Boundary Dispute:
• Polk sent _______________ to Texas
• Taylor settled west of the ________________.
Disputed territory in West Texas
• Polk sent General Zachary Taylor to Texas
• Taylor settled west of the Nueces River.
Offer to buy California
• John Slidell’s offered to buy California to resolve the border dispute.
• ______________ was insulted and rejected the offer.
• Mexico was insulted and rejected the offer.
Mexican Cession:
Mexico lost _________________ percent of its territy
US gave little in _____________.
Mexico lost approximately 55 percent of its territory.
The US gave little in return.
To find the answers to the question, we need to understand the background of the boundary dispute between Polk and Taylor regarding West Texas.
1. Polk sent __________________ to Texas:
President James K. Polk sent John Slidell to Mexico as a special envoy in 1845. Slidell's mission was to negotiate with the Mexican government for the purchase of territories including Texas, California, and New Mexico.
2. Taylor settled west of the _________________:
General Zachary Taylor, who was in command of U.S. forces during the Mexican-American War, settled west of the Nueces River. This river was claimed by Mexico as the boundary between Texas and Mexican territory at that time.
Disputed territory in West Texas:
The disputed territory in West Texas refers to the area between the Nueces River (claimed by Mexico as the border) and the Rio Grande (considered by the United States as the proper border of Texas). The United States maintained that the Rio Grande was the boundary of Texas, while Mexico argued that it was the Nueces River.
This boundary dispute played a significant role in sparking the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) between the United States and Mexico. The conflict ultimately led to the U.S. gaining control of significant territories, including present-day Texas, California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848.