Original subtitles

Narrator: THEY WERE 2 DAYS INTO THE MARCH FROM PUEBLA,

MORE THAN 10,000 FEET IN ELEVATION.

TOMORROW, THE SOLDIERS OF WINFIELD SCOTT'S ARMY

WOULD GLIMPSE THE VALLEY OF MEXICO.

THERE THEY KNEW THEY WOULD FIND MEXICO CITY

AND AN ARMY LED BY GENERAL ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANNA.

AS THE U.S. TROOPS SHIVERED IN THE COLD,

A FEW MAY HAVE REACHED FOR THEIR COPIES

OF WILLIAM PRESCOTT'S HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO

TO READ OF WHAT CORTES AND HIS MEN HAD SEEN

300 YEARS EARLIER.

Man: THE VALLEY OF MEXICO--

OR TENOCHTITLAN, AS MORE COMMONLY CALLED BY THE NATIVES--

WAS SPREAD OUT LIKE SOME GAY AND GORGEOUS PANORAMA BEFORE THEM,

AND IN THE CENTER OF THE GREAT BASIN,

LIKE SOME INDIAN EMPRESS WITH HER CORONA OF PEARLS,

THE FAR-FAMED VENICE OF THE AZTECS.

SUCH WAS THE BEAUTIFUL VISION

WHICH BROKE ON THE EYES OF THE CONQUERORS.

Narrator: ON AUGUST 10, 1847,

GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT AND HIS ARMY

MARCHED OUT OF THE MOUNTAINS

TO DISCOVER 3,000 FEET BELOW THEM

THE VALLEY OF MEXICO.

Scott: AND NEAR ITS CENTER,

THE OBJECT OF ALL OUR DREAMS AND HOPES, TOILS AND DANGERS,

ONCE THE GORGEOUS SEAT OF THE MONTEZUMAS.

PROBABLY NOT A MAN IN THE COLUMN

FAILED TO SAY TO HIS NEIGHBOR OR TO HIMSELF,

"THAT SPLENDID CITY SHALL SOON BE OURS."

WINFIELD SCOTT.

Narrator: NOT ALL OF THE SOLDIERS WERE AS CONFIDENT AS THEIR COMMANDER.

EVEN FROM A DISTANCE, THEY COULD SEE

THAT MEXICO CITY WOULD NOT BE EASY TO CAPTURE.

THE CAPITAL WAS SURROUNDED BY LAKES AND MARSHES.

ONLY 6 CAUSEWAYS CROSSED THE WATERS,

EACH ENTERING THE CITY AT A FORTIFIED GATE.

OUTNUMBERED, WITH NO HOPE OF REINFORCEMENTS,

THE AMERICANS KNEW THAT RETREAT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE.

FOR CAPTAIN KIRBY SMITH,

THE ODDS AGAINST SURVIVAL WERE ALL TOO CLEAR.

Smith: 10,000 TROOPS TO CONQUER A CITY

CONTAINING NEAR 300,000 INHABITANTS.

WE SHALL DO IT, BUT PERHAPS PAY DEARLY FOR IT.

MEXICO MUST FALL,

OR WE MUST ALL FIND A GRAVE.

Narrator: IN MEXICO CITY, CHURCH BELLS SENT A FRANTIC ALARM

ECHOING THROUGH THE STREETS.

THE UNTHINKABLE HAD BECOME A REALITY.

THE YANKEE TROOPS WERE APPROACHING THE CAPITAL.

SINCE HIS RETURN FROM CERRO GORDO,

SANTA ANNA HAD WORKED FEVERISHLY TO REBUILD HIS ARMY.

BELLS WERE FORGED INTO CANNON

AND CLOSETS RANSACKED FOR OLD MUSKETS.

THOUSANDS LEFT THEIR JOBS TO JOIN THE NATIONAL GUARD,

THE PRIDE OF THE CITY.

Man: MY BATTALION WAS FORMED

BY BRICKLAYERS, TAILORS, CARPENTERS--

IN A WORD, CRAFTSMEN.

IT WAS CALLED THE INDEPENDENCIA BATTALION.

OUR WEAPONS WERE POOR BECAUSE, BEING LABORERS,

WE WERE ONLY ABLE TO BUY OLD FLINTLOCKS.

PRIVATE PERFECTO FALCON.

Narrator: BETWEEN NEW RECRUITS AND LOYAL VETERANS,

SANTA ANNA MANAGED TO RAISE AN ARMY

OF MORE THAN 25,000 SOLDIERS.

MOST OF THE TROOPS

WERE POSITIONED AT STRATEGIC POINTS

AROUND THE CITY.

THE REST WOULD MEET THE YANKEES

EAST OF THE CAPITAL, AT EL PEÑON,

A PROMINENT HILL OVERLOOKING THE NATIONAL ROAD.

SHOUTS AND CHEERS FILLED THE AIR AS 7,000 NATIONAL GUARDSMEN

UNDER SANTA ANNA'S PERSONAL COMMAND

MARCHED TOWARD EL PEÑON TO DEFEND THEIR CITY AND THEIR NATION.

Man: VIVAs TO THE ARMY,

TO GENERAL SANTA ANNA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC

RANG OUT FROM ALL SIDES.

THE FAMILIES RUN IN MASSES THROUGH THE STREETS,

FOLLOWING THE TROOPS.

THE BROTHER TEARS HIMSELF AWAY FROM HIS BROTHER'S ARMS.

THE WIFE MARCHES AT HER RECRUIT'S SIDE.

THE BLUSHING LOVER TRIES TO APPEAR CALM,

BUT TEARS GIVE HER AWAY.

THE MOTHER CRIES, WATCHES, IMPLORES FOR HER SON'S SAFETY,

AND THE PRAYERS AND THE PLEAS ARE DROWNED OUT

BY THE MONOTONOUS SOUND OF THE MILITARY BANDS.

GUILLERMO PRIETO.

Narrator: ON AUGUST 12,

THE AMERICAN ADVANCE GUARD REACHED A CROSSROADS

30 MILES EAST OF MEXICO CITY.

BUT TO SANTA ANNA'S SURPRISE, SCOTT AVOIDED EL PEÑON ENTIRELY,

CIRCLING AROUND THE CAPITAL

TO THE SOUTH.

Man: IT'S A TURNING MOVEMENT. IT'S A CLASSIC TURNING MOVEMENT.

HE HAS TURNED MEXICAN DEFENDERS OUT OF THEIR POSITION

WITHOUT FIRING A SHOT.

AND THAT IS THE GENIUS OF SCOTT IN THIS WAR,

HIS ABILITY TO DO THAT.

Narrator: SANTA ANNA QUICKLY RE-FORMED HIS DEFENSES,

PLACING 20,000 SOLDIERS IN A 5-MILE LINE

BETWEEN SCOTT AND THE CITY.

TO THE U.S. GENERAL'S EAST LAY SOGGY MARSHLAND AND LAKES.

