After gaining independence from Spain in the 1820's, Mexico experienced some years of prosperity and peace as a young nation. It would not last as American expansion stretched into Mexican occupied lands. This expansion would lead to a war with the United States, a war that was the height of controversy and discussion among Mexican government officials, soldiers, and citizens. Unfortunately this would lead to a seemingly easy victory for the United States as well as a treaty strongly dictated by the United States. The documents we will look at show a Mexican patriotism and a strong belief against this "manifest destiny" of the invading Americans.
Juan Seguin Mural at Juan Seguin Elementary School in Houston, Texas http://www.johnwayne-thealamo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=131
Juan N. Seguín's A Foreigner in My Native Land (1858)
Seguín was a native of the town of San Antonio long before it was liberated into Texas territory and eventually fought over in the Mexican war. Seguín was eventually forced out of San Antonio, where he had become the mayor, because of his ethnicity. This exemplifies the racial superiority the Americans believed they had. Seguín was an ordinary citizen, never moving from his home town but was eventually forced out due to this war. He expresses his thoughts in this document "A victim to the wickedness of a few men whose false pretenses were favored because of their origin and recent domination over the country, a foreigner in my native land...I served Mexico; I served her loyally and faithfully." You can feel the anguish in his words, describing his ousting due to the color of his skin. This perspective shows us a local citizen who was overtaken by the invading Americans, where his loyalty meant nothing to their conquest of Mexico. Unfortunately we realized this tragedy much later as Seguín is hailed in Texas, as we see from this mural in a Texas elementary school.
(Left): The Mexican Constitution of 1824 (Right): Manuel Crescencio Rejón http://es.slideshare.net/ciroestrada/medios-de-control-constitucional http://www.txindependence.org/sources.php?action=view&id=24&type=theme&title=Grievances&&typeId=4&ru=c291cmNlcy5waHA/YWN0aW9uPWJ5VHlwZSZ0eXBlPXRoZW1lJnR5cGVJZD00
Manuel Crescencio Rejón's Observations on the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)
There were strong opinions in Mexico towards the way the government handled the war, and what was given up in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Rejón was one of these voices, a former writer of the Mexican Constitution in 1824, he served as minister of interior and foreign affairs for the Mexican government. He expressed a lot of anger towards the Mexican government later in his life after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This perspective also shows us a long time Mexican citizen who has seen Mexico when it flourished, he has a lot of pride in his nation and feels the Country has been wronged by the Treaty. He explains in the document "And so we are not only supposed to remain silent while our unjust neighbors make off with the lands which they had at first selected for themselves, but we must also pay them for coming and taking them and others as well, and finally we are expected to confess that they had a right to all of this." He feels wronged and his biggest concern is the loss of the territory which has been claimed by Mexico. In the Treaty we see America claiming the land they forcefully took from the Mexicans, and essentially forcing them to sign the Treaty. These disagreements among citizens and government would lead to a lot of division allowing America to sweep in and take over.
Historical Map of Mexican Settlements, Including Texas in 1822 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Texas
Manuel Mier Y Terán's Letter to War Department (1829)
In the 1820's Mexico had declared Independence from Spain and was quickly faced with the settlement of Texas. Terán was a general in the Mexican army and after surveying the settlement decided it was in the best interest of Mexico to create stricter policies towards Americans immigrating to Texas. He believed an overpopulation of Americans could lead to a war if Texas were to declare independence. Unfortunately Terán was accurate in his predictions, as Texas was eventually over populated with Americans and declared independence. This letter or rather the ignoring of this letter showcases the divisions in the Mexican government and military, had this letter been taken more seriously, had more been done about immigration, a war might've been avoided. Terán predicts this war when he says "If war should break out, it would be be expedient to suppress it in a single campaign-a less expensive method than to be always on the defensive." These words would not be taken seriously as Texas soon after declared its Independence and a war did break out, a rather quick one but to the demise of the Mexican nation. This shows the perspective of a military general who was on the ground and saw what was happening to his country, a patriot who just wanted to be heard. Wishing to avoid this "unwanted" war.