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I am an amateur historian with only a couple days' research under my belt, but I am putting together a theory that paints the Mexican-American War as a war of purely American aggression (Texas as the Crimea of the U.S.). Perhaps this theory has already been accepted by historians?

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    What would you consider a "relevant Mexican authority"? It could be argued that Santa Anna was nominally head of state when the Treaties of Velasco were signed. It was repudiated by José Justo Corro, who was interim President in Santa Anna's absence. This general timespan was not exactly the most stable in the history of Mexican government...
    – Comintern
    Sep 19, 2014 at 1:18
  • Comintern, can you clarify how Santa Anna might have been considered the head of state?
    – Corey
    Sep 19, 2014 at 2:12
  • In the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico acknowledged that their border ended at the Rio Grande. Whether this counts or not depends on what you're looking for, which you need to make clearer.
    – Joe
    Sep 19, 2014 at 2:21
  • Santa Anna would be considered the head of state as he was elected President of Mexico in 1833. I think that would qualify as both relevant and Mexican and he definitely acknowledged the secession of Texas.
    – ed.hank
    Apr 15, 2017 at 14:06

2 Answers 2

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Did any relevant Mexican authority ever acknowledge the secession of Texas before the start of the Mexican-American War?

No.

Small clashes arose between the two countries for several years afterward. The war between Texas and Mexico did not truly come to an end until the Mexican-American War of 1846.

A theory that paints the Mexican-American War as a war of purely American aggression (Texas as the Crimea of the U.S.). Perhaps this theory has already been accepted by historians?

Yes, of course this is the accepted theory among the Soviet/Russian historians. It has, of course, nothing to do with reality.

  1. Texas was de facto independent for 10 years(!) until the Mexican-American War. Russian troops entered the Ukrainian province of Crimea in the spring of 2014, then rigged a "referendum".

  2. Russia guaranteed the Ukrainian borders in 1994, then violated its own guarantees 20 years later. The borders between Mexico and the US in the early 19th century were much more nebulous: they were the outcome of the Seven Years' War and defined borders between France and Spain.

  3. Texas was empty of both Mexicans and Americans early in the 19th century (there were Amerindians there, but they "do not count" for the purposes of this question). Americans colonized it faster than the Mexicans did, then seceded. The population of Crimea has been relatively stable for many decades (after the Stalin's deportations), and has been a recognized part of Ukraine for half a century.

If anything, if Crimea is Texas, then Russia is Mexico.

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  • America signed a treaty with Spain in 1819 establishing the western frontier at the Sabine River. Did that fly out the window with Mexico's independence from Spain?
    – Corey
    Sep 24, 2014 at 5:17
  • @Corey: and how was the treaty violated? In those times immigration was not controlled. So American settlers in Texas were legal. The Texas revolution was an internal Mexican affair which resulted in Texan independence. So annexation of Texas was a matter which had nothing to do with Mexico.
    – sds
    Sep 24, 2014 at 12:26
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    Where we don't see eye to eye is on the question of "Texan independence." Just because there are thousands of unruly, cotton slaving foreigners who can't be controlled at the moment doesn't imply that the territory is legally available for annexation by another country.
    – Corey
    Sep 26, 2014 at 0:47
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It's common knowledge in Texas (we study our state history) that General Santa Anna acknowledged Texas' independence after his defeat at the Battle of San Jacinto.

I suppose it depends on whether you count General Santa Anna as a relevant official.

"In exchange for his freedom, Santa Anna recognized Texas’s independence; although the treaty was later abrogated and tensions built up along the Texas-Mexico border." History.com

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-battle-of-san-jacinto

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