TO THE WEST WAS A MASSIVE FIELD OF HARDENED LAVA,

A NO MAN'S LAND OF SHARP, JAGGED ROCK CALLED THE PEDREGAL.

SANTA ANNA NOW HAD THE U.S. ARMY'S APPROACH TO THE CAPITAL BLOCKED.

THE STRATEGY MIGHT HAVE WORKED

BUT FOR THE ACTIONS OF ONE OF SANTA ANNA'S RIVALS.

GENERAL GABRIEL VALENCIA WAS AMBITIOUS AND POWERFUL,

AND HE SAW VICTORY ON THE BATTLEFIELD

AS HIS PATH TO THE PRESIDENCY.

AGAINST ORDERS, HE ADVANCED TO A POSITION

NEAR THE VILLAGE OF CONTRERAS.

FROM THERE, HE HOPED TO ENGAGE THE U.S. ARMY

AND WIN GLORY FOR HIMSELF.

VALENCIA THOUGHT HIS FLANK WAS PROTECTED

BY WHAT EVERYONE KNEW AS THE IMPASSABLE TERRAIN

OF THE PEDREGAL.

BUT ON AUGUST 19, THE MEXICAN GENERAL WAS SHOCKED

WHEN 3,500 U.S. TROOPS

APPEARED OUT OF THE VOLCANIC WASTELAND.

ON SCOTT'S ORDERS, ROBERT E. LEE HAD FOUND A WAY ACROSS.

VALENCIA WAS NOW IN DANGER

OF BEING CUT OFF FROM THE MAIN BODY

OF THE MEXICAN ARMY.

DESPERATELY, HE APPEALED FOR REINFORCEMENTS,

BUT SANTA ANNA REFUSED.

"VALENCIA IS AN INSUBORDINATE SOT,"

SANTA ANNA SAID.

"LET HIM SPIKE HIS GUNS AND RETREAT."

THAT NIGHT, U.S. TROOPS DEVISED A BOLD PLAN,

A SURPRISE ATTACK ON VALENCIA'S REAR.

SOMEONE WAS NEEDED TO CROSS THE PEDREGAL

AND RETURN WITH MORE TROOPS.

ROBERT E. LEE VOLUNTEERED.

WORKING THROUGH THE NIGHT,

HIS WAY ILLUMINATED ONLY BY FLASHES OF LIGHTNING

AND THE DIM LIGHT OF A LAMP,

LEE PICKED HIS WAY ACROSS THE TREACHEROUS FIELD OF LAVA

AND BROUGHT REINFORCEMENTS BACK.

SCOTT CALLED IT THE GREATEST FEAT

OF PHYSICAL AND MORAL COURAGE PERFORMED BY ANYONE

DURING THE ENTIRE CAMPAIGN.

AT DAYBREAK ON AUGUST 20,

U.S. TROOPS LAUNCHED THEIR ATTACK.

THE BATTLE LASTED ONLY 17 MINUTES.

700 MEXICAN SOLDIERS WERE KILLED,

813 MORE WERE TAKEN PRISONER,

AMONG THEM, 4 GENERALS.

Man: WHAT HAS OCCURRED IS THE RESULT OF THE STUPIDITY

COMMITTED BY THE DISOBEDIENT VALENCIA

AND THE INCONCEIVABLE CONDUCT OF SANTA ANNA

WHEN HE STOOD BY AS A MOTIONLESS SPECTATOR

WATCHING THE RUINATION OF HIS RIVAL.

IT IS NOT THE FIRST TIME NOR WILL IT BE THE LAST

THAT THE CRIMINAL DESIRE OF GENERALS TO SURPASS ONE ANOTHER

RESULTS IN A LOSS OF NATIONS.

MANUEL GOMEZ PERAZA.

Narrator: VALENCIA'S RETREAT SPREAD PANIC

THROUGH THE MEXICAN RANKS.

SOON THE ROAD TO MEXICO CITY WAS CROWDED WITH FLEEING SOLDIERS.

SCOTT'S TROOPS GAVE CHASE.

Man: THE "DOUBLE QUICK" WAS SOUNDED,

AND THE WHOLE ADVANCED AT A RUN.

WE SOON REACHED THE ROAD AND TURNED IN HOT PURSUIT.

CAPTAIN KIRBY SMITH.

Narrator: THE KEY TO THE MEXICAN ARMY'S SAFE RETREAT

WAS THE CROSSING AT THE CHURUBUSCO RIVER.

SANTA ANNA HAD ORDERED THE BRIDGE THERE HELD

AT ALL COSTS.

FROM BEHIND THE FORTIFIED WALLS OF A FORMER MONASTERY,

MEXICAN GUNS RAKED THE GROUND

IN FRONT OF THE ADVANCING U.S. TROOPS.

Man: IMMEDIATELY IN FRONT OF US, AT PERHAPS 500 YARDS,

THE ROLL OF THE MEXICAN FIRE

EXCEEDED ANYTHING I HAVE EVER HEARD.

WE WERE EXPOSED TO A DREADFUL CROSSFIRE

WHICH COULD SCARCELY BE RESISTED.

CAPTAIN KIRBY SMITH.

Man: HEADS OF COLUMNS WERE SWEPT AWAY LIKE CHAFF

AND COMPANIES CUT IN PIECES.

LIEUTENANT HALLOWAY WAS CUT DOWN WHILE TALKING WITH ME,

AND I THOUGHT OF THE PASSAGE,

"ONE SHALL BE TAKEN AND ANOTHER LEFT."

LIEUTENANT JOHN JAMES PECK.

Narrator: SLOWLY THE FIRING FROM THE MEXICAN GUNS AT THE MONASTERY AND BRIDGE

BEGAN TO TAPER OFF.

Man: "AMMO. WHERE'S THE AMMUNITION?"

THOSE WORDS COULD BE HEARD ALL OVER THE PLACE.

SOLDIERS RAN FROM ONE POST TO THE NEXT

TO ASK THEIR COMRADES IF THEY HAD ANY CARTRIDGES.

PRIVATE PERFECTO FALCON.

Narrator: COLONEL JUAN CANO,

THE ENGINEER WHO HAD ADVISED SANTA ANNA AT CERRO GORDO,

WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FORTIFICATION OF THE MONASTERY.

CANO AND HIS SOLDIERS NOW WAITED DESPERATELY

FOR SANTA ANNA TO SEND MORE AMMUNITION.

WHEN IT FINALLY ARRIVED,

THE BULLETS WERE THE WRONG CALIBER.

IT WAS SAID THOSE BRAVE MEN TRIED TO LOAD THEIR RIFLES WITH STONES.

MORE THAN ONCE, WHITE FLAGS FLUTTERED AT THE MONASTERY,

ONLY TO BE RIPPED DOWN

BY SOLDIERS FROM THE SAN PATRICIO BATTALION,

AMERICAN DESERTERS WHO HAD CROSSED OVER TO THE MEXICAN SIDE.

