The Mexican American War: The War that Made Modern America 

That's pretty insane how one war fought paved the way for civil wars on both sides afterward.

So glad you got this quote in: "For myself, I was bitterly opposed to the measure [for war], and to this day regard the war, which resulted, as one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation." ~Ulysses S. Grant

I'm glad you told the truth, cause most Americans don't know why this war was unjust

By giving West Point cadets a chance to use their book learning, the Mexican-American war gave those officers involved (Grant,yes, also Lee, whose performance on the road from Veracruz marked him as a rising star. ) experience. The early civil war was marked by battles lost by officers without this experience and battles won by officers who had already lived through the stresses of combat. Excellent show, how about a few more maps next time? Illustrate just what distances supply lines had to operate over.

You already covered the Franco-Prussian war but I think another really good, lesser known, war that you could cover would be the Russo-Japanese War. Highly influential to the way the Japanese military would conduct itself in WWII and often gets glossed over as a mere footnote leading up to WWI.

1:20 - Chapter 1 - South of the (disputed) border 4:40 - Chapter 2 - A game of dominions 8:15 - Chapter 3 - War games 11:50 - Chapter 4 - Opening salvos 15:55 - Chapter 5 - Take me to monterrey 19:40 - Chapter 6 - The american cortés 22:20 - Chapter 7 - Aftershocks

"Strictly speaking, it wasn't true, but strictly speaking Congress didn't give a f*ck." US Congress in a nutshell.

Actually super happy you mentioned St. Patrick's battalion. Fairly unknown and a pretty important part of history.

As a professional historian, I always refer to the Mexican American War as the "Cameo War". As in so many Civil War generals first appear in this war.

Please note that there is a US National Cemetery located in the center of Mexico City. It is "owned" by the US Department of State and administered by the American Battlefield Monuments Commission. It was given to the US as a place to inter the remains of about 750 US unknown soldiers from the Mexican War. Burials and interments of US citizens, primarily diplomatic and military personnel and families, until the early 1920's. This is a unique site and worth a visit.

You should do a video on the Batallón de San Patricio. The core was formed around US Army deserters, but they were more than that, and the reasons for their desertions shouldn't be swept under the rug. Plus their existence forced some changes in the US Army, including making sure soldiers were not denied the freedom to practice their particular religious beliefs. The US Army even denied their existence until a congressional investigation in 1915.

Hello! Thanks for the video. I'm a humanities professor, Mexican, and this is a great video. But personally, I would spend more time on the New Mexico and California campaigns. In both cases there were some Mexican victories, but they ended before the invasion of Veracruz and Central Mexico. By then the American objectives had already been achieved. Regards

This was a great breakdown of the setup, specifics and consequences of this war. Great Job 👍. Recommendation for next video would be Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.

Back when a president had to ask congress to start a war. Good times

The Mexican-American War also led to the Comanche War which took decades to finish. The Comanches controlled more of Texas than the Mexicans or Spanish ever did. The Comanches were among the most skilled horse archers the world had ever seen.

This war gained more territory but also had the effect of making the slavery issue more difficult for us to deal with and fast forwarding the arrival of the Civil War.

Thanks for a brilliant summation of this surprisingly little-known war. How about the French and Indian War next? Maybe with its tie-in with the Seven Years War.

Hey Simon & Co, Awesome vid as usual. Are you guys considering doing a video on the Paraguayan War (1864-1870)? One of the most bloodiest war in Latin American history.

The US Marine Corps "Marine's Hymn" starts with "From the Halls of Montezuma" in recognition of the taking of the Castle of Chapultapec. Likewise the red "blood" stripes on the pants of the dress blue uniforms of NCO's and commissioned officers is in honor of the many marine NCO's and officers killed in the battle.

The Mexican American War and the Spanish American War don't get enough attention. They really helped define the path the US would take on the world stage. A tv mini series about each, that tells the truth from each side would be good.

Simon is on fire! Into the Shadows, Decoding the Unknown and now Warographics, the new channels are a treat!

I spend 10 hours a day 5 days a week listening to biographies, war history, and history in general. I'm glad I found you.

"For myself," Grant wrote later about the United States war against Mexico, "I was bitterly opposed to the measure, and to this day regard the war, which resulted, as one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation."

