I was given this man's phone number
Apparently, he's in charge of Mexican/American Relations for the County of Los Angeles. Thank you Senor Mayor!
Posted on 11/26/2008 2:27:17 PM PST by sushiman
My left-wing radical friend insists we stole all this land from Mexico . Any history buffs out there in Freeperland who can supply some ammo for me ?
Maybe a California historian can help you there, but Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico were all a part of Mexico whom they fought for their Independence. Texas won, and was an Independent Republic for a time before voluntarily joining the US as a state. The war for Texas’ Independence from Mexico included the famous battle of the Alamo, but if you really want to quiet your friend you could research the battle of Goliad, also known as Presidio La Bahia, where the Mexicans accepted the Texan surrender under certain conditions, then abrogated those conditions and massacred 400 unarmed men.
The treaty between Texas and Mexico left the southern border in dispute, and that became important to the US after Texas joined the Union. Mexico claimed that the border was at the Nueces River and the US claimed the border was at the Rio Grande. The US brought in troops to settle the matter, and a war resulted. The US gained the territory in dispute, and some besides. I believe this is where California changed hands, but I am not certain.
Those who claim that Texas, New Mexico, etc were stolen from the US usually claim that the US was behind the Texas War of Independence. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Mexican Dictator Santa Ana had invited settlers into Texas, which was underutilized by Mexico. The “Texian” settlers had to convert to Catholicism and renounce US citizenship to receive land grants. There were a few agitators from the US who joined in the struggle, led by a disaffected former Tennessee congressman named David “Davey” Crockett. When he was defeated in his bid for reelectin to congress, he told his former constituents, “You all can go to hell. I’m going to Texas.”
A year or so back the History channel ran a pretty good series about the mess.
Basically Mexico’s claim to the American southweast consisted of scattered farmers who were left here as placeholders to fend for themselves and fight off constant attacks from the Indians. The Mexican government all but forgot about them and many hadn’t seen a mexican soldier in years.
The Americans showed up and brought stability, defense against and treaties with the Indians, not to mention the most modern technology. Basically made their lives better. The mexicans living here happily accepted American rule and later citizenship. The story was much the same throughout northern current day Mexico. We made a big mistake in Giving it back in my opinion.
The America-hating Left has forgotten that the American Revolution was in fact the first radical chic cause of the Internationl Left (we "rapacious" Americans were the original Noble Savages!).
I live in Phoenix.
We Phoenicians are excited to hear that Mexico no longer owns Arizona.
However, this does leave us confused as to why-oh-why there are so many Mechicans still in Arizona.
Further clarification requested ...
He’s one of my best friends ! Can’t ignore !
Sort of like Israel. Before that area got all built up with lots of houses and cities and things, not many people wanted it all that much. Now that it is built up, they want it badly.
Santa Anna traded Texas off to save his sorry butt from Texian firing squad or worse ,after he was caught in a womans dress trying to escape the fight at San Jacinto....We excepted his offer! God Bless Texas and remember the Alamo!
Pisss...(whispering) Both my daughters voted for Obama.
WE DON’T TALK ABOUT IT!
Tell him since we are such terribull pipples who done terribull thingys, who obviously don’t deserve to breathe free air anymore, that he should set the example and fall on his sword (or kitchen knifey, in the absence of a proper sword).
I’ll try to contact an English speaking state representative to confirm these allegations
If so, I plan on replacing my Mexican flag with 40 foot Confederate banner embossed with “Don’t Tread On Me”
The words will be in Spanish, naturally
Maybe your friend should put down the kookaid and pick up some history books...
Gud luck finding an English speaking goobermint critter. La Raza doesn’t approve of them ...
Life’s too short. Dump the ignorant assclown. Get a new FRiend.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Except for a little bit better planning in 1812 and that darned Isaac Brock, Canada would be part of the USA also....
I was given this man's phone number
Apparently, he's in charge of Mexican/American Relations for the County of Los Angeles. Thank you Senor Mayor!
If your friend insists on this line of argument, ask him when Mexico will return the Yucatan to Guatemala. This area was annexed after the Central American independence in 1821. A lot of confusion ensued and Mexico took it over.
As a Guatemalan American I can tell you that we are still somewhat bitter about that.
Your friend said — “Immigration...we stole Texas, Arizona, NMex and Calif from Mexico....and we killed Native Americans...and sold slaves from Africa as big business and Christian law. Since the Calvinists thought blacks weren’t human so therefore they had no spirits.”
Well, it was a *war* with Mexico that Mexico declared. Now, sure they were sore about the fact that Texas won its independence (in battle) from Mexico and became a country in its own right. So, they refused (later) to recognize what Texas had accomplished (many examples of that still going on in the world, today...). I venture that if Mexico had not declared war, they would not have lost the rest of that land that they did. When they did declare war (upon the annexation of the Republic of Texas, into the United States as another state in the Union) — the put these things into motion. Texas had *already* won its independence from Mexico years prior to that time.
And far from simply “stealing” that land, it *definitely* was the “spoils of war”. But, the U.S. also compensated Mexico for it, in spite of winning it in war time.
Now, in regards to this “we killed Native Americans”... well, Native Americans killed Native Americans with great regularity. Native Americans killed U.S. citizens with great regularity, too. And the U.S. had its small share of killing Native Americans in various fights and battles and skirmishes (and some slaughters, too, unfortunately).
But, more Native Americans were killed by their own people (wars with each other) and from disease in their population — than were ever killed by the U.S. in battle and wars and skirmishes. There were not *nearly* as many killed by the U.S. — as were killed among themselves and by disease.
And in regards to “slaves from Africa” — one has to be reminded that *first* — the slaves in Africa were the slaves of *other Africans (i.e., “blacks”). They were first, the black slaves to other blacks in Africa — and their own people sold them to slave traders who then sold them in other parts of the world. The problem started in Africa — where *they themselves* took slaves of one another and sold them to white people (to get rid of them and to make money).
Secondly, there were many in the formation of our country (i.e., the founding fathers) who were against slavery and fought to end it, at the beginning. But since there were mixed interests in that day and the slavery issue was so divisive that it would have split the Constitutional Convention and would have never allowed it to happen — they ignored that as an issue, in the beginning — to take it up later. But, in the beginning, several founding fathers were “abolitionists” and worked toward ending slavery.
As far as it being “Christian law” — the abolitionists took it from “Scripture” that slavery should be ended. So, you had both sides “claiming” Scriptures on their side. It was *not* monolithic in being ascribed to “law” in the Bible, not at all.
And finally, talking about “Calvinists” (don’t know how he got mixed up in the whole thing... LOL...) — it has turned out, throughout all of history that great people who have done great things have also had things that they were wrong about.
Martin Luther, who is revered for the Protestant revolution and had some good things to say and do at the time. However, he was wrong on several other theological issues and also — it turns out he was rabidly *anti-Jewish* — so seriously so, it would make you blush today... LOL..
So, even the greatest of them, secular or religious or political or generals or kings or whomever — they all had their areas where they were totally wrong... And so, thinking that blacks weren’t human and had no souls was definitely wrong. It, however, doesn’t take away from those people — for what they were *known* for in the first place...
General Mariano Vallejo of the Mexican army, joined with freedom loving Americans in California to take California into statehood and write the California state Constitution. With the instability of the Mexican government and the threat to sell northern California off to either Russia or England, the people who lived here joined with General Vallejo, some Americans living in California, and the US Consul Thomas Larkin to make California a US territory— they wanted the Constitutional rights to life and property guaranteed by the Federal government to be given to all Californians.
The people of California voted to become a territory and they voted to become a state. It was not ‘stolen’ by anyone.,
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