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| Land US got by Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Map |
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| States carved from territory acquired by US in Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Map |
Introduction
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
in 1848, also known as the Mexican Cession, was a treaty that formalized the cessation of hostilities between Mexico and the United States as a result
of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo contains 23 articles and it was signed on February 2, 1848.
In November 1835, the northern part of the Mexican state of Coahuila-Tejas
declared itself in revolt against Mexico's new centralist government headed by President Antonio López de Santa Anna. By February
1836, Texans declared their territory to be independent and that its border extended to the Rio Grande rather than the Rio
Nueces that Mexicans recognized as the dividing line. Although the Texans proclaimed themselves citizens of the Independent
Republic of Texas on April 21, 1836 following their victory over the Mexicans at the Battle of San Jacinto, Mexicans continued
to consider Tejas a rebellious province that they would reconquer someday.
In December 1845, the U.S. Congress voted to annex the Texas Republic and
soon sent troops led by General Zachary Taylor to the Rio Grande (regarded by Mexicans as their territory) to protect its
border with Mexico. The inevitable clashes between Mexican troops and U.S. forces provided the rationale for a Congressional
declaration of war on May 13, 1846.
Hostilities continued for the next two years as General Taylor led his troops
through to Monterrey, and General Stephen Kearny and his men went to New Mexico, Chihuahua, and California. But it was General
Winfield Scott and his army that delivered the decisive blows as they marched from Veracruz to Puebla and finally captured
Mexico City itself in August 1847.
Mexican officials and Nicholas Trist, President Polk's representative, began
discussions for a peace treaty that August. On February 2, 1848 the Treaty was signed in Guadalupe Hidalgo, a city north of
the capital where the Mexican government had fled as U.S. troops advanced. Its provisions called for Mexico to cede 55% of
its territory (present-day Arizona, California, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado, Nevada and Utah) in exchange for fifteen
million dollars in compensation for war-related damage to Mexican property.
Other provisions stipulated the Texas border at the Rio Grande (Article V),
protection for the property and civil rights of Mexican nationals living within the new border (Articles VIII and IX), U.S.
promise to police its side of the border (Article XI), and compulsory arbitration of future disputes between the two countries
(Article XXI). When the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty in March, it reduced Article IX and deleted Article X guaranteeing
the protection of Mexican land grants. Following the Senate's ratification of the treaty, U.S. troops left Mexico City.
| Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Map |
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| Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Map, aka Mexican Cession Map |
TREATY OF PEACE, FRIENDSHIP, LIMITS, AND SETTLEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA AND THE UNITED MEXICAN STATES CONCLUDED AT GUADALUPE HIDALGO, FEBRUARY 2, 1848; RATIFICATION ADVISED BY
SENATE, WITH AMENDMENTS, MARCH 10, 1848; RATIFIED BY PRESIDENT, MARCH 16, 1848; RATIFICATIONS EXCHANGED AT QUERETARO, MAY
30, 1848; PROCLAIMED, JULY 4, 1848.
IN THE NAME OF ALMIGHTY GOD
The United States of America and the United Mexican States animated by a sincere
desire to put an end to the calamities of the war which unhappily exists between the two Republics and to establish Upon a
solid basis relations of peace and friendship, which shall confer reciprocal benefits upon the citizens of both, and assure
the concord, harmony, and mutual confidence wherein the two people should live, as good neighbors have for that purpose appointed
their respective plenipotentiaries, that is to say: The President of the United States has appointed Nicholas P. Trist, a
citizen of the United States, and the President of the Mexican Republic has appointed Don Luis Gonzaga Cuevas, Don Bernardo
Couto, and Don Miguel Atristain, citizens of the said Republic; Who, after a reciprocal communication of their respective
full powers, have, under the protection of Almighty God, the author of peace, arranged, agreed upon, and signed the following:
Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the Mexican Republic.
There shall be firm and universal peace between the United States of America
and the Mexican Republic, and between their respective countries, territories, cities, towns, and people, without exception
of places or persons.
Immediately upon the signature of this treaty, a convention shall be entered
into between a commissioner or commissioners appointed by the General-in-chief of the forces of the United States, and such
as may be appointed by the Mexican Government, to the end that a provisional suspension of hostilities shall take place, and
that, in the places occupied by the said forces, constitutional order may be reestablished, as regards the political, administrative,
and judicial branches, so far as this shall be permitted by the circumstances of military occupation.