I served in the U.S. Army's 3d Cavalry Regiment, which was stood up in 1846 as the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen. On 20 August 1847, after losing almost all their horses and fighting dismounted in hand-to-hand combat at the Battle of Contreras, General Winfield Scott came upon the bloodied and exhausted Regiment and gave them a short speech that has stayed with the Regiment ever since. General Scott removed his hat, bowed low, and said: "Brave Rifles! Veterans! You have been baptized in fire and blood and have come out steel!" The Regiment has been known as the Brave Rifles ever since and the Regimental motto became "Blood and Steel".

Hey Simon (i have the same name as you :p), I love how you're doing more obscure wars on this channel. I'd absolutely LOOOVE a video on the cod wars or the Falklands war! Love the new channel, keep up the awesome contemt, you mad lad

12:41 My great great grandfather died in that battle. Major Samuel Ringgold. Aka "Father of modern artillery" Through his research at West Point it was one of his innovation to load lighter gun/cannons mounted on carriages and pulled by horses, called "Flying Artillery" it was a huge factor in winning the battle. An enemy cannonball however ripped through his legs & the horse beneath him & he died 3 days later.

Love this new channel! If you've the stomach for it (and I'd totally understand if not) a video on the R*pe of Nanjing, and how it tied into the 2nd Sino-Japanese war, the Second Work War and even the subsequent Chinese civil war would be worth a deep dive. But again, it is truly horrific so I'd understand shelving it or not even touching it.

Thanks for the history lesson today.. I really appreciate what your doing.

You should do the North-West Rebellion, when the Métis peoples of the Canadian plains rose up and fought pitched battles with government forces and the RCMP on the praries

I'm American but honestly I feel bad for Mexico. They have so many extraordinary figures like Father Hidalgo and Madero/Villa/Zapata, all a match for many American heroes, but all elevated by tragedy, while many American founding fathers ended up dying in their beds surrounded by loved ones. Yet try as hard as they all did it seems like their history was a constant lurching of one disaster to another. They've honestly come out pretty alright though compared to a country like Venezuela

Awesome video! I've always wanted sharp details into this conflict.

Nicely done as usual, Simon. Keep em coming!

Winfield Scott was a southerner who stuck with the Union. His Anaconda Plan was brilliant, but only the smartest Union commanders believed in it, such as Grant. When Grant took Fort Donelson, Scott sent him a copy of his memoirs with a note, calling him the "greatest general". Once Grant was in charge of the army, he enacted Scott's plan to the letter.

Am loving this new channel. Very informative and interesting videos. Excellent job Simon and team!

Well done! Thanks. I really like how you summed up the war.

Another great video by Simon and his team. Recommendation - the American Civil War naval battle between the Merrimack and the Monitor. The technology, the tactics, the location etc.

By far, this is the most entertaining way to learn history. Thank you!!

The ,,San Patricios'' make an interesting subject. The whole subject of Irish immigrants in the US Military is a curious one. In the 1840s Irish immigrants were mocked and villified by the ''Native'' faction who were mainly WASPs. Even so the Army had recruiters at the NY docks eager to sign Irish men into the service, long before the Civil War. The Irish Brigades [mostly on the Union side] sagas in that War are well documented. What many Americans [Especially Irish/Americans] don't know much about is the 1866 Fenian invasion of Lower Canada by some of these same Union veterans, who retained their arms [or re-armed themselves]. It has been suggested that the Federal Gov't turned a blind eye to the build-up because of unnofficial resentment at perceived Pro-Confederate leanings by Canada, Great Britain and the Commonwealth during the War.

Great work! Thank you for your excellent reporting of a little know war.

Great video on the Mexican American war!, love the objective approach to the narrative!. It’d be nice if you did a video on the Peruvian Chilean war of the pacific, or so we call it as such down here in Peru. A war fought by a country to honor a secret defense deal with another, yet that “other” country (Bolivia) up bailing from the fight, pretty much leaving Peru fight a better equipped Chile. Greetings from Peru

Love the new channel! I'd be tickled pink if you could cover the war of 1812! If you're open to suggestions that is 😁 Thanks for the awesome content!

The st Patrick's batallion was comprised of Irishmen who deserted and fought with Mexico, the Americans were incredibly racist towards them that's why they decided to fight and die for Mexico. Very brave men

Well done, Simon. Thank you.

One interesting point: while Mexico lost 50% of its territory, it lost less than 1% of its population

Simon and crew are killing it! I learned a lot about the war that I never knew.

