The Decisive Battles of World History

Outcomes
x Santa Anna was caught and, in exchange for his freedom, signed
two treaties in which he promised to withdraw his troops and work
for Texan independence. Texas spent nine years as an independent
nation, then joined the United States in 1845. Ongoing disagreement
over where the Texas border was located then sparked the Mexican-
American War, which ended with the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Mexico agreed to cede to the United States a further chunk of territory
that included modern California, Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico.

x Bitter debates in Congress over whether such new states as Texas

and those formed out of the territory gained from Mexico should be

slave-owning or not became one of the main issues leading to the

secession of the southern states and the American Civil War.

Fowler, Santa Anna of Mexico.

Haley, Sam Houston.

Moore, Eighteen Minutes.

1. Do you agree with Houston’s strategy to keep retreating, or should he
   have fought Santa Ana earlier?


2. From a Mexican perspective, do you think that Santa Ana was ultimately
   more of a positive or a negative force?

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Questions to Consider