Immediately upon the ratification of the present treaty by the Government
of the United States, orders shall be transmitted to the commanders of their land and naval forces, requiring the latter (provided
this treaty shall then have been ratified by the Government of the Mexican Republic, and the ratifications exchanged) immediately
to desist from blockading any Mexican ports and requiring the former (under the same condition) to commence, at the earliest
moment practicable, withdrawing all troops of the United States then in the interior of the Mexican Republic, to points that
shall be selected by common agreement, at a distance from the seaports not exceeding thirty leagues; and such evacuation of
the interior of the Republic shall be completed with the least possible delay; the Mexican Government hereby binding itself
to afford every facility in its power for rendering the same convenient to the troops, on their march and in their new positions,
and for promoting a good understanding between them and the inhabitants. In like manner orders shall be despatched to the
persons in charge of the custom houses at all ports occupied by the forces of the United States, requiring them (under the
same condition) immediately to deliver possession of the same to the persons authorized by the Mexican Government to receive
it, together with all bonds and evidences of debt for duties on importations and on exportations, not yet fallen due. Moreover,
a faithful and exact account shall be made out, showing the entire amount of all duties on imports and on exports, collected
at such custom-houses, or elsewhere in Mexico, by authority of the United States, from and after the day of ratification of
this treaty by the Government of the Mexican Republic; and also an account of the cost of collection; and such entire amount,
deducting only the cost of collection, shall be delivered to the Mexican Government, at the city of Mexico, within three months
after the exchange of ratifications.
The evacuation of the capital of the Mexican Republic by the troops of the
United States, in virtue of the above stipulation, shall be completed in one month after the orders there stipulated for shall
have been received by the commander of said troops, or sooner if possible.
Immediately after the exchange of ratifications of the present treaty all
castles, forts, territories, places, and possessions, which have been taken or occupied by the forces of the United States
during the present war, within the limits of the Mexican Republic, as about to be established by the following article, shall
be definitely restored to the said Republic, together with all the artillery, arms, apparatus of war, munitions, and other
public property, which were in the said castles and forts when captured, and which shall remain there at the time when this
treaty shall be duly ratified by the Government of the Mexican Republic. To this end, immediately upon the signature of this
treaty, orders shall be despatched to the American officers commanding such castles and forts, securing against the removal
or destruction of any such artillery, arms, apparatus of war, munitions, or other public property. The city of Mexico, within
the inner line of intrenchments surrounding the said city, is comprehended in the above stipulation, as regards the restoration
of artillery, apparatus of war, & c.
The final evacuation of the territory of the Mexican Republic, by the forces
of the United States, shall be completed in three months from the said exchange of ratifications, or sooner if possible; the
Mexican Government hereby engaging, as in the foregoing article to use all means in its power for facilitating such evacuation,
and rendering it convenient to the troops, and for promoting a good understanding between them and the inhabitants.
If, however, the ratification of this treaty by both parties should not take
place in time to allow the embarcation of the troops of the United States to be completed before the commencement of the sickly
season, at the Mexican ports on the Gulf of Mexico, in such case a friendly arrangement shall be entered into between the
General-in-Chief of the said troops and the Mexican Government, whereby healthy and otherwise suitable places, at a distance
from the ports not exceeding thirty leagues, shall be designated for the residence of such troops as may not yet have embarked,
until the return of the healthy season. And the space of time here referred to as, comprehending the sickly season shall be
understood to extend from the first day of May to the first day of November.
All prisoners of war taken on either side, on land or on sea, shall be restored
as soon as practicable after the exchange of ratifications of this treaty. It is also agreed that if any Mexicans should now
be held as captives by any savage tribe within the limits of the United States, as about to be established by the following
article, the Government of the said United States will exact the release of such captives and cause them to be restored to
their country.
