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GADSDEN PURCHASE

GADSDEN PURCHASE. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)ended the Mexican-American War but it did not settle the so-called Mexican question. The United States was soon charged with not enforcing Article XI, which promised Mexico protection from inroads of American Indians. A boundary-line dispute also arose involving territory held necessary by some Americans for a southern railroad route to the Pacific Ocean. The activities of American speculators in Mexico increased diplomatic tension. In 1849 P. A. Hargous of New York City purchased the Garay grant, made in 1842 by the Mexican government to open a transit concession across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Mexico nullified this concession in 1851, but in 1853 A. G. Sloo was given an almost identical

grant. Both Hargous and Sloo demanded American protection for their concessions.

In July 1853 President Franklin Pierce instructed James Gadsden, minister to Mexico, to make a treaty not only settling the issues involved but also securing enough territory for the proposed southern railroad route. Financial needs of the administration of Antonio López de Santa Anna aided negotiation of a treaty whereby territory in northern Mexico was sold to the United States. The Gadsden Treaty, as it became known, abrogated Article XI of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, but the United States was to aid in suppressing Indian depredations. For these concessions the United States would pay Mexico $15 million and assume all claims of its citizens against Mexico, including the Hargous claim. The United States promised to cooperate in suppressing filibustering expeditions.

The treaty met strong opposition in the Senate, where antislavery senators condemned further acquisition of slave territory. Lobbying by speculators worsened the treaty's reputation. Some senators objected to furnishing Santa Anna financial assistance. The Senate, by a narrow margin, ratified the treaty on 25 April 1854, but only after reducing the territory to be acquired to that considered essential for the railroad route. The Senate also deleted all mention of private claims and filibustering expeditions. The payment to Mexico was lowered to $10 million, and the Senate inserted an article promising American protection to the Sloo grantees. A combination of the advocates of the southern railroad route and the friends of the Sloo grant made ratification possible.

By the Gadsden Treaty the United States secured 45,535 square miles of territory. This tract became known as the Gadsden Purchase and today encompasses the southern part of Arizona and New Mexico.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fehrenbacher, Don E. The Era of Expansion: 1800–1848. New York: Wiley, 1969.

Garber, Paul Neff. The Gadsden Treaty. Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1959.

Potter, David Morris. The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861. New York: Harper & Row, 1976.

Paul Neff Garber/A. G.

See also Bryan-Chamorro Treaty; Compromise of 1850; Confirmation by the Senate; Indian Claims Commission; Mexican-American War; Soto, Hernando de, Explorations of.