MANY OF THEM WERE IRISH, MOST WERE CATHOLIC.

Man: THE SAN PATRICIO BATTALION

OF AMERICAN DESERTERS, WHO KNEW THEY WERE GOING TO GET HANGED

IF THEY WERE CAPTURED,

REALLY STIFFENED THE BACKBONE OF THE RESISTANCE

AND RESULTED IN A MORE SERIOUS BATTLE, I THINK,

THAN SCOTT HAD ANY REASON TO EXPECT.

IT WAS EXPENSIVE BECAUSE SCOTT COULDN'T--

HE COULDN'T SPARE A MAN IN THIS CAMPAIGN.

HE WAS DOWN NOW PROBABLY TO ABOUT 8,000 PEOPLE--EFFECTIVES.

Narrator: AFTER NEARLY 3 HOURS OF SAVAGE FIGHTING,

SCOTT'S FORCES OVERWHELMED THE MONASTERY,

TAKING THE DEFENDERS AT BAYONET POINT.

THE DAY-LONG BATTLE FROM CONTRERAS TO CHURUBUSCO

LEFT A TRAIL OF BODIES ON THE GROUND

THAT STRETCHED FOR MILES.

THE AMERICANS SUFFERED MORE THAN 1,000 CASUALTIES.

SANTA ANNA LOST 10,000 MEN-- A THIRD OF HIS TROOPS.

3,000 WERE TAKEN PRISONER, INCLUDING 8 GENERALS,

2 OF THEM FORMER PRESIDENTS OF MEXICO.

PERFECTO FALCON OF THE INDEPENDENCIA BATTALION

MANAGED TO ESCAPE.

FOR HIM, THERE WOULD BE NO MORE FIGHTING.

Falcon: WE CAME TO THE CITY, AND I CHANGED MY CLOTHES,

LEAVING THE BLUE TROUSERS WITH YELLOW STRIPES BEHIND,

AND I WENT HOME TO TELL ABOUT ALL THAT HAD HAPPENED.

PERFECTO FALCON.

Narrator: ONCE AGAIN, HIS ARMY WAS BROKEN AND IN RETREAT.

STILL SANTA ANNA SEARCHED FOR A WAY TO HOLD ON TO HIS COMMAND.

THAT SAME EVENING, HE SENT ENVOYS TO SCOTT'S HEADQUARTERS

TO PROPOSE A TRUCE.

SCOTT AGREED.

Scott: WILLING TO LEAVE SOMETHING TO THIS REPUBLIC

OF NO IMMEDIATE VALUE TO US ON WHICH TO REST HER PRIDE,

I HALTED OUR VICTORIOUS CORPS AT THE GATES OF THE CITY.

Eisenhower: THE CITY OF MEXICO

WAS OPEN TO SCOTT AFTER CHURUBUSCO.

AND, UH...

HE STOPPED FOR POLITICAL REASONS

SO AS TO GIVE SANTA ANNA A CHANCE TO SURVIVE,

SO HE COULD HAVE SOMEBODY TO DEAL WITH.

Narrator: FROM A ROOFTOP IN THE CAPITAL,

JOSE FERNANDO RAMIREZ HAD WATCHED THE FIGHTING.

NOW, ALONG WITH THE REST OF MEXICO CITY,

HE WAITED TO SEE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT.

Ramirez: WHAT FRIGHTENS ME IS THE FUTURE.

I CANNOT EVEN GUESS WHAT WILL BECOME OF US.

TELL MY FAMILY THAT I'M SAFE AND IN GOOD HEALTH,

BUT MY HEART IS BROKEN.

Narrator: THE FIGHTING HAD STOPPED.

NOW THE ONCE LIVELY STREETS OF MEXICO CITY

WERE STRANGELY QUIET.

Man: MANY FAMILIES HAD DEPARTED.

THE DOORS AND BALCONIES WERE CLOSED.

THE SIGHT ALONE OF THE DESERTED CITY

INSPIRED SORROW AND A SHUDDER.

IT RESEMBLED BEAUTY WITHOUT LIFE

AND THE NAKED BONES OF A SKULL

WHERE LOVELY EYES HAD SPARKLED.

GUILLERMO PRIETO.

Narrator: SANTA ANNA ASSEMBLED THE GENERALS HE STILL TRUSTED.

HE OFFERED HIS PLACE TO ANYONE WHO WOULD TAKE IT.

NO ONE STEPPED FORWARD.

NOW THAT SCOTT WAS AT THE GATES OF THE CAPITAL,

SANTA ANNA DECIDED TO ACCEPT THE UNITED STATES' OFFER

TO NEGOTIATE A PEACE.

AT LEAST IT WOULD BUY HIM TIME.

ON AUGUST 27, U.S. DIPLOMAT NICHOLAS TRIST

AND 4 MEXICAN COMMISSIONERS BEGAN THEIR NEGOTIATIONS.

BUT THE EFFORT WAS DOOMED FROM THE START.

TRIST COULD OFFER PEACE ONLY ON THE CONDITION

THAT MEXICO GIVE UP TERRITORY,

AND SANTA ANNA COULD NOT AGREE

WITHOUT BEING ACCUSED OF TREASON.

NO OTHER MEXICAN POLITICIAN DARED RISK HIS CAREER

BY SUPPORTING A COMPROMISE.

[SOTO SPEAKING SPANISH]

Translator: THIS INABILITY TO MAKE A DECISION

OF THIS MAGNITUDE

IS VERY REVEALING OF THE POLITICAL SITUATION

IN MEXICO AT THIS TIME.

NOBODY IS WILLING TO RUN THE RISK

OF SOMETHING THAT THEY KNOW IS A LOST CAUSE.

Narrator: FINALLY, A DISAPPOINTED TRIST BROKE OFF THE TALKS,

CONVINCED THAT SANTA ANNA HAD LET HIS LAST CHANCE SLIP AWAY.

As Trist: SANTA ANNA COULD NOT BRING HIMSELF TO TAKE THE PLUNGE

INTO HIS RUBICON

AND ALLOWED HIMSELF TO BE CARRIED ALONG

BY A FLOOD OF CIRCUMSTANCE,

STAKING ALL UPON A BATTLE

EVERYONE FELT SURE HE WOULD LOSE.

Narrator: THE PEACE TALKS HAD FAILED.

NOW THE TRUCE ITSELF BEGAN TO CRUMBLE.

SCOTT WAS CONVINCED THAT SANTA ANNA

HAD BEEN USING THE TIME TO FORTIFY THE CITY

IN VIOLATION OF THE TERMS OF THE ARMISTICE.

ON SEPTEMBER 6,

HE DEMANDED THAT SANTA ANNA SURRENDER

BY NOON THE NEXT DAY.

UNABLE TO MAKE PEACE,

SANTA ANNA DECIDED ON THE ONLY REMAINING ALTERNATIVE.

HE WROTE BACK TO SCOTT...