The boundary line between the two Republics shall commence in the Gulf of
Mexico, three leagues from land, opposite the mouth of the Rio Grande, otherwise called Rio Bravo del Norte, or Opposite the
mouth of its deepest branch, if it should have more than one branch emptying directly into the sea; from thence up the middle
of that river, following the deepest channel, where it has more than one, to the point where it strikes the southern boundary
of New Mexico; thence, westwardly, along the whole southern boundary of New Mexico (which runs north of the town called Paso)
to its western termination; thence, northward, along the western line of New Mexico, until it intersects the first branch
of the river Gila; (or if it should not intersect any branch of that river, then to the point on the said line nearest to
such branch, and thence in a direct line to the same); thence down the middle of the said branch and of the said river, until
it empties into the Rio Colorado; thence across the Rio Colorado, following the division line between Upper and Lower California,
to the Pacific Ocean.
The southern and western limits of New Mexico, mentioned in the article, are
those laid down in the map entitled "Map of the United Mexican States, as organized and defined by various acts of the Congress
of said republic, and constructed according to the best authorities. Revised edition. Published at New York, in 1847, by J.
Disturnell," of which map a copy is added to this treaty, bearing the signatures and seals of the undersigned Plenipotentiaries.
And, in order to preclude all difficulty in tracing upon the ground the limit separating Upper from Lower California, it is
agreed that the said limit shall consist of a straight line drawn from the middle of the Rio Gila, where it unites with the
Colorado, to a point on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, distant one marine league due south of the southernmost point of the
port of San Diego, according to the plan of said port made in the year 1782 by Don Juan Pantoja, second sailing-master
of the Spanish fleet, and published at Madrid in the year 1802, in the atlas to the voyage of the schooners Sutil and Mexicana;
of which plan a copy is hereunto added, signed and sealed by the respective Plenipotentiaries.
In order to designate the boundary line with due precision, upon authoritative
maps, and to establish upon the ground land-marks which shall show the limits of both republics, as described in the present
article, the two Governments shall each appoint a commissioner and a surveyor, who, before the expiration of one year from
the date of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty, shall meet at the port of San Diego, and proceed to run and mark
the said boundary in its whole course to the mouth of the Rio Bravo del Norte. They shall keep journals and make out plans
of their operations; and the result agreed upon by them shall be deemed a part of this treaty, and shall have the same force
as if it were inserted therein. The two Governments will amicably agree regarding what may be necessary to these persons,
and also as to their respective escorts, should such be necessary.
The boundary line established by this article shall be religiously respected
by each of the two republics, and no change shall ever be made therein, except by the express and free consent of both nations,
lawfully given by the General Government of each, in conformity with its own constitution.
The vessels and citizens of the United States shall, in all time, have a free
and uninterrupted passage by the Gulf of California, and by the river Colorado below its confluence with the Gila, to and
from their possessions situated north of the boundary line defined in the preceding article; it being understood that this
passage is to be by navigating the Gulf of California and the river Colorado, and not by land, without the express consent
of the Mexican Government.
If, by the examinations which may be made, it should be ascertained to be
practicable and advantageous to construct a road, canal, or railway, which should in whole or in part run upon the river Gila,
or upon its right or its left bank, within the space of one marine league from either margin of the river, the Governments
of both republics will form an agreement regarding its construction, in order that it may serve equally for the use and advantage
of both countries.
The river Gila, and the part of the Rio Bravo del Norte lying below the southern
boundary of New Mexico, being, agreeably to the fifth article, divided in the middle between the two republics, the navigation
of the Gila and of the Bravo below said boundary shall be free and common to the vessels and citizens of both countries; and
neither shall, without the consent of the other, construct any work that may impede or interrupt, in whole or in part, the
exercise of this right; not even for the purpose of favoring new methods of navigation. Nor shall any tax or contribution,
under any denomination or title, be levied upon vessels or persons navigating the same or upon merchandise or effects transported
thereon, except in the case of landing upon one of their shores. If, for the purpose of making the said rivers navigable,
or for maintaining them in such state, it should be necessary or advantageous to establish any tax or contribution, this shall
not be done without the consent of both Governments.
The stipulations contained in the present article shall not impair the territorial
rights of either republic within its established limits.
Mexicans now established in territories previously belonging to Mexico, and
which remain for the future within the limits of the United States, as defined by the present treaty, shall be free to continue
where they now reside, or to remove at any time to the Mexican Republic, retaining the property which they possess in the
said territories, or disposing thereof, and removing the proceeds wherever they please, without their being subjected, on
this account, to any contribution, tax, or charge whatever.