Yes! Finally, thank you Simon for covering this war, as well as mentioning the Niños Heroes and the St. Patrick's Battalion. Not many Americans knew about this war for years, unlike Mexico which remembers the Intervencion Estadounidense or gran zarpazo only too well.

VERY well done, Simon and team!

Incredible presentation. Gracias, From Mexico

very interesting, it's nice to finally have a clear summary of this war

I know you've made videos on key figures of it, but I wonder if you'd just do a full video on the Mexican Revolution here?

Annexation= "We'll take it when we want to M-Fers"

I'm in brooklyn 40 years never new none that. That was among greatest content iv seen. Ty for taking the time.

My mom grew up on a ranch in what she terms "Old Mexico". Their ranch was just south of the Arkansas River and right across the road from Bent's Old Fort in SE Colorado. Strange and twisted history in that area, but the best cantaloupes on Earth.

Great video guys, I have a suggestion for videos, do a four-part series of the Anglo-Dutch Wars. Obviously not all at the same time but I think that would be cool

You are one of my FAVOURITE youtube historians - top three for sure (along with mark felton and Ian McCollum)

U finally did it u mad lad! I’ve been waiting for this channel

I really appreciate how this video really captures the essence of the conflict. It was one of the first instances of American exceptionalism picking on the little guy and calling itself king. Implementing shady anti-sentiment tactics that persist to this day. I would have liked to see other details about Mexico's struggles leading up to the war. Yes chaos, fragmentation, revolt, and desertion resulting from Santa Anna's centralist policies played a part, but this era is known by many Mexicans as the war on three fronts because of the war against the Americans, the war against itself, and the continued interventions of Spain and France. Spain continued to antagonize from it's stronghold in Cuba while France staged the first invasion with the pastry war while this conflict persisted. You don't want to take anything away from Scott's military genius. But it's not hard to march on a broken nation that is also fighting off other major European powers and insurrection at the time of these events. Since gaining independence mexico has been fighting unable to mend itself. First against the Spanish, then the French, then the Americans, then the French again, the Spanish again, and finally the revolution. It's nice to see someone shedding light on a nation that did not stop fighting despite the notion that we are weak and give up easily.

Thanks for a great breakdown of a truly forgotten war. Just one thing, you kept calling The Mexican leader “Satarana” instead of Santa Anna or “Santana”. Just a small detail coming from a native Spanish speaker. Keep up the good work.

New channel so excited. Love them all

Hahaha, this was in my recommended and my first thought was I bet this is another Simon channel… Thanks as always for the great content!

Grew up 80/90s. Knew almost nothing of this war. Thanks for the video Simon.

Great historical narrative of Mexican American war! I would have enjoyed a rolling map showing battle sites and change in territory of topography

Outstanding video sir. Thank you

"Manifested Destiny" is a nice way to call invasion and colonization

I can't wait until the prequel: *The Texas Revolution*

Thank you! I'll look more into this war

To Simon and the whole team. Thank you.

There is a residential section on the North Side of Pittsburgh,Pa called The Mexican War Streets. It was laid out at the time of the Mexican American War and streets were named after some of the battles. ,like Resaca Place.

Loving how this channel covers the full scope and reason of conflict more like the other graphics channels. Goddamn Simon. I love 😘 u.

Nice to see that unlike your other videos, this is fairly unbiased.

All your videos are awesome beyond awesome. Thank you.

Request for a video on the New Orleans Greys. William G Cooke (husband's ancestor) was the only senior officer to survive the war. Super interesting topic!

I’m half Hispanic half Caucasian and live in this area. It is because of this war that I am alive today. War is obviously bad but the past is why we are all here.

Living this channel! Keep them coming.

Just another Simon channel, subbed!

Enjoy your program. I hope you will do one on the Texas Revolution of 1835-36 and Republic if Texas soon. You did a good job of describing briefly the rolls these played in the run-up to the Mexica-American War.

Zachary Taylor was a truly interesting man. I hope you do a Biographics video on him someday. Also, recommendations: Teutoburg ✔ Winter War ✔ Paraguayan War ✔ War of Spanish Succession Naseby

No matter what I know about history I love learning more, you are a good teacher, thank you

Very interesting, thank you for the video.

