Guadalupe Hidalgo
January 15, 1848
Distinguished Don Luis Gonzaga Cuevas, Don Bernardo Couto, and Don Miguel Atistain, I am an extremely proud Mexican citizen living in a New Mexican territory. I have been given land by the King of Spain and have recently received the details of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty portrays insincerity and presents us with an unjustifiable position. The result of the treaty would put us in an even worse situation than we are in now. My points should be recognized because I am very knowledgeable about the treaty, my family has been living in the territory of New Mexico for many generations, I am a strong follower of God, and I know what is best for Mexico. We, as the country of Mexico, can’t sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo as we will lose much of our land for a small cost, we will not be given U.S. citizenship immediately, and our land grants will not be honored which will lead to an abominable future for the country of Mexico. Mexico would be giving up an immense amount of land by signing the treaty. The treaty states, “The boundary line between the two republics shall…” The United States is telling us what land to give up, instead of giving us a choice. Although the U.S. is willing to pay us $15 million for some of our land and pay for war-related damages, this amount of money is not large enough. The treaty proposes we give up our land between the west coast of California to the Rio Grande. There could possibly be gold in this land worth more than that price. The U.S. would be basically stealing this land. The United States have already taken a large amount of land from France during the Louisiana Purchase and they are willing to do it again. The U.S. is becoming very good at taking land from less developed countries. Although the U.S. says that we will become U.S. citizens as soon as possible, this isn’t the case. “The Mexicans…shall be incorporated into the Union of the United States, and admitted as soon as possible” is a
Distinguished Don Luis Gonzaga Cuevas, Don Bernardo Couto, and Don Miguel Atistain, I am an extremely proud Mexican citizen living in a New Mexican territory. I have been given land by the King of Spain and have recently received the details of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty portrays insincerity and presents us with an unjustifiable position. The result of the treaty would put us in an even worse situation than we are in now. My points should be recognized because I am very knowledgeable about the treaty, my family has been living in the territory of New Mexico for many generations, I am a strong follower of God, and I know what is best for Mexico. We, as the country of Mexico, can’t sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo as we will lose much of our land for a small cost, we will not be given U.S. citizenship immediately, and our land grants will not be honored which will lead to an abominable future for the country of Mexico. Mexico would be giving up an immense amount of land by signing the treaty. The treaty states, “The boundary line between the two republics shall…” The United States is telling us what land to give up, instead of giving us a choice. Although the U.S. is willing to pay us $15 million for some of our land and pay for war-related damages, this amount of money is not large enough. The treaty proposes we give up our land between the west coast of California to the Rio Grande. There could possibly be gold in this land worth more than that price. The U.S. would be basically stealing this land. The United States have already taken a large amount of land from France during the Louisiana Purchase and they are willing to do it again. The U.S. is becoming very good at taking land from less developed countries. Although the U.S. says that we will become U.S. citizens as soon as possible, this isn’t the case. “The Mexicans…shall be incorporated into the Union of the United States, and admitted as soon as possible” is a