As Santa Anna: YOURS WILL BE THE RESPONSIBILITY BEFORE THE WORLD,

WHICH READILY WILL PERCEIVE

WHOSE IS THE PART OF MODERATION AND JUSTICE.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

SO HE FIGHTS UP TO THE LAST MINUTE,

AND IN THAT SENSE,

HE WAS LIKE THE MEXICAN PEOPLE OF THE TIME.

YOU HAVE TO EXHAUST EVERY POSSIBILITY.

Narrator: ONCE MORE, SOLDIERS ON BOTH SIDES

PREPARED FOR BATTLE.

Man: MY NEVER-FORGOTTEN AND BELOVED CATITA,

ALTHOUGH THE YANKEES WILL ENTER MEXICO CITY,

IT DOES NOT FOLLOW THAT THEY WILL BE THE CONQUERORS

OF THE MEXICAN NATION.

THESE EVIL MEN WILL REMAIN MASTERS

ONLY OF THE TERRITORY THEY WALK ON,

AND THE WHOLE NATION WILL RISE UP AND DESTROY THEM.

Narrator: THE TRUCE WAS OVER.

THE BATTLE FOR MEXICO CITY WOULD SOON BEGIN.

SCOTT ORDERED HIS ENGINEERS TO SCOUT THE CAUSEWAYS

INTO THE CAPITAL.

THERE WERE 2 POSSIBLE ATTACK ROUTES--

ONE TO THE SOUTH, THROUGH THE GATE OF SAN ANTONIO;

THE OTHER FROM THE WEST,

THROUGH THE GATES OF SAN COSME AND BELEN.

ON THE WESTERN APPROACH WAS AN OLD FLOUR MILL

CALLED MOLINO DEL REY.

RUMORS SPOKE OF STOCKPILES OF GUNPOWDER THERE

AND A FOUNDRY WHERE BELLS WERE BEING TURNED INTO CANNONS.

SCOTT ORDERED THE MILL CAPTURED.

AS EVENING TOUCHED THE AMERICAN CAMP,

CAPTAIN KIRBY SMITH TOOK A MOMENT TO WRITE HIS WIFE.

As Smith: MY DEAREST,

I ALMOST DESPAIR WHEN I REFLECT UPON THE DESTITUTE SITUATION

IN WHICH YOU WILL BE LEFT WITH THE 3 CHILDREN DEPENDENT ON YOU

SHOULD I FALL IN THE COMING BATTLE.

TOMORROW WILL BE A DAY OF SLAUGHTER.

I AM THANKFUL YOU DO NOT KNOW THE PERIL WE ARE IN.

GOOD NIGHT.

Narrator: THE NEXT MORNING,

U.S. SOLDIERS ADVANCED ON THE MILL,

ONLY TO BE SURPRISED BY A DEVASTATING VOLLEY OF MEXICAN ARTILLERY.

SOON, 3,500 U.S. TROOPS

FOUND THEMSELVES ENGAGED IN A DESPERATE BATTLE

WITH MEXICAN FORCES NUMBERING 10,000.

THE BLOODY FIGHTING RAGED FOR MORE THAN 2 HOURS.

TIME AND AGAIN, U.S. SOLDIERS CHARGED INTO THE FEARSOME FIRE.

"OUR TROOPS FOUGHT LIKE HEROES," SAID LIEUTENANT JOHN PECK,

"AND WERE MOWED LIKE GRASS."

THE BATTLE FOR MOLINO DEL REY COST SCOTT'S FORCES

SOME 800 CASUALTIES.

AMONG THE DEAD WAS THE TEMPORARY COMMANDER OF THE LIGHT INFANTRY,

CAPTAIN KIRBY SMITH.

FOR SANTA ANNA'S TROOPS, THE TOLL WAS FAR HIGHER.

SURPRISED BY THE PERSISTENCE OF THE AMERICAN ATTACK,

THE MEXICAN FORCES SLOWLY WITHDREW.

AS THE U.S. TROOPS SEARCHED THE BUILDINGS,

THEY WERE FORCED TO ACCEPT A BITTER IRONY.

THE CANNON WORKS SO MANY HAD GIVEN THEIR LIVES FOR

DID NOT EXIST.

INSIDE THE GATES OF MEXICO CITY,

THE RESIDENTS COULD ONLY WONDER

WHEN THE FINAL ATTACK WOULD COME.

Man: THE CHURCH BELLS, WHICH HAVE BEEN SILENT FOR MANY DAYS,

RING ONLY TO SPREAD THE ALARM.

HALF THE INHABITANTS CROWD THE ROOFTOPS

TO SEE WHAT THEIR FATE MAY BE,

WHILE THE OTHER HALF LOCK THEMSELVES INDOORS

OR RUSH TO PREPARE TO DEFEND THEMSELVES TO THE LAST.

JOSE FERNANDO RAMIREZ.

Narrator: SANTA ANNA STATIONED TROOPS AND ARTILLERY

AT THE SOUTHERN AND WESTERN GATES TO THE CITY

AND AT CHAPULTEPEC CASTLE,

WHICH DOMINATED THE APPROACH FROM THE WEST.

NOW HE WAITED

TO SEE FROM WHICH DIRECTION THE U.S. FORCES

WOULD LAUNCH THEIR ASSAULT ON THE CAPITAL.

FOR WINFIELD SCOTT, THE STAKES HAD NEVER BEEN HIGHER.

ONE OF EVERY 5 SOLDIERS

WHO HAD MARCHED INTO THE VALLEY WITH HIM HAD FALLEN.

ANOTHER COSTLY BATTLE LIKE THE ONE FOR MOLINO DEL REY

WOULD BE HIS LAST.

FINALLY SCOTT MADE HIS DECISION.

HE WOULD ATTACK MEXICO CITY FROM THE WEST.

AGAINST THE ADVICE OF SOME OF HIS OFFICERS,

THE GENERAL ORDERED AN ASSAULT ON CHAPULTEPEC CASTLE.

GENERAL WILLIAM WORTH, ONE OF SCOTT'S BEST, MOST EXPERIENCED COMMANDERS,

HAD ARGUED AGAINST AN ATTACK ON CHAPULTEPEC.

AFTER THE DECISION, HE WAS HEARD TO MUTTER,

"WE SHALL BE DEFEATED."

AT SUNRISE ON THE NEXT MORNING, SEPTEMBER 12,

U.S. ARTILLERY BEGAN BLASTING

AT CHAPULTEPEC'S WALLS AND ROOFTOPS.

THE SHELLING LASTED 14 HOURS,

BUT THE MEXICAN TROOPS HELD FIRM.

INSIDE THE CASTLE, GENERAL NICOLAS BRAVO

LED 832 DEFENDERS,

INCLUDING MORE THAN 50 CADETS FROM THE MILITARY COLLEGE.

AS SHELLS RIPPED THROUGH THE CASTLE WALLS,

BRAVO URGENTLY APPEALED TO SANTA ANNA FOR REINFORCEMENTS,

BUT NONE ARRIVED.

