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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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".

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

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.

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.

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.

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.