It wasn’t anticipated that James K. Polk would become the next president. The favorite among the Democratic candidates was the former president Martin Van Buren; but he wasn’t favored to win the election of 1844. He had already been defeated in 1840 by the now deceased Whig, William Henry Harrison, who had lasted only 30 days, 12 hours and 30 minutes in office. Vice President John Tyler had become president, and, by 1844, was rather unpopular with both Whigs and Democrats. The Democrats didn’t want Van Buren. The Whigs didn’t want Tyler. Therefore, Tyler, the sitting president, threw his support behind America’s first “dark horse” candidate: James K. Polk.
From Dispute to War
During this week in history, on Dec. 29, 1845, Texas became the 28th state. In response, Mexico severed diplomatic ties with America. The act of annexation and statehood would affect Mexican-American relations for decades.The most immediate and violent result of these soured relations was the Mexican-American War, which erupted on April 25, 1846, when the Mexican Army fired upon the U.S. Army led by Gen. Zachary Taylor. Taylor’s soldiers were stationed along the Rio Grande River in an area claimed by both nations. The Mexicans believed the U.S.-Mexico border was along the Nueces River, while the Americans believed it to be 130 miles further south along the Rio Grande.
Finding the Right Man
A year after the skirmish along the Rio Grande, Polk sought a commissioner to achieve peace with Mexico. The war had been going the way of the Americans, and it seemed an opportune time to offer a resolution. Polk believed “such is the jealousy of the different factions of the Democratic party in reference to the next Presidential Election toward each other that it is impossible to appoint any prominent man.”Nicholas Trist was a prominent man but was not politically motivated. He was a friend of Secretary of State James Buchanan and was serving as the chief clerk of the State Department. He had married Thomas Jefferson’s granddaughter Virginia Jefferson Randolph and had been Jefferson’s private secretary and the executor of Jefferson’s estate after his death. Trist had also been President Andrew Jackson’s private secretary. It was Jackson, who shortly before his death, wrote to Polk, recommending Trist for the job of “commissioner plenipotentiary.” Polk appointed Trist on April 15, and the diplomat headed to Mexico.
A Familiar Face and a Recall
A year before Texas became the 28th state, Antonio López de Santa Anna was arrested after a military coup in Mexico. The general and Mexican president was sent into exile. While in exile in Cuba, Santa Anna received word of the outbreak of war with America and issued word to President Gómez Farías that he could repel the Americans.
Santa Anna also sent word to Polk that if given safe passage through the U.S. Navy’s blockade, he would take power and sell Mexico’s northern territories to America for $30 million. Both presidents accepted his offers, but he would do neither. Arriving in Mexico in August, he reneged on his agreement with Polk, but failed to repulse the Americans. By September the following year, Mexico City had fallen, resulting in Santa Anna’s resignation and return to exile.
For Trist’s purposes, the opportunity for peace appeared optimal. Unfortunately, his endeavors hadn’t gone well. He hadn’t complied completely with some of the specific orders from Polk and Buchanan. He had made a nuisance of himself with the rather prickly Gen. Winfield Scott. Regarding the latter, the two finally resolved their issues and became close friends. In Washington, news of the war was slow to arrive. Frustrated at Trist’s progress and unaware of the fall of Mexico’s capital city, Polk decided to recall Trist.
The Point of No Return
Nine days prior to Buchanan sending his letter, Trist sent Washington an update on the war and his negotiations. His correspondence would not arrive until Oct. 21. Trist received his recall letter in November. Blindsided by the letter, he wrote his wife that he planned to resign from the State Department upon his return Washington. But Trist again disregarded the specifics of his directive and delayed his departure. By Dec. 1, no executive dispatch arrived concerning his replacement, he was already in direct correspondence with the new Mexican president Manuel de la Peña y Peña, and, therefore, he resolved to disobey the recall altogether.It would prove one of the most consequential decisions in American diplomatic history.
It was during this week in history, on Dec. 30, 1847, three years after Texas became a state, that Trist, the lone American, and the Mexican peace delegation met in the city of Guadalupe-Hidalgo to establish a peace treaty. Without even so much as a secretary, Trist, who was fluent in Spanish, single-handedly negotiated with the Mexicans and kept the minutes of the meetings.
The difficulty of negotiating was eased for Trist because he possessed unparalleled leverage of the American Army occupying Mexico City. After several weeks, Trist and the Mexican delegation arrived at an agreement. Mexico would relinquish all claims to Texas, acknowledge the Rio Grande as the new border, and cede its New Mexico and Upper California territories to America, totaling more than 525,000 square miles (more than half of its pre-war territory). America would pay the Mexican government $15 million (approximately $600 million today) and would pay the $3.25 million owed to American citizens by the Mexican government. The American government bound themselves to protect the property and civil rights of Mexicans living within these new boundaries. It would also police the boundaries, and would not resort to war, but would arbitrate future disputes. The treaty was signed by Trist and the Mexican delegation on Feb. 2, 1848.
With less than a year before the 1848 election, Polk presented the treaty to the U.S. Senate. A two-third majority was needed. On March 10, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was ratified by the thinnest of margins 38-14 with four senators abstaining. The treaty would result in the creation of what is now California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, most of Arizona and Colorado, and portions of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming.
