All categories - 1 November 2006

To best explain the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and its many connotations, the United States’ concept of “Manifest Destiny” should be covered first. Manifest Destiny was the belief of English-speaking Americans that God had ordained them to take and hold the lands from the Mississippi River to the coast of the Pacific Ocean, much of which was claimed and occupied by Mexicans and Indians. The United States’ people believed its means of fulfilling this destiny were justified, a Machiavellian concept (“the end justifies the means”).

The US found its opportunity to use this concept to obtain a large portion of Mexico when Texas gained independence in 1836. Though Texas had agreed not to annex itself to the United States in exchange for its independence, it did so in 1845. However, at the time of annexation, the southern border of Texas had still not been specified. US President Polk took the position that recognized the Rio Grande as the southern border. In what was later to be considered a deliberate provocation by the United States to begin a conflict with Mexico, US troops entered the area between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande (land believed to belong to the US through annexation). The conflict that occurred between the US military and Mexican military was considered an act of war by the US, even though Mexico had not confirmed whether or not the Rio Grande was the southern border of the Texas territory.

After many unsuccessful peace negotiations (open and secret) and after many military skirmishes, the US military gained occupation of Mexico City in August 1847. It was then that the final peace negotiations began in what would become the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty demanded a large section of Mexico’s northern territory, with the Rio Grande as the southern border (for to accept the Nueces would be admitting guilt for starting the war). It was signed and sent to Mexico and the United States’ senates to be ratified on February 2, 1848.

In the United States, President Polk only conceded to accept it and send it on to the Senate for ratification after coming to the conclusion that continuing the war would not acquire for the United States a treaty that was any better. However, he recommended to Congress that an amended one be ratified and sent to Mexico for approval, one that did not contain Article X, which guaranteed property rights for Mexicans and Indians living in the ceded territory being. His main reason for this recommendation was that questions over the validity of land grants in Texas would come up on whether or not the treaty would apply to Texas since they had acquired their independence prior to the treaty.

Many factions within Congress were against ratifying the treaty, but for different reasons. The Whig party believed that the treaty would increase the southern states’ power by legalizing slavery within the new territory. Some were opposed because they were “morally against the war.” Others didn’t want it because they were Polk’s rivals, and some like Sam Houston wanted more territory than the treaty claimed. The treaty suffered few changes otherwise due to “each faction’s opposition to the proposals of the others.” The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, without Article X and with changes made to Article IX, passed the Senate and was ratified on March 10, 1848.

In Mexico, a letter of explanation by US Secretary of State James Buchanan followed the amended treaty. His letter included reasons why Article X was stricken and why Article IX was reworded. According to the letter, Article X was deleted because Buchanan firmly believed the US Constitution’s promise to protect a person’s property would be upheld regardless of whether or not the article was included in the treaty. As for Article IX, Buchanan explained that it had been revised as a “result of the Senate’s wish not to violate precedents established in treaties negotiated with France and Spain.” Also, a document known as the Protocol of Querétaro was presented to the Mexican Congress prior to the treaty’s ratification that explained the United States’ reasons for changing the original treaty. It said that the changes to Article IX “did not intend to diminish in any way” the rights that would be given to Mexican citizens becoming US citizens, and that the deletion of Article X “did not intend in any way to annul grants of land made by Mexico in the ceded territories.” However, the protocol’s interpretation of the treaty was never considered by the US government to be obligatory, meaning it had “no legal force.”

Mexico’s handling of the issues that surrounded the ratification of such a treaty went more along the lines of survival. Many factions in Mexico’s political system were against the treaty. One liberal by the name of Manuel Crescencio Rejón argued that the treaty would mean Mexico’s “economic subordination” and that since it had been signed before Congress could discuss this option, the treaty went against the Mexican Constitution. Another against the treaty was José María Cuevas, who spoke about his opposition to the Chamber of Deputies. Some did favor the treaty because it stopped the US from taking more territory and costing Mexico more military funding. One such person was one of the original commissioners, Bernardo Couto, who called the treaty one of “recovery rather than one of alienation.” In a later book about the war, one author called the treaty merely the confirmation that the US had taken land which had little value and was hard to defend. Mexico deemed it wise to choose the “lesser of two evils” and ratified the treaty on May 19, 1848.

It wasn’t long until the United States began a series of treaty violations, which for the most part went unresolved, and some which still are unresolved today. The Land Act of 1851 established a Board of Land Commissioners which required that land-owners “present evidence supporting title within two years, or their property would pass into the public domain.” According to the protocol (earlier noted to be of “no legal force” according to the US government), the property rights of Mexican landowners would be protected. In the fine print, though, the deletion of Article X made it hard for landowners with “imperfect” titles to complete the processes of land confirmation, whether it was via Mexican law or United States law.

Another violation of the treaty was the Foreign Miners’ Tax Law that inadvertently discriminated against those Mexicans who should have been exempted from the tax because of the treaty’s provisions for US citizenship. “Since there was a legal distinction between the Mexicans who had migrated to California after 1848 and those who were there before the gold rush,” outcry over the tax law being enforced on Mexican-Americans could not be justified.

It was violations such as these that inspired the Chicano movement in the 1960s, the same era as the Civil Rights movement. The movement sought to “redefine” the position of Mexican-Americans. To help with that cause, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was used to point out abuses to their human rights, such as the right to property denied those who were kept from completing their land titles, and such as the right to the full enjoyment of US citizenship which was indicated as forthcoming in Article IX of the treaty. Though the movement did not do well at obtaining help from the US government to restore land to Mexican-Americans, a recent move to take the case of the Mexican-American and the Native-American to international courts by the IITC has begun to meet with increasing success.

