Amanda Gallegos

Barbara Reyes
NM History 260
Final Exam
6 May 2011

Section A #1

The United States invasion on New Mexico was something that would change the

lives of all who currently lived there. With the government control of the U.S. was

coming into play it left an adjustment to get used to the Anglo rules. General Stephen

Kearney was the first man to give an outline to a government that was a combination of

both Mexican and Anglo Law. This document was called the Kearney Code. This code

separated the powers within the offices on both sides of the government. This was the

beginning of many changes to come. With the title of New Mexico being a territory of the

United States now there was a great increase in population. Not only because of the

residents natural population growth but, also, there were many new settlers coming in to

the new territory, along with soldiers from the United States. With this new population

prediction were being stated that Hispanics and Indians would start losing their owned

lands from years before the United States was there. Another problem that posed was the

rumor of the Catholic priest losing their authority and all they stood for. With the debate

of slavery taking place within the states New Mexico was now brought into the mix of

taking a stance.

The results of the Mexican-American War varied in size and scope. Some of the

effects were huge while others were small. Nonetheless, all of the effects were important

in shaping the histories of Mexico and the United States. The effects of the Mexican-
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American War included territorial gains on the United States’ behalf, an internal conflict

over slavery, and in the downfall of the Mexican government.

The first effect of the Mexican-American War was the territorial gains made by the

United States. At the end of the war, Mexico, through the signing of the Treaty of

Guadalupe Hidalgo, ceded California (including Alta California) and New Mexico (which

including what is now Arizona, Utah, and Nevada) to the United States, and established

the Rio Grande as Texas’ southern border once and for all. This secession of land was

completed for a final cost of approximately 15 million US dollars (and the U.S. replaced 3

million dollars in claims made against Mexico). This land exchange, which had originally

led to greater U.S. expansion, ultimately led to further conflicts, both international and

national when on the terms of the U.S. situation (Roberts and Roberts, 108).

First, there was the internal dispute of slavery in the U.S. Even before the Treaty

of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, there had been arguments over what would become of

the territories if they were to be annexed into the United States. Wanting to maintain their

power and the northern/southern balance (balance between antislavery and slavery), they

wanted to outlaw slavery in the new territories as to keep from losing any political

power/influence. This provision led Congress to division of Congress.

Then, after further arguments over slavery ensued over the slave status of New

Mexico and California, there were several attempts at compromising. The one that

succeeded, however, was the Compromise of 1850, which was originally thought of by

Henry Clay. This compromise consisted of four parts. First, California would be a free

state. Second, the other western territories would vote over slavery. Third, slave trade
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was stopped in Washington D.C. Finally, the Fugitive Slave Act was enacted.

Although, this was a compromise, it ignited the tensions between the Northerners and

Southerners, who would constantly be at each other’s necks until the eruption of the Civil

War, and thereafter (Goldfield 428).

Next, there was the ill effect the war had on Mexico. After losing almost half of

its territory, Mexico was feeling all but kindness toward its neighbor to the north.

Angered by U.S. imperialism and territorial ideology, they no longer believed in anything

the U.S. did or the information which they released. The Mexican American War also led

to various internal problems in Mexico. There were various uprisings and governments

and rulers were overthrown one after another. Also, to make Mexico’s matters worse,

after the war ended the United States continually interfered with Mexico’s government

and society in almost every way possible.

The last effect of the Mexican-American War involved the former Mexican

citizens who lived in the territories ceded by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo to the U.S.

These people were promised U.S. citizenship and their former lands by the United States.

When citizens of the eastern U.S. traveled into the new territories (another effect), the

Mexican peoples’ claims on the lands were ignored as the “easterners” stole those lands

and settled down. Using the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo as one of their key arguments,

many of these Mexicans tried to regain their lost lands through lawsuits. They, however,

were unsuccessful (Roberts and Roberts, 110)

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In conclusion there were various effects due to the Mexican-American War. The

U.S., on one side, both benefited and was hurt by the outcome of the war. On one end, it

gained massive amounts of territory, which was the equivalent of 66% of the U.S. before

the reception of the territory. On the other end, the aftermath of the war led to the

disruptions in Congress and the build up of hatred between the North and South for each

had a specific stance when it came to the problem/practice of slavery. Mexico, on the

other side, was for the worst by the war in all mannerisms. Not only did it lose a vast

amount of territory, but it also lost much of its stability due to the uprisings that took place

during and after the war and had to deal with U.S. interference.
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Response to Question B2:

