Article Review: Independent Indians and the U.S. – Mexican War

Delay analyzes the part played by the Texas Indians in the U.S.-Mexican War in this article.

Indians from the Southwest of the United States primarily encroached on the vulnerable people of Northern Mexico. The Comanche Indians in particular possessed a remarkable amount of power, which they would use to battle their Mexican neighbors for control of Texas in the summer of 1845.

Political tensions and the impact on relations between the two nations

Political tensions brought on by the war impacted the relations between the two nations. Unquestionably, Mexican military forces were so weak as a result of Texas Indian attacks that continued into the 1830s that they were unable to resist the U.S. Army in 1846. Nonetheless, there is the question whether the 1846 war was triggered by the superiority of the U.S Army or the individual interests of the Indians that influenced them to raid Northern Mexico since the 1830’s. Notably, both the state power and the individual interests of the Texas Indians could have triggered the deteriorating political relations between the U.S and Mexico in the mid-19th century.

The role of politics in the conflicts between the Texas Indians and the Mexicans

Therefore, the Indians in Texas played a part in shaping up the history of the Americas. Nonetheless, the role of politics in influencing the conflicts between the Texas Indians and the Mexicans since the 1830’s is not captured. The political leaders in both Northern Mexico and Southwestern U.S could have triggered the constant raids that lasted for 15 years. Conversely, the author notes that before 1830, negotiations acted as the preferred ways of settling livestock thefts, kidnappings, and killings. Surprisingly, the communities on either side of the border abandoned the traditional conflict management approaches thereby leading to increased raids. In this light, one would suspect that political influence facilitated a deterioration of the relationships between Indians in Texas and their neighbors in Northern Mexico.

The resistance of the Indians in Texas against colonial powers

The author identifies the uprising nature of the Indians in Texas since 1810 that led to the decline of the Spanish authority as one of the factors that contributed to the aggressiveness of the community. Therefore, this pinpoints that the Indians in Texas had a history of resistance against colonial powers thereby making raids become an aspect of their culture. For this reason, they sought economic dominance by attacking the Mexicans. Nonetheless, one would raise the question the underlying factors leading to the weakness of the communities living in Northern Mexico.

The regional system’s efforts towards peace over conflict

The author identifies the efforts of the regional system towards underlining the essence of peace over conflict as one of the key strategies towards ending the colonial era in northern Mexico. Mainly, the efforts sought to halt the organized conflicts characterized by livestock theft and slave trade. In this regard, it is important to note that an improvement of the political relations between Mexico and the U.S required the creation of an environment that protect the rights of the Indians of Texas as well as their neighbors over the other side of the border.

The economic activities of the Indians of Texas and their impact on the conflict

Thus, the article reveals that the economic activities of the Indians of Texas contributed to the conflict experienced between 1830 and 1846. Importantly, the article shows that the need for economic development in Texas triggered the Indians to raid Northern Mexico in search for captives, horses, mules, and sheep. The raided animals provided transportation as well as wealth for the Indians of Texas and thus, the need for improving their economic welfare played an integral part in triggering the 1846 war.

The connections between the U.S and the outside world

The economic trigger of the Mexican was can also be attributed to the connections the U.S had with the outside world. As such, the political influence of the U.S prior to 1821 ensures the Indians of Texas such Apaches could acquire firearms to raid the northern Mexico communities for captives as well as animals. Therefore, the possibility of the government officials in Texas facilitating the raids holds water to a considerable degree as the Apaches easily acquired arms to subdue the inferior Mexican population.

The political framework and its support for exploitation

Further, the economic triggers of the raids imply that the adopted political framework in Southwestern U.S supported the exploitation of the communities living in northern Mexico. Particularly, the constant raids suggest that the policies implemented in Texas among other Southwestern regions encouraged Indian tribes such as the Comanche and Kiowa to encroach the foreign territories for wealth creation and sustainability of the economy. Further, it is evident that the political framework adopted in the Southwestern region of the U.S supported large campaigns that saw warriors cross over to the Mexican territories. During the period between 1834 and 1846, the officials in Texas commissioned at least 100 warriors in at least 30 occasions to carry out campaigns in the Mexican landscape. Therefore, it is evident that both the interests of the Apaches, Comanche, and Kiowa as well as the adopted political framework facilitated the 1846 Mexican war.

Article Review: The Indians of the Southwest in the Diplomacy of the United States and Mexico, 1848-1853.