Those who shall prefer to remain in the said territories may either retain
the title and rights of Mexican citizens, or acquire those of citizens of the United States. But they shall be under the obligation
to make their election within one year from the date of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty; and those who shall
remain in the said territories after the expiration of that year, without having declared their intention to retain the character
of Mexicans, shall be considered to have elected to become citizens of the United States.
In the said territories, property of every kind, now belonging to Mexicans
not established there, shall be inviolably respected. The present owners, the heirs of these, and all Mexicans who may hereafter
acquire said property by contract, shall enjoy with respect to it guarantees equally ample as if the same belonged to citizens
of the United States.
The Mexicans who, in the territories aforesaid, shall not preserve the character
of citizens of the Mexican Republic, conformably with what is stipulated in the preceding article, shall be incorporated into
the Union of the United States. and be admitted at the proper time (to be judged of by the Congress of the United States)
to the enjoyment of all the rights of citizens of the United States, according to the principles of the Constitution; and
in the mean time, shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty and property, and secured in the
free exercise of their religion without; restriction.
[Stricken out]
Considering that a great part of the territories, which, by the present treaty,
are to be comprehended for the future within the limits of the United States, is now occupied by savage tribes, who will hereafter
be under the exclusive control of the Government of the United States, and whose incursions within the territory of Mexico
would be prejudicial in the extreme, it is solemnly agreed that all such incursions shall be forcibly restrained by the Government
of the United States whensoever this may be necessary; and that when they cannot be prevented, they shall be punished by the
said Government, and satisfaction for the same shall be exactedall in the same way, and with equal diligence and energy, as
if the same incursions were meditated or committed within its own territory, against its own citizens.
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| (Map) Mexico ceded 55% of its territory to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo |
It shall not be lawful, under any pretext whatever, for any inhabitant of
the United States to purchase or acquire any Mexican, or any foreigner residing in Mexico, who may have been captured by Indians
inhabiting the territory of either of the two republics; nor to purchase or acquire horses, mules, cattle, or property of
any kind, stolen within Mexican territory by such Indians.
And in the event of any person or persons, captured within Mexican territory
by Indians, being carried into the territory of the United States, the Government of the latter engages and binds itself,
in the most solemn manner, so soon as it shall know of such captives being within its territory, and shall be able so to do,
through the faithful exercise of its influence and power, to rescue them and return them to their country. or deliver them
to the agent or representative of the Mexican Government. The Mexican authorities will, as far as practicable, give to the
Government of the United States notice of such captures; and its agents shall pay the expenses incurred in the maintenance
and transmission of the rescued captives; who, in the mean time, shall be treated with the utmost hospitality by the American
authorities at the place where they may be. But if the Government of the United States, before receiving such notice from
Mexico, should obtain intelligence, through any other channel, of the existence of Mexican captives within its territory,
it will proceed forthwith to effect their release and delivery to the Mexican agent, as above stipulated.
For the purpose of giving to these stipulations the fullest possible efficacy,
thereby affording the security and redress demanded by their true spirit and intent, the Government of the United States will
now and hereafter pass, without unnecessary delay, and always vigilantly enforce, such laws as the nature of the subject may
require. And, finally, the sacredness of this obligation shall never be lost sight of by the said Government, when providing
for the removal of the Indians from any portion of the said territories, or for its being settled by citizens of the United
States; but, on the contrary, special care shall then be taken not to place its Indian occupants under the necessity of seeking
new homes, by committing those invasions which the United States have solemnly obliged themselves to restrain.
In consideration of the extension acquired by the boundaries of the United
States, as defined in the fifth article of the present treaty, the Government of the United States engages to pay to that
of the Mexican Republic the sum of fifteen millions of dollars.
Immediately after the treaty shall have been duly ratified by the Government
of the Mexican Republic, the sum of three millions of dollars shall be paid to the said Government by that of the United States,
at the city of Mexico, in the gold or silver coin of Mexico The remaining twelve millions of dollars shall be paid at the
same place, and in the same coin, in annual installments of three millions of dollars each, together with interest on the
same at the rate of six per centum per annum. This interest shall begin to run upon the whole sum of twelve millions from
the day of the ratification of the present treaty by--the Mexican Government, and the first of the installments shall be paid-at
the expiration of one year from the same day. Together with each annual installment, as it falls due, the whole interest accruing
on such installment from the beginning shall also be paid.