New Mexico as a territory faced great defeat when applying to become a state and

no longer be a territory. With majority of New Mexico being Hispanic and Native

American there were many troubles the United States deemed difficult to deal with as a

country. Many of them could not speak English instead they spoke Spanish or their native

language. Nonetheless the U.S. saw New Mexico as illiterate and unworthy of becoming a

state. They had not done enough for the United States to prove their worth to them. Not

only was the United States weary of New Mexico’s statehood but there were many who

did not want any increase in taxes that the U.S. may and could implement on them.

Proving the will to the US would be a long and desperate road but well worth it in the end.

Although New Mexico stayed a territory for a long period of time this time was not spent

in remorse or hatred. Many positive things happened for New Mexico that were made

possible with the U.S. With the amount of people coming into the state from the US there

were many different needs and concerns that began to arise with the divided congress. In

1889 a bill was passed that allowed for the opening and construction of public schooling

as well as the University of New Mexico. Before this schooling was not something that

was wide spread and known this task was simply left to the churches and if a person had

the money it was a private affair. When public schooling took its place congress was able

to then take land in New Mexico and set it aside specifically for schooling purposes.

When this jumped of it had a ripple effect on other public services that would be made
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available to the people of New Mexico. The comings of newspapers for the needs of

people allowed them to be informed about what was going on in the state, it was no longer

word of mouth. Things could have been distorted with the view of one person telling

another. After the newspaper the new coming of a public library service was made

available by a woman who settled in New Mexico. She also became very involved in all

public matters. New Mexico was beginning to stand on its own with or without the title of

being a state.

New Mexico had been passed 15 times within 60 years as territory for statehood.

NM made 3 efforts to become a state in the years 1850,1872, and 1889 (Roberts &

Roberts, 148). When New Mexico applied for statehood each time it required the meeting

of many people to acquire a sense of what they would do as a state, why it could be

beneficial to the U.S., and how was NM going to do what they say. Nevertheless each

time the U.S. stated logical concerns of how to govern a state with the majority of

residence speaking a language other than English. The language barrier could create

conflict and misunderstandings between the authority of the law and its consequences.

The language barrier also played into the fact of NM had already been cited frequently for

their public schools because they were deemed insufficient because students were doing

as well speaking a different language than the instruction. In 1898 NM made the change

to begin teaching English in their public to mend the obstacle of speaking different

languages.

Another concern that was made prevelant by the United States was the loyalty to

the Roman Catholic Church. The US was unsure of how New Mexicans would respond to
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the idea of the Catholic Church losing its main authority and transitioning into the

idealism of the United States of American and the Constitution. New Mexicans won the

respect of Theodore Roosevelt by enlisting in his Rough Riders during the Spanish-

American War. New Mexicans volunteered to support the US when they needed people

the most. The volunteers went through rough, prominent struggles when things did not go

as planned. Traveling by train, horse, and foot these men proved their loyal demeanor

when it counted. When Roosevelt became president, he returned the favor by working for

statehood. New Mexico finally became a state on 6 January 1912, under President

William H. Taft.

In March 1916, irregulars of the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa crossed the

international boundary into New Mexico, killing, robbing, and burning homes in

Columbus. US troops under the command of General John J. Pershing were sent into

Mexico on a long and unsuccessful journey to capture Villa. The decade of the 1920s was

characterized by the discovery and development of new resources. Potash salts were

found near Carlsbad, and important petroleum reserves in the southeast and northwest

were discovered and exploited. Oil development made possible another important

industry, tourism, which began to flourish as gasoline became increasingly available. This

period of prosperity ended, however, with the onset of the Great Depression.

World War II revived the economy, but at a price. In 1942, hundreds of New

Mexicans stationed in the Philippines were among the US troops forced to make the cruel

"Bataan march" to Japanese prison camps. Scientists working at Los Alamos ushered in
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the Atomic Age with the explosion of the first atomic bomb at White Sands Proving

Ground in June 1945. Newcomers from many parts of the country moved to the state, a

demographic shift with profound social, cultural, and political consequences. Spanish-

speaking New Mexicans, who were once an overwhelming majority, are now a minority.

