War Declared on Mexico: Texas Expansion Begins
President James K. Polk asked Congress for a declaration of war against Mexico on May 11, 1846, claiming that Mexico had "shed American blood upon American soil." The incident he cited, a skirmish in the disputed territory between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande, was provoked by Polk's deliberate deployment of troops into territory Mexico considered its own. A young congressman named Abraham Lincoln demanded Polk identify the precise "spot" where American blood was shed, earning himself the nickname "Spotty Lincoln." The war lasted two years and ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which transferred California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and parts of Wyoming and Kansas to the United States, roughly 55% of Mexico's pre-war territory.
May 13, 1846
180 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on May 13
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