Causes
Effects
People
Places/Maps
Mystery!
Mexico & The Southwest Trivia
100
At the request of the Mexican government, which group of people started immigrating to Tejas (Texas) in the 1820s?
White Americans
100
Shortly after the Mexican-American war, thousands of (mostly, but not entirely!) young, unemployed white men went to California looking for a very valuable material.
What were they looking for, and what do we call this event?
Gold, The California Gold Rush or just The Gold Rush
100
A member of the House of Representatives who opposed the Mexican-American War.
Abraham Lincoln.
100
This state was once its own independent country before being annexed by the United States in 1845, one year before the start of the Mexican American War.
Texas
100
Did most Texans actually want to be an independent nation?
No, most wanted to be annexed/become part of the United States.
100
Which fast-food restaurant claims to serve Mexican food but actually serves Tex-Mex, a type of food that combines the foods of actual Mexicans and white American settlers in Texas?
Taco Bell
200
What three things did the Mexican government expect all Texan settlers to do?
All settlers were expected to become Mexican citizens.
All settlers were expected to become Catholic.
All settlers were expected to free their slaves.
200
The Mexican-American war allowed for the spread of what American institution into the Western half of North America?
Slavery.
200
This man coined the term "Civil Disobedience" and went refused to pay taxes because he opposed the Mexican American War. He went to jail for this action.
Henry David Thoreau
200
According to this map, what was the area of Mexico conquered by the United States known as?
Mexican Cession
200
Did California enter the United States as a free state or a slave state?
Free state.
200
The Apache, Pueblo, Hopi, and Mojave are all what type of people?
Indigenous people, specifically the indigenous people of the Southwestern United States.
300
What was the three major differences between white American settlers in Texas and the Mexican government?
(100 points for each answer)
1. Different religion
2. Different understanding of how the government should work (politics)
3. Americans wanted slavery, which Mexico had abolished.
300
What years did the Mexican American war occur in?
1846 - 1848
300
What was James K. Polk's job during the Mexican-American war?
POTUS (President of the United States)
300
The "Viceroyalty of New Spain" would go on to be what country, formed in 1821?
The Mexican Republic (Mexico)
300
Did territories like New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah enter the United States as free or slave states?
Slave states.
300
Located in Arizona, this National Park was known as Wikatata by the indigenous Havasupai nation?
The Grand Canyon
400
What did the United States attempt to do before declaring war on Mexico?
They attempted to purchase the lands they would later conquer during the Mexican-American War.
400
Name at least three states became part of the USA as a result of the Mexican-American War.
California, Nevada, and Utah. It also included parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming.
400
Who is depicted in this image?
Settlers
400
Which was acquired first: the Green or Yellow sections of the map?
Green, Oregon Country, was acquired in a trade deal with the British in 1846, the same year that the US declared war on Mexico.
400
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican American war. How much money did the US have to pay Mexico in exchange for nearly half of all Mexican Territory?
1. 200 million dollars?
2. 300 million pesos?
3. 15 million dollars?
3. 15 million dollars in 1840s money, or about 500 million dollars in today's money.
400
Mexican colonizers divided California into 2 parts: Baja and Alta california. Which part is which?
North is Alta, or "high," California
South is Baja, or "low," California
500
Looking at the pre-war boundaries of this map, why did the United States go to war with Mexico? What concept or idea might have inspired President James K. Polk to declare war?
President James K. Polk wanted to go to war with Mexico to complete US control over most of North America. He was inspired by the concept of Manifest Destiny.
500
The Mexican-American War is often cited as a reason for the creation of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Why might people describe it this way?
The MA war allowed slavery to expand into the Western United States, making slave owners more politically powerful. This helped escalate the tensions between pro and anti-slavery Americans, eventually requiring the Kansas-Nebraska act to (supposedly) settle the question.
500
The leader of Mexico during the early days of its independence and during the Mexican-American War. Also known as the Mexican George Washington and The Napoleon of the West.
General Antonio López de Santa Anna
500
What is the Gadsden Purchase?
An area of land that the US did not conquer during the Mexican American war that it later bought from the Mexican government.
500
What were the differences between how white settlers and indigenous Americans in the Southwest/California understood land & natural resources?
Many (though not all) indigenous Americans viewed land and natural resources as shared goods that were sacred and to be managed/protected.
The settlers viewed land and natural resources as something to be destroyed and exploited.
500
Think way back to SDL Module 4.1. During the Mexican-American war, a group of immigrants to the United States defected (went over) to the Mexican side of the Mexican American War because they were disgusted at how the Americans were treating the Mexicans.
What country were these immigrants from?
Ireland