To the video editor on this one.... 👍Good job!!! That thumbs up from Napoleon, almost made me spew coffee out of my nose 👃

San Patricios battalion with the Gaeilge Slogan Erin go Bragh 🇮🇪

Great video. so important to shed some light on this seemingly near forgotten chapter in history. As an American, I do believe it was so brushed over in history classes because you can’t hide the imperialistic motive. The revolution or the war to end slavery is so much more gratifying to discuss.

Nice job. Thanks! 😀

It takes a special kind of arrogance for a Brit to bang on the USA for empire building.

I highly recommend Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian which specifically addresses this period.

Glad y’all do this war. We learned very little about it in school.

Well documented commentary. Would like you to do a similar series on the British expansion of empire with the same vigor and cutting remarks.

3:31 "Nueces" is pronounced "noo-Way-sess", for the record

This war reflects the Ukraine/Russian conflict the most.

I jiggle everytime you say Santa Rana, it literally means Holy shefrog😆. Love your videos man, keep up the good work!

Great video. I live in sunny Scottsdale Arizona, named after Winfield Scott.

Excellent video, as always. It's interesting to read Ulysses S. Grant's recount of his experiences in the Mexican-American War in his autobiography. As Simon indicated, he thought it an unjust and immoral war.

Winfield Scott did an amazing job on that campaign. I consider that his finest hour.

So happy I found this channel. Not to be the echo chamber comment, but some more maps would make this sub-channel like a high quality, weekly, historical show.

Good video

Great video! I'm surprised you didn't link to the bio of James K. Polk or mention the They Might Be Giants song about him. Contrary to what this video says, Polk _did_ confront Britain over the Oregon Territory. He threatened war ("54-40 or Fight!") and managed to bluff the British into selling a big chunk of the territory to the USA. The video did a good job talking about why Polk was so eager for a war. There were concerns about other Great Powers using their colonial possessions as a beachhead from which to establish a rivalry on the continent with the United States. There was also a sense that they were establishing the map which would define foreign affairs in North America for centuries to come. A continent split among several strong countries would be prone to constant maneuvering and warfare that would only get more intense as settlement of the largely empty* country turned lines on a map into facts on the ground; in other words, the hated European balance of power system. A powerful America that controlled the whole continent, or at least most of it, would be like Great Britain writ large: protected by two oceans and with no major military rivals on its borders. A country capable of sitting out European and euro-style endless politicking/warfare and living in Splendid Isolation. In other words, the Mexican American war sits perfectly between the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 and the Wild West of 1865-1890. Concerns that Germany might help Mexico vs the USA helped provoke a pacifist United States into entering World War I. Enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine in the 1960s brought America to the brink of nuclear war, and remains a tenet of US foreign policy to this day. All to maintain a continental hegemony so strong that infighting would be all but impossible, and giving the United States most of the benefits of being a British-style island nation. Waiting to unify the continent later, once other European or euro-style nation-states had already settled it, would require wars of conquest, occupations, and Empire. As Simon pointed out, a war of naked aggression and conquest vs Mexico was already a challenge to America's idealism. A _future_ series of empire-building wars against established powers to dominate the continent by force would shake America's public morality even more. Finally, it was already clear that the material prosperity would be gargantuan... but still finite. America's sense of itself was also defined by its frontier, but it was already becoming clear that frontier was a limited resource that Americans seeking a new start would quickly fill. These moral considerations were very important to a young, idealistic democracy, especially since it was about to fight the single bloodiest war in its history (more casualties than even World War II) over a basic question of political morality. Contradictory, even hypocritical? Absolutely, but that's how ideological/religious/revolutionary movements operate. America still struggles with morality vs realpolitik (plus the fighting among the moralists about just which morals are the right ones). * Apologies to the native american nations, of course. To the expansionists, they didn't really count and were already being systematically wiped out.

Now I want a Biographic for General and President Zachary Taylor.

Good video 👍

Not a well read historian, I love history, and you tell the story well. Keeps my attention, well done,in so many history channels out there. Subbed

Do you think you could do an episode on the Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg? It is the single bloodiest day in American history with over 22,000 casualties. For comparison there were a bit over 10,000 combined Allied casualties at the Normandy landings. My family has multiple people that fought and died there with The Texas Brigade under Hood at Millers cornfield. It was some truly gruesome fighting with the Texas Brigade suffering over 60% casualties. When asked where his division was Hood simply replied dead on the field. Love the work you do Simon!