Many strides that were made to become a state were accomplished after a 64 year journey

and at that point a new journey began.

Response to Question C2:

During WWII all of the United Sates was tragically affected by the occurrence of

this event. New Mexico was just one of many states that endured many different setbacks

and difficult times. New Mexico became a very important state of the retaliation on Japan

for Pearl Harbor. New Mexico became a state of multiple military bases one including

Kirtland Air force base in Albuquerque, NM. This base became home to an advanced air

force flight school as well as training site for mechanics. New Mexico also became a basis

for military research which leads to the first atomic bomb that was released on Hiroshima

and Nagasaki which lead to the end of WWII. New Mexico played a great role in the war

as well as the Navajo who created the code from their native language. This code went

unbroken for over 20 year’s time. At this point and time in history NM made many

changes because NM was still dealing with the other changes that occurred in during

WWII such as the gender roles dramatically changing because women now took a more

prominent role in the work force and economy.

Hosting a base in Albuquerque became a great responsibility. Kirtland Air Force

base remained more than busy during their time in WWII. Hosting an advanced air force

flying school became very important to the war. Training these pilots was vital to the

needs of the war. “By 1945 Kirtland had trained 1,750 B-24 pilots and crew members, and

on a smaller scale it had also trained aviation mechanics and navigators” (Roberts &

Roberts, 176-177) These were great numbers to be accomplishing at the time and need for

these men. While these men were training in the planes at Kirtland there many scientist

working on what would be called “The Manhattan Project” .

 In 1942 military research took over Los Alamos to create the first atomic bomb

one possibility that had been greatly desired. Finally the day came when all at Los

Alamos would find out whether or not The Gadget (code-named as such during its

development) was either going to be the colossal dud of the century or perhaps end the

war. It all came down to a fateful morning of midsummer, 1945. At 5:29:45 (Mountain

War Time) on July 16th, 1945, in a white blaze that stretched from the basin of the Jemez

Mountains in northern New Mexico to the still-dark skies, The Gadget ushered in the

Atomic Age. The light of the explosion then turned orange as the atomic fireball began

shooting upwards at 360 feet per second, reddening and pulsing as it cooled. The

characteristic mushroom cloud of radioactive vapor materialized at 30,000 feet. Beneath

the cloud, all that remained of the soil at the blast site were fragments of jade green

radioactive glass. ...All of this caused by the heat of the reaction. The brilliant light from

the detonation pierced the early morning skies with such intensity that residents from a

faraway neighboring community would swear that the sun came up twice that day. Even

more astonishing is that a blind girl saw the flash 120 miles away. Even with its great

tenacity the bomb remained a secret until days later when the bombing on Japan had taken

place. They captured the true essence of “the element of surprise”.

Another thing that supported the element of surprise was the help given by the Navajo and

language. The Japanese had cracked every code that the Army and Navy came up with ,

but not the Navajo code. Navajo is a spoken language handed down orally from

generation to generation. The Code Talkers created a system of native words to represent

characters of the English alphabet, so that they could spell out English words that had no
Navajo equivalent. They also assigned their own expressions, like iron-fish to mean

submarine, for over 400 important military terms. Each Code Talker memorized these

special words. There were no written materials that could be captured. This language

remained a vital source of the military for many years.

While many brave men were fighting to obtain great standards there were

unfinished jobs that needed be done on the home front. This left the opportunity to

become a vital part of the work source and economy. Rosie the Riveter, became the

mascot for women of the 1930s and 40s. This character showed the roles of women in the

United States had changed drastically since that of the early 1900s, showing the world that

women are just as capable of doing the things that men did every day, even in the toughest

of times. During WWII roles of women changed in many ways that would affect not just

the women, but also the entire Nation. There were many factors that caused the changes in

women in this era. Letting us know that after all the men went away to war, those jobs had

to go on. Most women filled those jobs with pride, knowing that this was their way to

prove that they could do everything that a man is capable of doing. Not only did they have

to keep the homes in order but, they took on voluntary and paid employment that was

diverse and showed that women were highly capable in diverse fields of jobs.

The participation New Mexico took in World War II was on a strong and solid

stance. New Mexico gave their state to profit and benefit the United States in a significant

and proud way.