Man: SANTA ANNA WAS CONSTANTLY CROSSING THE AVENUE,

ORDERING SOLDIERS TO MARCH,

SEARCHING OUT THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACES WITH RECKLESS VALOR.

I SEE HIM NOW WITH HIS PANAMA HAT, WHIP IN HAND,

HIS OVERCOAT AND PANTS OF FINEST LINEN.

HIS ACTIONS SERVE NO PURPOSE,

AND JUST AS HE CANNOT BE CALLED A TRAITOR,

HE CANNOT JUSTLY BE CONSIDERED A GOOD GENERAL.

GUILLERMO PRIETO.

Narrator: COLONEL JUAN CANO, WHO HAD HELPED FORTIFY

THE MEXICAN POSITIONS AT CERRO GORDO AND CHURUBUSCO,

WORKED DESPERATELY TO REPAIR CHAPULTEPEC'S BATTERED DEFENSES.

CANO KNEW TIME WAS RUNNING OUT.

THAT NIGHT, HE ORDERED HIS BROTHER, LORENZO,

TO TAKE A SEALED MESSAGE TO THEIR UNCLE.

IT WAS A REQUEST FOR SUPPLIES, JUAN CANO SAID,

NOTHING MORE.

WHEN LORENZO DELIVERED THE MESSAGE,

HE LEARNED OTHERWISE.

[MAN SPEAKING SPANISH]

Translator: DEAR UNCLE,

I AM CERTAIN THAT TOMORROW WE SHALL DIE.

I DON'T WANT MY ELDERLY PARENTS TO SUFFER THE UNBEARABLE GRIEF

OF LEARNING THAT 2 SONS HAVE DIED AT THE SAME TIME,

SO I BEG YOU,

KEEP MY BROTHER LORENZO FROM RETURNING TO MY SIDE.

IF HE WERE HERE AT CHAPULTEPEC, I AM SURE HE WOULD DIE WITH ME.

JUAN CANO.

Narrator: AS DAWN BROKE THE NEXT MORNING,

THE U.S. INFANTRY ADVANCED TOWARDS THE CASTLE.

GUILLERMO PRIETO WATCHED AS THE SOLDIERS MARCHED

THROUGH A FOREST DATING BACK TO THE TIME OF THE AZTECS.

As Prieto: MY FOREST...

MY CHILDHOOD PARADISE, MY PLAYGROUND OF YOUTH--

TO SEE IT BRUISED AND WOUNDED,

TRAMPLED BY THE INVADER,

TORMENTED ME AS IF I WERE SEEING

MY FATHER'S BODY STEPPED ON AND HUMILIATED.

GUILLERMO PRIETO.

Narrator: 500 VOLUNTEERS MADE UP THE LEAD ASSAULT PARTY.

FOLLOWING ARMY TRADITION,

THEY CALLED THEMSELVES "THE FORLORN HOPE."

WITH SCALING LADDERS IN PLACE, THE MEN SCRAMBLED UP

AND INTO THE FACE OF THE MEXICAN GUNS.

Man: THE YANKEES CLIMBED LIKE GOATS.

CLEARING ALL THE ROCKS AND THICKET,

THEY CAME TO THE MAIN DOOR OF THE TOP PLAZA,

TRAMPLING OVER EVERYTHING.

THERE THEY BUMPED INTO COLONEL CANO,

VERY RESOLUTE WITH GUN IN HAND.

2 OF THEM ASKED FOR HIS SWORD.

HE SHOT THEIR MOUTHS WITH A GUN.

THEY FELL ON HIM AND KILLED HIM.

Narrator: AT THE HEIGHT OF THE BATTLE,

400 MEXICAN SHARPSHOOTERS FROM THE SAN BLAS BATTALION

CHARGED UP THE HILL

IN A COURAGEOUS ATTEMPT TO JOIN THEIR COMRADES.

BUT THE REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVED TOO LATE,

AND MOST WERE CUT DOWN TRYING TO REACH THE CASTLE.

THE ASSAULT ON CHAPULTEPEC ENDED IN BLOODY HAND-TO-HAND FIGHTING

THAT SPARED FEW OF THE MEXICAN DEFENDERS.

AMONG THOSE WHO FELL WERE SOME OF THE MEXICAN CADETS,

THE YOUNGEST JUST 13 YEARS OLD.

6, IT WAS SAID, CHOSE TO DIE RATHER THAN SURRENDER.

THEY WOULD BECOME NATIONAL HEROES IN MEXICO,

THE BOY HEROES OF CHAPULTEPEC.

LEGEND HOLDS THAT ONE OF THEM, JUAN ESCUTIA,

WRAPPED HIMSELF IN MEXICO'S FLAG AND PLUNGED TO HIS DEATH

FROM THE CASTLE WALL.

FROM A NEARBY HILL,

30 OF THE AMERICAN DESERTERS

CAPTURED AT CHURUBUSCO WITH THE SAN PATRICIO BATTALION

WATCHED, STANDING IN MULE CARTS, WITH ROPES AROUND THEIR NECKS.

FINALLY, THE U.S. FLAG WAS RAISED OVER THE CASTLE.

CHAPULTEPEC HAD FALLEN.

AS THE U.S. FLAG FLUTTERED ON THE WIND,

THE OFFICER IN CHARGE OF THE EXECUTION

GAVE THE SIGNAL,

AND THE CARTS LURCHED FORWARD.

Eisenhower: IF THERE'S EVER

A CASE WHERE THERE'S 2 DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW,

THIS IS ONE BECAUSE, TO THE MEXICANS,

THE SAN PATRICIOS ARE PATRIOTS.

UH, FEW AMERICAN MILITARY HAVE ANY SYMPATHY FOR THEM.

Narrator: WITH CHAPULTEPEC CASTLE NO LONGER A THREAT,

SCOTT'S TROOPS BATTLED THEIR WAY UP THE 2 WESTERN CAUSEWAYS,

TAKING BOTH SAN COSME AND BELEN GATES

BY THE END OF THE DAY.

THAT NIGHT, SANTA ANNA MET WITH HIS KEY COMMANDERS

AND SEVERAL POLITICAL LEADERS

TO DECIDE THE CITY'S FATE.

[VELASCO-MARQUEZ SPEAKING SPANISH]

Translator: I THINK AMONG THE MOST TRAGIC MOMENTS

IN THE HISTORY OF MEXICO

IS THAT NIGHT, SEPTEMBER 13,

WHEN THE LAST RECOURSE, THE LAST POSSIBILITY--

OR NEARLY THE LAST POSSIBILITY--

OF DEFENDING MEXICO CITY WAS EXHAUSTED.

AND EVIDENTLY FOR GENERAL SANTA ANNA,

IT'S TERRIBLE TO HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT HE'S FAILED AGAIN.

Narrator: A LITTLE AFTER 11:00,

A CARRIAGE CAME FOR GENERAL ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANNA.

