USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The war was fought on two fronts-in Mexico and in California. Polk chose Colonel Stephen W. Kearny to lead the fight in California and appointed Taylor to lead the war effort in Mexico. Many Mexican settlers in California, unhappy with Mexican rule, offered little resistance to the American forces.

Detailed explanation-2: -By its terms, Mexico ceded 55 percent of its territory, including the present-day states California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming.

Detailed explanation-3: -This was known as the Mexican Cession and included present-day Arizona and New Mexico and parts of Utah, Nevada, and Colorado (see Article V of the treaty).

Detailed explanation-4: -Shown is the area Mexico ceded to the United States in 1848, minus Texan claims. The Mexican Cession consisted of the present-day U.S. states of California, Nevada, Utah, most of Arizona, the western half of New Mexico, the western quarter of Colorado, and the southwest corner of Wyoming.