PBS Video Database: U.S.-Mexican War: Episode 1: Chapter 7

VIDEO PROGRAM

Volume 276: Episode I: Neighbors and Strangers

OBJECTIVE

Students will learn that the U.S.-Mexican War had far reaching affects for both countries.

CLASS QUESTIONS

Discuss current, ongoing wars and how they got started. Why do national leaders take risks that can lead to war? Name some events that triggered past wars.

PRIOR TO CLASS VIEWING

Review the CLASSROOM TIPS FOR USING ANY VIDEO CHAPTER .

Use THE U.S.-MEXICAN WAR MAP to point out the area between Corpus Christi on the Nueces River and Matamoros on the Rio Grande. In Mexico, the Rio Grande was called the Rio Bravo del Norte (the fierce river of the North). There are dangerous, swirling currents near Matamoros where the river water pushes toward the Gulf of Mexico.

CONNECTIONS TO SEMESTER STUDIES

Examine the boundaries claimed by the Republic of Texas.

After the U.S.-Mexican War, Ulysses S. Grant served as a general in the Civil War and later as the 18th U.S. President.

Note the value of a "standing army" and "citizen soldiers."

Abraham Lincoln's "spot resolutions," made in January 1848, referred to the incident at Rancho de Carricitos.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES

Ongoing Project

Ask students to continue writing journals about the war and military life from the perspectives of Mexican or U.S. soldiers. Ask them to reflect on these first battles of the war.

Class Discussion

What was at stake on the Rio Grande for both countries' presidents, generals and soldiers? What about the citizens of Matamoros?
Divide the students into focus groups representing different perspectives from each country and discuss the causes of the confrontation. What could each nation have done to avoid the skirmish?

Exercise in Problem Solving

Ask students to write a letter to President Polk and to President Mariano Paredes advising them on what to do next and why.

Mental Mapping

Have students focus on the military maneuvers of both armies and make a presentation to the class. Why did General Arista want to surround the U.S. army? Why did General Taylor risk leaving his troops exposed at Fort Texas to get supplies at Port Isabel?

NCSS Standards	United States	Mexico
VI, X	President James K. Polk's carrot-and-stick approach to get Mexico to yield its territory from New Mexico to California did not work.	Mexico's new president, Mariano Paredes, refused to see U.S. envoy John Slidell, even though the U.S. Army was in a threatening position poised for battle.
III, VI	Polk increased the pressure on Mexico by ordering General Zachary Taylor to move his troops even closer to the Rio Grande, opposite the Mexican Army, which was stationed in Matamoros.	When Paredes heard that the U.S. army was on its way to Matamoros, he declared: "...from this day a defensive war begins."
III, VI, VII	On April 24, 1846, there was a skirmish between the two armies at Rancho de Carricitos. Fourteen U.S. soldiers died. Taylor wrote to Polk: "...Hostilities may now be considered as commenced."
III	Gen. Taylor left 500 men to defend Fort Texas and took 2,000 to the coast to gather more supplies.	General Mariano Arista ordered his army to cross the Rio Grande from two directions to surround the U.S. Army. The Mexican army attacked Fort Texas.
III	On his return, Taylor encountered Arista's army ready to do battle on the plain of Palo Alto. Although his flying artillery was effective, Major Samuel Ringgold was killed and made a national hero.	The Mexican army prepared to do battle on the plain of Palo Alto.
III	When the U.S. infantry broke through the Mexican line, inexperienced troops fled for the river and many drowned trying to cross it.	Fighting commenced the next day at Resaca de la Palma, where the Mexican army had repositioned during the night.
III	On May 18, Gen. Taylor's army occupied Matamoros.	The Mexican army retreated. General Arista escaped but left behind his belongings and important maps, which the U.S. soldiers found in his tent.

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