LATER IN THE NIGHT,

SOME 9,000 TROOPS FOLLOWED HIM OUT OF THE CITY.

AT 4:00 THE NEXT MORNING, SEPTEMBER 14,

A DELEGATION OF CITY LEADERS

WENT TO SCOTT'S HEADQUARTERS AND SURRENDERED.

WITHIN HOURS, GENERAL SCOTT'S ARMY

ENTERED THE PLAZA DE ARMAS,

THE HEART OF THE CAPITAL, IN TRIUMPH.

SOME RESISTANCE DID COME FROM AN UNEXPECTED QUARTER.

SANTA ANNA HAD EMPTIED THE JAILS,

AND THE PRISONERS

JOINED THOUSANDS OF BEGGARS AND INDIGENTS

COURSING THROUGH THE STREETS.

ONLY A FEW HAD WEAPONS.

MOST COULD ONLY HEAVE STONES AT THE INVADERS.

Man: SAD TO SAY, THIS GENEROUS EFFORT BY THE LOWER CLASSES

WAS BITTERLY DENOUNCED BY THE PRIVILEGED CLASSES,

PEOPLE WHO COULD LOOK WITH INDIFFERENCE

ON THE HUMILIATION OF THEIR COUNTRY

IF THEY COULD ONLY PRESERVE

THEIR OWN INTERESTS AND COMFORTS.

GUILLERMO PRIETO.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

Translator: IT'S VERY CLEAR TO MANY PEOPLE

THAT IF THESE LOWER-CLASS PEOPLE ARE ARMED,

THEY WILL CONQUER SCOTT'S 10,000 SOLDIERS

AND CONTINUE WITH A NATIONWIDE SOCIAL REVOLUTION.

THIS COULD NOT BE PERMITTED.

THEY'D RATHER LOSE WHATEVER THERE IS TO LOSE

AGAINST THE UNITED STATES

THAN RISK A SOCIAL UPHEAVAL

THAT COULD WIPE THE PRIVILEGED CLASSES OFF THE MAP.

Narrator: AS THE AMERICANS TIGHTENED THEIR GRIP ON THE CAPITAL,

SANTA ANNA RESIGNED HIS PRESIDENCY.

MANUEL DE LA PEÑA Y PEÑA,

THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT,

BECAME PRESIDENT OF MEXICO.

WITHIN A MONTH,

PEÑA Y PEÑA ORDERED SANTA ANNA COURT-MARTIALED

AND STRIPPED OF HIS COMMAND.

WANTED BY HIS OWN GOVERNMENT AND PURSUED BY U.S. SOLDIERS,

SANTA ANNA FINALLY FLED TO EXILE IN JAMAICA.

IN A FAREWELL MESSAGE TO THE COUNTRY,

HE DEFENDED HIMSELF

WITH A FAMILIAR BLEND OF SELF-PITY AND PRIDE.

As Santa Anna: FELLOW CITIZENS,

MISFORTUNE HAS DEPRIVED ME OF THE INCOMPARABLE SATISFACTION

OF PRESENTING TO YOU A SPLENDID VICTORY,

BUT NEVER HAVE I COMMITTED A CRIME AGAINST MY COUNTRY.

A GOOD NAME WHEN I AM GONE IS THE HEIGHT OF MY AMBITION.

I HAVE WISHED ALL THAT IS GREAT AND GLORIOUS FOR MEXICO,

AND TO OBTAIN IT, I HAVE NOT SPARED EVEN MY OWN BLOOD.

THIS YOU KNOW AND WILL DO ME JUSTICE.

Narrator: EVEN WITH U.S. FORCES IN CONTROL OF MEXICO CITY,

WINFIELD SCOTT FACED A PERILOUS SITUATION.

THE UNITED STATES ARMY HAD NEVER BEFORE

OCCUPIED A FOREIGN CAPITAL.

ALL THAT HAD HAPPENED TO NOW, THE SACRIFICES ON BOTH SIDES,

WOULD MEAN NOTHING WITHOUT A TREATY.

IT WAS THE MOMENT

THAT PEACE COMMISSIONER NICHOLAS TRIST HAD BEEN WAITING FOR,

AN OPPORTUNITY TO CLAIM HIS PLACE IN HISTORY.

BUT BEFORE THE TALKS COULD START,

TRIST RECEIVED A STUNNING DISPATCH FROM WASHINGTON.

HE HAD BEEN FIRED.

Man: OCTOBER 6, 1847--

THE PRESIDENT, BELIEVING THAT YOUR CONTINUED PRESENCE WITH THE ARMY

CAN BE PRODUCTIVE OF NO GOOD,

HAS DIRECTED ME TO RECALL YOU FROM YOUR MISSION.

HE HAS DETERMINED NOT TO MAKE ANOTHER OFFER

TO TREAT WITH THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT.

THEY MUST NOW SUE FOR PEACE.

JAMES BUCHANAN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE.

Narrator: INTERIM PRESIDENT MANUEL DE LA PEÑA Y PEÑA

URGED TRIST TO STAY.

FOR WEEKS, MEXICAN LEADERS HAD STRUGGLED

TO FORM A GOVERNMENT STABLE ENOUGH

TO EVEN ATTEMPT NEGOTIATIONS.

[VELASCO-MARQUEZ SPEAKING SPANISH]

Translator: AT THIS TIME, IT WAS NECESSARY

FOR THE MEXICANS TO NEGOTIATE

BECAUSE THEY WERE AFRAID OF LOSING ALL OF THEIR TERRITORY,

OR EVEN MORE TERRITORY THAN THAT ALREADY OCCUPIED IN THE NORTH

AND DEMANDED BY THE UNITED STATES.

Narrator: IN MEXICO, TRIST WAS TRUSTED BY BOTH SIDES.

WITHOUT HIM, EVERYONE FEARED THE NEGOTIATIONS WOULD COLLAPSE.

PRESSED BY BOTH SCOTT AND PEÑA Y PEÑA TO REMAIN,

TRIST MADE HIS DECISION.

IN A CONDESCENDING 65-PAGE LETTER,

HE INFORMED BUCHANAN

OF HIS INTENTION TO DISOBEY HIS PRESIDENT.

As Trist: IF THE PRESENT OPPORTUNITY BE NOT SEIZED AT ONCE,

ALL CHANCE OF MAKING A TREATY AT ALL

WILL BE LOST, PROBABLY FOREVER.

Narrator: TRIST KNEW HIS RESPONSE

WOULD TAKE WEEKS TO REACH WASHINGTON

AND MORE WEEKS WOULD PASS WHILE AN ANGRY REPLY

WORKED ITS WAY TO MEXICO.

MEANWHILE HE WOULD TRY TO NEGOTIATE A PEACE.

THE TALKS LASTED 2 MONTHS, BUT BY LATE JANUARY OF 1848,

NICHOLAS TRIST AND THE MEXICAN PEACE COMMISSIONERS

HAD AGREED ON MOST OF THE TERMS OF A TREATY.