The United States engage, moreover, to assume and pay to the claimants all
the amounts now due them, and those hereafter to become due, by reason of the claims already liquidated and decided against
the Mexican Republic, under the conventions between the two republics severally concluded on the eleventh day of April, eighteen
hundred and thirty-nine, and on the thirtieth day of January, eighteen hundred and forty-three; so that the Mexican Republic
shall be absolutely exempt, for the future, from all expense whatever on account of the said claims.
The United States do furthermore discharge the Mexican Republic from all claims
of citizens of the United States, not heretofore decided against the Mexican Government, which may have arisen previously
to the date of the signature of this treaty; which discharge shall be final and perpetual, whether the said claims be rejected
or be allowed by the board of commissioners provided for in the following article, and whatever shall be the total amount
of those allowed.
The United States, exonerating Mexico from all demands on account of the claims
of their citizens mentioned in the preceding article, and considering them entirely and forever canceled, whatever their amount
may be, undertake to make satisfaction for the same, to an amount not exceeding three and one-quarter millions of dollars.
To ascertain the validity and amount of those claims, a board of commissioners shall be established by the Government of the
United States, whose awards shall be final and conclusive; provided that, in deciding upon the validity of each claim, the
boa shall be guided and governed by the principles and rules of decision prescribed by the first and fifth articles of the
unratified convention, concluded at the city of Mexico on the twentieth day of November, one thousand eight hundred and forty-three;
and in no case shall an award be made in favour of any claim not embraced by these principles and rules.
If, in the opinion of the said board of commissioners or of the claimants,
any books, records, or documents, in the possession or power of the Government of the Mexican Republic, shall be deemed necessary
to the just decision of any claim, the commissioners, or the claimants through them, shall, within such period as Congress
may designate, make an application in writing for the same, addressed to the Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs, to be transmitted
by the Secretary of State of the United States; and the Mexican Government engages, at the earliest possible moment after
the receipt of such demand, to cause any of the books, records, or documents so specified, which shall be in their possession
or power (or authenticated copies or extracts of the same), to be transmitted to the said Secretary of State, who shall immediately
deliver them over to the said board of commissioners; provided that no such application shall be made by or at the instance
of any claimant, until the facts which it is expected to prove by such books, records, or documents, shall have been stated
under oath or affirmation.
Each of the contracting parties reserves to itself the entire right to fortify
whatever point within its territory it may judge proper so to fortify for its security.
The treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation, concluded at the city of Mexico,
on the fifth day of April, A. D. 1831, between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, except the additional
article, and except so far as the stipulations of the said treaty may be incompatible with any stipulation contained in the
present treaty, is hereby revived for the period of eight years from the day of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty,
with the same force and virtue as if incorporated therein; it being understood that each of the contracting parties reserves
to itself the right, at any time after the said period of eight years shall have expired, to terminate the same by giving
one year's notice of such intention to the other party.
All supplies whatever for troops of the United States in Mexico, arriving
at ports in the occupation of such troops previous to the final evacuation thereof, although subsequently to the restoration
of the custom-houses at such ports, shall be entirely exempt from duties and charges of any kind; the Government of the United
States hereby engaging and pledging its faith to establish and vigilantly to enforce, all possible guards for securing the
revenue of Mexico, by preventing the importation, under cover of this stipulation, of any articles other than such, both in
kind and in quantity, as shall really be wanted for the use and consumption of the forces of the United States during the
time they may remain in Mexico. To this end it shall be the duty of all officers and agents of the United States to denounce
to the Mexican authorities at the respective ports any attempts at a fraudulent abuse of this stipulation, which they may
know of, or may have reason to suspect, and to give to such authorities all the aid in their power with regard thereto; and
every such attempt, when duly proved and established by sentence of a competent tribunal, They shall be punished by the confiscation
of the property so attempted to be fraudulently introduced.
With respect to all merchandise, effects, and property whatsoever, imported
into ports of Mexico, whilst in the occupation of the forces of the United States, whether by citizens of either republic,
or by citizens or subjects of any neutral nation, the following rules shall be observed:
- (1) All such merchandise, effects, and property, if imported previously to
the restoration of the custom-houses to the Mexican authorities, as stipulated for in the third article of this treaty, shall
be exempt from confiscation, although the importation of the same be prohibited by the Mexican tariff.
