Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, agreement, signed on February 2, 1848, between the United States and Mexico that marked the end of the Mexican War (1846-1848). The treaty established the boundary between Mexico and Texas at the Río Grande and ceded to the United States over 1,295,000 sq km (500,000 sq mi) of land, more than half of Mexico’s national territory. This land became the states of California, Nevada, and Utah, and parts of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming. In return, the United States paid an indemnity of $15,000,000 and assumed the financial claims of its citizens for damages against Mexico, which amounted to about $3,250,000.

The treaty contained a number of additional provisions. One, which guaranteed that Mexican property rights would be respected, was stricken from the final document by the Congress of the United States. In other provisions of the treaty, the U.S. government promised religious freedom for Mexicans in the conquered territory and agreed to restrain Native Americans from crossing the border to raid settlements in Mexico. The treaty also provided that future disputes between the two countries would be arbitrated.