THE UNITED STATES WOULD PAY MEXICO $15 MILLION.

THE LANDS OF UPPER CALIFORNIA AND NEW MEXICO

WOULD BE CEDED TO THE UNITED STATES.

[VAZQUEZ SPEAKING SPANISH]

Translator: THE MEXICANS FOUGHT VERY HARD

NOT TO CEDE NEW MEXICO.

THEY FOUGHT TO KEEP SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA,

WHICH WAS ALSO MORE INHABITED BY MEXICANS,

AND ABOVE ALL, THEY FOUGHT FOR THE AREA

FROM THE NUECES TO THE BRAVO.

Narrator: THESE WERE THE LANDS OVER WHICH BLOOD HAD FIRST BEEN SHED,

BUT HERE TRIST WOULD NOT GIVE IN.

THE BORDER WITH TEXAS WOULD BE DRAWN

AT THE BRAVO, THE RIO GRANDE.

FOR THE MEXICANS LIVING IN THE TERRITORY

TRANSFERRED TO THE UNITED STATES,

THERE WOULD BE A CHOICE.

THEY COULD STAY ON THEIR LAND

AND CHOOSE EITHER U.S. OR MEXICAN CITIZENSHIP,

OR THEY COULD LEAVE.

MOST WOULD CHOOSE TO STAY.

Woman: THE BORDER IS CREATED,

THIS ARTIFICIAL POLITICAL BORDER,

AND SUDDENLY PART OF THE FAMILY IS ON ONE SIDE

AND THE OTHER PART OF THE FAMILY IS ON THE OTHER SIDE.

SO IT SPLITS FAMILIES, IT PULLS THEM APART,

AND THEY ARE SUDDENLY NOT ONLY ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE BORDER

BUT POLITICALLY--BECAUSE THE WAR CONTINUED TO BE FOUGHT,

IN MANY RESPECTS, ALTHOUGH NO LONGER MILITARILY--

THEY ARE NOW, IN THAT SENSE, ENEMIES,

ALTHOUGH THEY DON'T CONSTRUCT THEMSELVES THAT WAY,

OR THEY DON'T SEE THEMSELVES THAT WAY.

Narrator: ON FEBRUARY 2, 1848, TRIST AND THE MEXICAN COMMISSIONERS

MET IN THE TOWN OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO,

NEAR THE BASILICA OF THE VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE,

THE PATRON SAINT OF MEXICO.

HERE THEY SIGNED THE DOCUMENT THAT WOULD BECOME KNOWN

AS THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO.

YEARS LATER, TRIST TOLD HIS WIFE VIRGINIA

THAT AT THE TIME, HIS SENSE OF DUTY

HAD FORCED HIM TO HIDE HIS FEELINGS.

DURING THE SIGNING, ONE OF THE MEXICAN COMMISSIONERS,

JOSE BERNARDO COUTO, REMARKED TO TRIST,

"THIS MUST BE A PROUD MOMENT FOR YOU,

NO LESS PROUD FOR YOU THAN IT IS HUMILIATING FOR US."

As Virginia: TO THIS, MR. TRIST REPLIED,

"WE ARE MAKING PEACE. LET THAT BE OUR ONLY THOUGHT."

BUT SAID HE TO US IN RELATING IT,

"COULD THOSE MEXICANS HAVE SEEN INTO MY HEART AT THAT MOMENT,

"THEY WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT MY FEELING OF SHAME AS AN AMERICAN

WAS FAR STRONGER THAN THEIRS COULD BE."

Narrator: THE TREATY ARRIVED IN WASHINGTON ON FEBRUARY 19.

POLK WAS STILL INCENSED AT TRIST'S INSUBORDINATION,

BUT THE PRESIDENT WAS ALSO WORRIED

THAT EXTREME EXPANSIONISTS WOULD TRY TO PROLONG THE WAR.

FINDING THE TREATY ITSELF ACCEPTABLE,

POLK SUBMITTED IT TO THE SENATE WITHOUT CHANGES.

HE KNEW THAT RATIFICATION WOULD FACE STRONG OPPOSITION

FROM THOSE WHO WANTED TO TAKE ALL OF MEXICO.

Man: A FORCE MUST BE POURED INTO THE COUNTRY

SUFFICIENTLY POWERFUL TO OVERAWE RESISTANCE.

IT IS A GLORIOUS PROSPECT, THIS ANNEXATION OF ALL MEXICO.

NEW YORK HERALD.

Narrator: BUT THERE WERE OTHERS IN THE SENATE

WHO FEARED THE CONSEQUENCES

OF GRANTING CITIZENSHIP TO MEXICANS.

AMONG THEM WAS JOHN C. CALHOUN OF SOUTH CAROLINA.

As Calhoun: WE HAVE NEVER DREAMT OF INCORPORATING INTO OUR UNION

ANY BUT THE CAUCASIAN RACE,

THE FREE WHITE RACE.

THE GREATEST MISFORTUNES OF SPANISH AMERICA

ARE TO BE TRACED TO THE FATAL ERROR

OF PLACING THESE COLORED RACES

ON AN EQUALITY WITH THE WHITE RACE.

Narrator: IN THE END, THE MODERATES PREVAILED,

AND THE U.S. SENATE APPROVED THE TREATY.

THE UNITED STATES' DREAM OF MANIFEST DESTINY

WAS NOW A REALITY.

FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN,

THE NATION HAD BECOME A TRANSCONTINENTAL POWER.

NOW IT WAS UP TO MEXICO TO RATIFY THE SIGNED TREATY.

PRESIDENT PEÑA Y PEÑA CONFRONTED EXTREMIST FACTIONS OF HIS OWN

IN THE MEXICAN CONGRESS.

SOME DELEGATES ARGUED FOR CONTINUING THE WAR.

TOO MANY HAD SACRIFICED TOO MUCH TO ACCEPT DEFEAT.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

Translator: WHEN THE WAR

BETWEEN MEXICO AND THE UNITED STATES WAS OVER,

IT LEFT A PROFOUND FRUSTRATION AMONG THE MEXICAN PEOPLE,

BECAUSE COMMON PEOPLE, EVERYDAY CITIZENS,

HAD SEEN THEIR NEIGHBORS, THEIR BROTHERS,

AND ORDINARY SOLDIERS DIE

IN A WAR THAT, FOR ALL THE BLOOD SHED,

HAD RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF HALF OF MEXICO'S TERRITORY.

Narrator: AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR,

MANUEL DE LA PEÑA Y PEÑA HAD CALLED FOR PEACE.

NOW HE WOULD PRESIDE OVER THE DISMEMBERMENT OF HIS NATION.

IT WAS, HE SAID, HIS JOURNEY TO THE GRAVE.

EVEN SO, HE URGED THE MEXICAN PEOPLE TO ACCEPT THE TREATY.

As Peña y Peña: THE PEOPLE HAVE AN INCONTESTABLE RIGHT

NOT TO HAVE TO SUFFER MORE.