Since the signing of the treaty, a policy of arbitration has existed between Mexico and the United States, though the US does use it mostly when to its own advantage. However, this policy, the intertwining of the two cultures due to the Mexican influence in the US Southwest, and advances in both countries’ sense of human rights and diplomacy is slowly warming the friendship of the neighboring nations.

2006-11-01 17:03:14 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Immigration

...wear helmets?

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2006-11-01 17:02:32 · 28 answers · asked by Lucia 3 in Family

i want to start over i can't get a business grant i have bad credit fast food won't even hire me what do i do?

2006-11-01 17:02:29 · 9 answers · asked by Charles D 1 in Careers & Employment

Why was J.J. Redick "INACTIVE" in the game tonight against Chicago? Is he not playing due to injury... or just not ready to play at that level yet?

2006-11-01 17:02:20 · 7 answers · asked by ashgyrl30 1 in Basketball

2006-11-01 17:02:14 · 22 answers · asked by bigbri4n 1 in Biology

A few years ago Maccas in Australia evolved a McCafe, and now they even transformed themselves from being a greasy fast food outlet to serving fresh salads and deli style baguettes. So what's happening at the McDonalds in your country? What do they sell other than burgers now-a-days? Just wondering.

2006-11-01 17:02:14 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Fast Food

exam

2006-11-01 17:02:13 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Singles & Dating

2006-11-01 17:02:12 · 3 answers · asked by princess50158 1 in Television

Windows Media Player, internet file downloads

2006-11-01 17:02:08 · 1 answers · asked by March 1 in Internet

There is one with Amaretto, irish cream and a few other things. but this one doesnt have that in it. This particular one is actually pink/red in color.
thanks

2006-11-01 17:01:47 · 2 answers · asked by dancr4lfe 1 in Beer, Wine & Spirits

2006-11-01 17:01:45 · 6 answers · asked by Blackie L 1 in Motorcycles

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im looking for the email address of abscbn channel 2 tv station's show which is tv patrol world

2006-11-01 17:01:33 · 1 answers · asked by jen 1 in Television

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I would like to hear more from GIRLS. Also, just don't say, "YES" or "NO" to the above question. Give reasons with your answer, preferably, with lots of examples.

Thanks.

2006-11-01 17:01:30 · 10 answers · asked by K 2 in Friends

2006-11-01 17:01:21 · 5 answers · asked by jerry 1 in Other - Computers

one of my friends has been hinting about asking me out for a few weeks + a few days ago he actually did ask me out. i was very flatered by it but the thing is, he's a lot shorter than me + it looks weird when we're together. i think he's really easy to talk to, but he's the shy type + it's really awkward when we're together now. he really likes me + he's been trying to do things to get me to like him more. the problem is that i've been single for 2 years + i'm sick of it + the other guy that i really want to go out with is going out with this other girl who used to be my friend but now shes a snob. + i've heard theyre gonna be together for a while. i like my friend as a friend and i dont want our friendship to be difficult b/c then i would be losing a good friend + we have a class together too. i'm sort of desperate and i like all the perks of having a bf, but i dont wanna go out with him just to say i have a bf. b/c then i would break up w/ him + hurt us both. plz help wat shud i do?

2006-11-01 17:01:21 · 10 answers · asked by ♥kisses_in_the_rain♥ 3 in Singles & Dating

Don't you question why it is you are so repulsed by the opposite sex's organ? You almost seem to RELISH the opportunity to tell a guy how gross they look in speedos. I described myself as fit, etc...just so you'd know I wasn't fat and hairy. Why is that egotystical, to the one of you who said so?
My God...99% of females wear revealing swimsuits to the beach, and 99% of those who do don't look good. You're such hippocrites. Please, I don't enjoy seeing your odd shaped breasts, cellulite, love handles, piercings, tattoos, crotch stubble...or outlines of anything down there. Utter hippocrites.

2006-11-01 17:01:20 · 6 answers · asked by ? 1 in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender

so i want to buy the bareMinerals Introductory Kit but i'm not sure on what shade is right for me.......i added a pic so you can see for yourself. and yes i know i'm ugly so be nice! ty

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i have a wide screen multimedia laptop with mcaffy
and im trying to get it to use our family enternet connection.

the family cp is connected directly to the modem
my brothers cp is down stairs connected with a usb modem thing lynking to the modem(i think)


the modem is a motorolla with an entinna on top.

help me get online with my laptop for free please!!!

2006-11-01 17:00:59 · 2 answers · asked by Wesley!!! 3 in Laptops & Notebooks

My family and i are planning a College graduation party for my sister. Very Big deal for us all. We're so excited! We are planning an outside party, with the tents, lantern lighting, stage platform,tiki torches spread throughout the lawn. just a cozy romantic airy feeling. I am so worried that i am forgetting something! I would love to hear your suggestions and any helpful websites to where i can rent thses things from. thank you!

2006-11-01 17:00:50 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Entertaining

I need to know how to fry to perfection snacks with their recipes.
websites will be helpful.
Thanks.

2006-11-01 17:00:47 · 4 answers · asked by chulis 1 in Cooking & Recipes

I need a sample size of at least 30 and as of right now I have 23 answers. However the more the merrier.

2006-11-01 17:00:42 · 16 answers · asked by Carrie.JesscaParker 1 in Singles & Dating

i just wondering if we can like an xbox to an computer. if so, how???

2006-11-01 17:00:36 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Video & Online Games

I have no great reason to be in contact with her other than as causual friends. She shows no signs of wanting my boyfriend back, or wanting to get at me for dating him or anything. She contacted me because a friend of mine let her know my IM address. People keep telling me it's not healthy for my and my boyfriend's relationship to be in communication with his ex. Is this true? Should I stop the already minimal corrospondence?

2006-11-01 17:00:30 · 4 answers · asked by Jasmine 5 in Singles & Dating