- (2) The same perfect exemption shall be enjoyed by all such merchandise,
effects, and property, imported subsequently to the restoration of the custom-houses, and previously to the sixty days fixed
in the following article for the coming into force of the Mexican tariff at such ports respectively; the said merchandise,
effects, and property being, however, at the time of their importation, subject to the payment of duties, as provided for
in the said following article.
- (3) All merchandise, effects, and property described in the two rules foregoing
shall, during their continuance at the place of importation, and upon their leaving such place for the interior, be exempt
from all duty, tax, or imposts of every kind, under whatsoever title or denomination. Nor shall they be there subject to any
charge whatsoever upon the sale thereof.
- (4) All merchandise, effects, and property, described in the first and second
rules, which shall have been removed to any place in the interior, whilst such place was in the occupation of the forces of
the United States, shall, during their continuance therein, be exempt from all tax upon the sale or consumption thereof, and
from every kind of impost or contribution, under whatsoever title or denomination.
- (5) But if any merchandise, effects, or property, described in the first
and second rules, shall be removed to any place not occupied at the time by the forces of the United States, they shall, upon
their introduction into such place, or upon their sale or consumption there, be subject to the same duties which, under the
Mexican laws, they would be required to pay in such cases if they had been imported in time of peace, through the maritime
custom-houses, and had there paid the duties conformably with the Mexican tariff.
- (6) The owners of all merchandise, effects, or property, described in the
first and second rules, and existing in any port of Mexico, shall have the right to reship the same, exempt from all tax,
impost, or contribution whatever.
With respect to the metals, or other property, exported from any Mexican port
whilst in the occupation of the forces of the United States, and previously to the restoration of the custom-house at such
port, no person shall be required by the Mexican authorities, whether general or state, to pay any tax, duty, or contribution
upon any such exportation, or in any manner to account for the same to the said authorities.
Through consideration for the interests of commerce generally, it is agreed,
that if less than sixty days should elapse between the date of the signature of this treaty and the restoration of the custom
houses, conformably with the stipulation in the third article, in such case all merchandise, effects and property whatsoever,
arriving at the Mexican ports after the restoration of the said custom-houses, and previously to the expiration of sixty days
after the day of signature of this treaty, shall be admitted to entry; and no other duties shall be levied thereon than the
duties established by the tariff found in force at such custom-houses at the time of the restoration of the same. And to all
such merchandise, effects, and property, the rules established by the preceding article shall apply.
If unhappily any disagreement should hereafter arise between the Governments
of the two republics, whether with respect to the interpretation of any stipulation in this treaty, or with respect to any
other particular concerning the political or commercial relations of the two nations, the said Governments, in the name of
those nations, do promise to each other that they will endeavour, in the most sincere and earnest manner, to settle the differences
so arising, and to preserve the state of peace and friendship in which the two countries are now placing themselves, using,
for this end, mutual representations and pacific negotiations. And if, by these means, they should not be enabled to come
to an agreement, a resort shall not, on this account, be had to reprisals, aggression, or hostility of any kind, by the one
republic against the other, until the Government of that which deems itself aggrieved shall have maturely considered, in the
spirit of peace and good neighbourship, whether it would not be better that such difference should be settled by the arbitration
of commissioners appointed on each side, or by that of a friendly nation. And should such course be proposed by either party,
it shall be acceded to by the other, unless deemed by it altogether incompatible with the nature of the difference, or the
circumstances of the case.
If (which is not to be expected, and which God forbid) war should unhappily
break out between the two republics, they do now, with a view to such calamity, solemnly pledge themselves to each other and
to the world to observe the following rules; absolutely where the nature of the subject permits, and as closely as possible
in all cases where such absolute observance shall be impossible:
(1) The merchants of either republic then residing in the other shall
be allowed to remain twelve months (for those dwelling in the interior), and six months (for those dwelling at the seaports)
to collect their debts and settle their affairs; during which periods they shall enjoy the same protection, and be on the
same footing, in all respects, as the citizens or subjects of the most friendly nations; and, at the expiration thereof, or
at any time before, they shall have full liberty to depart, carrying off all their effects without molestation or hindrance,
conforming therein to the same laws which the citizens or subjects of the most friendly nations are required to conform to.