The failure of implementing Article XI of the Guadalupe Hidalgo treaty

The failure of implementing Article XI of the Guadalupe Hidalgo treaty triggered diplomatic discussions between the United States and Mexico between 1848 and 1843. Treaty sought to protect the interests of the Indians in Texas after the establishment of a new boundary between Southwestern U.S and Northern Mexico. As such, in this article, Fred Rippy exposes the diplomatic influences of the Texas Indians in implementing the diplomatic agenda after a previous spell of conflict.

Efforts to prevent the entry of Texas Indians in Mexico

Particularly, the new diplomatic arrangement sought to prevent the entry of Texas Indians in Mexico, penalize the buying of captives from Mexico, rescue captives and handing them over to the Mexican authorities, and implement policies that would protect Mexico. Therefore, the diplomatic engagements sought to facilitate the realization of beneficial relationships between the two countries especially, along the U.S-Mexico borderline.

President Polk and the identification of New Mexico

Interestingly, the article puts it that President Polk encouraged the identification of New Mexico as an American province after a worrisome initial period created by the interest of the Indians in Texas. Therefore, the U.S had to assume the responsibility of the Indians to create an environment that promoted effective relationships between communities around Northern Mexico and the Southwestern region of the U.S. However, it turned out that the federal union in Texas undermined the cooperation of the Indians towards the realization of security in the southwestern region of the country. Therefore, diplomatic efforts were not very effective since they failed to involve the key stakeholders in the issue. In this case, the failure to implement Article XI of the Guadalupe Treaty is attributed to the lack of commitment among the government officials since they only negotiated by never implemented the solutions amicably.

The protection of the Indian in Texas

The diplomatic engagements sought to protect the Indian in Texas including Apaches and Comanche from raiding northern Mexico for the sustainability of their livelihood. In this regard, Congress had to intervene in providing agents that would facilitate the implementation of the treaty to restrict slave trade as well as the oppression of the people of Northern Mexico. The need for effective communication called for the deployment of at least four officials that facilitated the communication of the new policy among the residents.

The challenges in promoting peace after the war

The article clearly underlines the essence of promoting peace after the Mexican war in 1846. Therefore, the article denotes the need to engage the Indians in Texas towards creating an environment that supported peaceful coexistence. Particularly, the author underlines that efforts of the Senate to implement a policy that sought to disarm the Indians of Texas and neighboring communities failed due to lack of cooperation from the policy makers. For this reason, the diplomatic engagements seeking to facilitate a streamlined implementation of the treaty was undermined by the individual interests of the policymakers. Thus, both the individual interests of the Indians of Texas and the policy makers made it difficult to create an environment that embraced peace over war.

The control of the State over the public lands and its impact on peace

The article reveals that, by 1850, Indians in Texas could not acquire land easily to foster their survival. As such, the control of the State over the public lands undermined the successful implementation of Article XI of the treaty. In this regard, it was crucial for the government to create an environment that protected the rights of the Indians in Texas or else, undermine the efforts geared towards promoting peace in the Texas. For this reason, after the war, there was a need to establish regulations that guided the trade and intercourse interactions among the people of New Mexico as well as Texas. The regulations were critical since they sought to facilitate the abolition of slavery as well as forceful intermarriages.

The failure to promote land ownership equitably

Importantly, the need to establish laws that guided the economic and matrimonial relationships of the Indians of Texas with other tribes was the main focus of the Secretary of Interior in 1849. However, the failure to promote land ownership equitably among the different tribes in Texas angered the Indians since the land was viewed as an important aspect of the economic growth and development as new members of the Union. As such, it is evident that the State frustrated the diplomatic efforts geared towards promoting peace between the Indians of Texas and New Mexico. Notably, the Congress has the authority to control the trade relationship between the Indians of Texas and other parties, it failed to do so effectively and thus, frustrate the natives in the region as they felt left out in terms of providing them equitable opportunities for growth after the Mexican war.

The commitment of the Texas authorities towards peace

Towards the latter years of 1850, the commitment of the Texas authorities towards the creation of a peaceful environment saw the culmination of the outrages that undermined peaceful coexistence in the Southwestern parts of the U.S. Notably, the deployment of soldiers to the border region to prevent the trade of captives, as well as raids, proved to be effective towards the creation of an environment that upheld the rights of the Mexicans as well as the Indians of Texas. Therefore, it is evident that the Indians of Texas played a crucial role in the diplomatic processes that sought to create peace between the U.S and its Southwestern neighbor after the Mexican war.

Bibliography

DeLay, Brian. “Independent Indians and the US-Mexican war.” The American Historical Review 112, no. 1 (2007): 35-68.

Rippy, J. Fred. “The Indians of the Southwest in the Diplomacy of the United States and Mexico, 1848-1853.” Hispanic American Historical Review (1919): 363-396.