican property (see Article XII of the treaty) and agreed to pay American citizens debts owed to them by the Mexican government (see Article XV). Other provisions included protection of property and civil rights of Mexican nationals living within the new boundaries of the United States (see Articles VIII and IX), the promise of the United States to police its boundaries (see Article XI), and compulsory arbitration of future disputes between the two countries (see Article XXI). Trist sent a copy to Washington by the fastest means available, forcing Polk to decide whether or not to repudiate the highly satisfactory handiwork of his discredited subordinate. Polk chose to forward the treaty to the Senate. When the Senate reluctantly ratified the treaty (by a vote of 34 to 14) on March 10, 1848, it deleted Article X guaranteeing the protection of Mexican land grants. Following the ratification, U.S. troops were removed from the Mexican capital. To carry the treaty into effect, commissioner Colonel Jon Weller and surveyor Andrew Grey were appointed by the United States government and General Pedro Conde and Sr. Jose Illarregui were appointed by the Mexican government to survey and set the boundary. A subsequent treaty of December 30, 1853, altered the border from the initial one by adding 47 more boundary markers to the original six. Of the 53 markers, the majority were rude piles of stones; a few were of durable character with proper inscriptions. Over time, markers were moved or destroyed, resulting in two subsequent conventions (1882 and 1889) between the two countries to more clearly define the boundaries. Photographers were brought in to document the location of the markers. These photogaphs are in Record Group 77, Records of the Office of the Chief Engineers, in the National Archives. An example of one of these photographs, taken in the 1890s, is attached to this lesson plan or can be found online through the National Archives Information Locator (NAIL) database, control number NWDNS-77-MB. <http://www.nara.gov/narainail.html> Teaching Activities 1. Use the Teaching With Documents activity, "Lincoln's Spot Resolutions ," to prepare the students for studying the Mexican War. Instruct the students to review their textbook and other source information about the time period and the events that led to the end of the Mexican War and the signing of the treaty. 2. Divide the students into groups of 3 to 5 and ask them to use the resources reviewed in #1 to identify the issues/causes that led to the Mexican War. Direct them to catagorize the data as long-term, short-term, or immediate. Ask each group to report their results to the class in order to create a comprehensive classroom list of the issues/causes. 3. Distribute copies of the Written Document Analysis Worksheet to students. Instruct of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in either a them to analyze document 1, page 1 , classroom computer activity or a homework assignment. Upon completion of the assignment, discuss with the class the worksheet results, including the language and formality of the document. 4. Distribute the comprehensive list of issues/causes created in #2 and copies of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo to new groups of 3-5 students. Direct the groups to match or link the articles of the treaty with the causes/issues that lead to war. Groups should report to the class the information that they have compiled. Note: A transcript of the treaty is available online from the California State University at http://www.monterey.edu/other-sites/history/treaty.html 5. Locate and distribute prepared map sets and direct students to use their textbooks and other related resources to identify the boundary changes that took place in the United States after the treaty. Ask the students to label the maps from the time period before the treaty (include boundary lines, territories, and major land features). the photograph of the border marker being rebuilt in 6. Distribute copies of document 3 , the 1890s, and instruct them to complete the Photograph Analysis Worksheet . Discuss with the class the worksheet results, including possible methods that may have been used to determine the exact location of the marker. When completed, share with students the information about the border markers from the Historical Background section of the lesson. In a follow up activity, discuss with students the following topics: how the Mexican-U.S. boundaries are determined and marked today; what ways public and private land boundaries are determined and marked; how disputes among the states or between the United States and foreign nations (ie. Mt. Vernon Conference-1785, Pinckney Treaty, Louisiana Purchase, settlement of the Oregon Territory-1846, etc.) have had an impact on U.S. history; and how boundary lines between private individuals have arisen and caused controversies between individuals. 7. Ask students to write a position paper supporting or opposing the following thesis: Considering the events that led to the Mexican War, the terms negotiated in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo were a just conclusion to this crisis. 8. Direct students to read Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 , of the U.S. Constitution and then prepare a list of the actions taken by the executive and legislative branches in negotiating, ratifying, and enforcing the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The document included in this project is from Record Group 11, General Records of the United States. It is available online through the National Archives Information Locator (NAIL) database, control number NWCTB-11-ITA-PI159E9-TS(EX)207 <http://www.nara.gov/narainail.html>. The photograph included in this lesson is from Record Group 77, Records of the Office of the Chief Engineers. It is control number NWDNS-77-MB-442D. NAIL is a searchable database that contains information about a wide variety of NARA holdings across the country. You can use NAIL to search record descriptions by keywords or topics and retrieve digital copies of selected textual documents, photographs, maps, and sound recordings related to thousands of topics. This article was written by Tom Gray, a teacher at DeRuyter Central Middle School in DeRuyter, NY. ational Archives and Records Administration Written Document Analysis Worksheet 1. TYPE OF DOCUMENT (Check one): Advertisement Newspaper Map Congressional record Telegram Letter Census report Press release Patent Other Report Memorandum 2. UNIQUE PHYSICAL QUALITIES OF THE DOCUMENT (Check one or more): Interesting letterhead Notations Handwritten "RECEIVED" stamp Typed Other Seals 3. DATE(S) OF DOCUMENT: 4. AUTHOR (OR CREATOR) OF THE DOCUMENT: POSITION (TITLE): 5. FOR WHAT AUDIENCE WAS THE DOCUMENT WRITTEN? 6. DOCUMENT INFORMATION (There are many possible ways to answer A-E.) A. List three things the author said that you think are important: 1. 2. 3. B. Why do you think this document was written? C. What evidence in the document helps you know why it was written? Quote from the document. D. List two things the document tells you about life in the United States at the time it was written: E. Write a question to the author that is left unanswered by the document: Designed and developed by the Education Staff, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC 20408. 9 ational Archives and Records Administration Photograph Analysis Worksheet Step 1. Observation A. Study the photograph for 2 minutes. Form an overall impression of the photograph and then examine individual items. Next, divide the photo into quadrants and study each section to see what new details become visible. B. Use the chart below to list people, objects, and activities in the photograph. ACTIVITIES PEOPLE OBJECTS Step 2. Inference Based on what you have observed above, list three things you might infer from this photograph. Step 3. Questions A. What questions does this photograph raise in your mind? B. Where could you find answers to them? Designed and developed by the Education Staff, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC 20408.