Upon the entrance of the armies of either nation into the territories of the other, women and children, ecclesiastics, scholars
of every faculty, cultivators of the earth, merchants, artisans, manufacturers, and fishermen, unarmed and inhabiting unfortified
towns, villages, or places, and in general all persons whose occupations are for the common subsistence and benefit of mankind,
shall be allowed to continue their respective employments, unmolested in their persons. Nor shall their houses or goods be
burnt or otherwise destroyed, nor their cattle taken, nor their fields wasted, by the armed force into whose power, by the
events of war, they may happen to fall; but if the necessity arise to take anything from them for the use of such armed force,
the same shall be paid for at an equitable price. All churches, hospitals, schools, colleges, libraries, and other establishments
for charitable and beneficent purposes, shall be respected, and all persons connected with the same protected in the discharge
of their duties, and the pursuit of their vocations.
(2). In order that the fate of prisoners of war may be alleviated
all such practices as those of sending them into distant, inclement or unwholesome districts, or crowding them into close
and noxious places, shall be studiously avoided. They shall not be confined in dungeons, prison ships, or prisons; nor be
put in irons, or bound or otherwise restrained in the use of their limbs. The officers shall enjoy liberty on their paroles,
within convenient districts, and have comfortable quarters; and the common soldiers shall be dispose( in cantonments, open
and extensive enough for air and exercise and lodged in barracks as roomy and good as are provided by the party in whose power
they are for its own troops. But if any office shall break his parole by leaving the district so assigned him, o any other
prisoner shall escape from the limits of his cantonment after they shall have been designated to him, such individual, officer,
or other prisoner, shall forfeit so much of the benefit of this article as provides for his liberty on parole or in cantonment.
And if any officer so breaking his parole or any common soldier so escaping from the limits assigned him, shall afterwards
be found in arms previously to his being regularly exchanged, the person so offending shall be dealt with according to the
established laws of war. The officers shall be daily furnished, by the party in whose power they are, with as many rations,
and of the same articles, as are allowed either in kind or by commutation, to officers of equal rank in its own army; and
all others shall be daily furnished with such ration as is allowed to a common soldier in its own service; the value of all
which supplies shall, at the close of the war, or at periods to be agreed upon between the respective commanders, be paid
by the other party, on a mutual adjustment of accounts for the subsistence of prisoners; and such accounts shall not be mingled
with or set off against any others, nor the balance due on them withheld, as a compensation or reprisal for any cause whatever,
real or pretended Each party shall be allowed to keep a commissary of prisoners, appointed by itself, with every cantonment
of prisoners, in possession of the other; which commissary shall see the prisoners as often a he pleases; shall be allowed
to receive, exempt from all duties a taxes, and to distribute, whatever comforts may be sent to them by their friends; and
shall be free to transmit his reports in open letters to the party by whom he is employed. And it is declared that neither
the pretense that war dissolves all treaties, nor any other whatever, shall be considered as annulling or suspending the solemn
covenant contained in this article. On the contrary, the state of war is precisely that for which it is provided; and, during
which, its stipulations are to be as sacredly observed as the most acknowledged obligations under the law of nature or nations.
This treaty shall be ratified by the President of the United States of America,
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof; and by the President
of the Mexican Republic, with the previous approbation of its general Congress; and the ratifications shall be exchanged in
the City of Washington, or at the seat of Government of Mexico, in four months from the date of the signature hereof, or sooner
if practicable. In faith whereof we, the respective Plenipotentiaries, have signed this treaty of peace, friendship, limits,
and settlement, and have hereunto affixed our seals respectively. Done in quintuplicate, at the city of Guadalupe Hidalgo,
on the second day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.
N. P. TRIST
LUIS P. CUEVAS
BERNARDO COUTO
MIGL. ATRISTAIN
Source:
Treaties and Conventions between the United States of America
and Other Powers Since July
4, 1776
Washington, DC : Government Printing Office, 1871
Recommended
Reading:
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (Origin, Disputes, Causes and Effects); American
Expansionism; Mexican American War; Battle of the Alamo.
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