Mexican War Era

Between 1846 and 1848, two neighbors, the United States and Mexico. went to war. It was a defining event for both nations, transforming a continent and forging a new identity for its peoples. By the war’s end, Mexico lost nearly half of its territory, the present American Southwest from Texas to California and the United States became a continental power. The issues raised during the U.S.-Mexican War are ones we still grapple with today: the contradiction between stated ideals and actual practice; the distinction between a "just" and an "unjust" war; the ways we define citizenship and identity in a multicultural society: and the challenges in building progressive and democratic nations.