IT WOULD BE A GREAT INHUMANITY TO PUT THEM THROUGH

ALL THE HORRORS OF A RENEWED AND BLOODY BATTLE,

ESPECIALLY AFTER THE MANY YEARS OF CIVIL WAR.

THE TRUTH IS THAT A FERTILE AND BEAUTIFUL PART OF OUR TERRITORY

IS BEING CEDED.

I HAVE NO WISH TO OBSCURE THE TRUTH,

MUCH LESS TO DENY THE PAIN I FEEL

AT THE SEPARATION FROM THE MEXICANS OF CALIFORNIA

AND NEW MEXICO.

THE TERRITORIES HAVE NOT BEEN GIVEN UP

FOR THE SUM OF $15 MILLION,

BUT TO RECOVER OUR PORTS AND INVADED CITIES,

TO BRING ORDER TO A PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT CEASED TO SUFFER

FOR 37 YEARS.

LET US DO THE RIGHT THING.

LET US STRIP OFF THE VEIL THAT HAS PREVENTED US

FROM SEEING THE REALITY OF THINGS.

LET US MAKE A MIGHTY EFFORT

SO THAT OUR CHILDREN WILL NOT CURSE OUR MEMORY.

Narrator: ON MAY 30, 1848,

THE MEXICAN CONGRESS APPROVED THE TREATY.

THE WAR WAS OFFICIALLY OVER.

Translator: IT WAS THE END OF A DREAM,

THE END FINALLY

OF THE GREATNESS OF NEW SPAIN,

WHICH ALTHOUGH IT HAD FADED, TRACES STILL REMAINED.

NOW SUDDENLY IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT ALL THAT WAS HISTORY.

I THINK THE BIGGEST THING THAT AMERICANS HAVE TO REALIZE

IS THAT, UH...

THE MEXICANS HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN THIS,

AND SO IF WE THINK THAT WE ARE BEING FRIENDLY, HOSPITABLE,

GENEROUS IN DEALING WITH THE MEXICANS THESE DAYS

AND FIND THAT THEY HAVE SOME RESERVE--

BECAUSE THEY'RE VERY CONSCIOUS OF HISTORY--

I THINK AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE MEXICAN WAR

WILL LET US UNDERSTAND BETTER HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT IT.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

Translator: I WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE AS A FINAL REFLECTION,

THE ONLY BENEFIT WE HAD FROM THIS SHOCKING EXPERIENCE--

OF COURSE, IT WAS A PAINFUL MUTILATION OF OUR TERRITORY...

BUT IN EXCHANGE, VERY EXPENSIVELY, FOR SURE...

WE FOUND A SPIRIT OF MEXICAN IDENTITY.

Narrator: ON THE FOURTH OF JULY 1848,

U.S. VETERANS OF THE WAR WITH MEXICO

MARCHED PROUDLY ON PARADE IN THEIR NATION'S CAPITAL.

LATER THAT SAME DAY,

THE COUNTERSIGNED TREATY

OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO

ARRIVED FROM MEXICO CITY.

JAMES K. POLK HAD PROVED A MAN OF HIS WORD.

THE GOALS HE HAD SET

BEFORE THE CONGRESS AND THE NATION EARLY IN HIS TERM

HAD BEEN FULFILLED.

As Polk: MONDAY, AUGUST 14, 1848.

I AM HEARTILY REJOICED THAT THE SESSION OF CONGRESS IS OVER.

MY LONG CONFINEMENT AND GREAT LABOR HAS EXHAUSTED ME,

AND I FEEL THE ABSOLUTE NECESSITY OF HAVING A REST.

Narrator: POLK HAD HOPED THAT HIS SUCCESS

WOULD BENEFIT HIS BELOVED DEMOCRATIC PARTY,

BUT HIS REWARD PROVED BITTER.

ON INAUGURATION DAY IN 1849,

HE WATCHED AS HIS POLITICAL RIVAL ZACHARY TAYLOR,

THE VICTOR OF MONTERREY AND BUENA VISTA, WAS SWORN IN

AS THE 12th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

EXHAUSTED, POLK RETURNED TO HIS HOME IN TENNESSEE.

3 MONTHS LATER, HE WAS DEAD.

ALTHOUGH DEFEATED IN BATTLE AND FORCED INTO EXILE,

ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANNA WOULD BE CALLED

TO THE PRESIDENCY OF HIS COUNTRY YET AGAIN IN 1853.

2 YEARS LATER, HE WAS BACK IN EXILE,

NOT TO RETURN TO MEXICO FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS.

As Santanna: I HAVE DRUNK THE CUP OF BITTERNESS DROP BY DROP.

NEVERTHELESS...

I SHALL CONGRATULATE WITH THE GREATEST PLEASURE

THE FORTUNATE COUNTRYMAN WHO BRINGS PEACE

TO OUR NATIVE LAND.

Narrator: SANTA ANNA LIVED OUT HIS REMAINING YEARS IN OBSCURITY,

WITHOUT THE WEALTH AND FAME

HE HAD SO EAGERLY SOUGHT IN HIS YOUTH.

IN THE END, ALL THAT REMAINED WAS THE LOYALTY OF HIS WIFE,

DOÑA DELORES TOSTA DE SANTA ANNA.

[SOTO SPEAKING SPANISH]

Translator: SHE PAYS THE PEOPLE OF THE TOWN

TO GATHER AROUND

THE BALCONY OF HIS HOUSE

AND SHOUT, "VIVA SANTA ANNA!"

AND SANTA ANNA WOULD STEP OUT ONTO THE BALCONY

TO THANK THE ADORING PUBLIC.

IF HE DIDN'T FEEL HE WAS ONCE AGAIN PRESIDENT,

HE COULD FEEL THAT IT WAS ONCE AGAIN POSSIBLE.

THAT WAS HIS FUNDAMENTAL REASON FOR LIVING.

Narrator: IN THE FALL OF 1848,

GUILLERMO PRIETO AND THE OTHER WRITERS OF APUNTES,

NOTES FOR THE HISTORY OF THE WAR

BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO,

PUBLISHED THEIR WORK.

As Prieto: THERE REMAINED IN OUR HEARTS

A FEELING OF SADNESS FOR THE EVILS THE WAR HAD PRODUCED

AND IN OUR MINDS, A FRUITFUL LESSON

OF HOW DIFFICULT IT IS

TO UPHOLD THE DEFENSE AND SALVATION OF A PEOPLE

WHEN DISORDER, ACRIMONY, AND ANARCHY PREVAIL.

GUILLERMO PRIETO.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

Translator: FOR MEXICO,

WE LOST THE TERRITORY...

BUT THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING INVADED

GAVE US MEXICANS THE NECESSARY ELEMENTS

TO RE-THINK, TO RE-CREATE OUR COUNTRY

AND CONSOLIDATE OUR NATION.

Narrator: IN THE YEARS FOLLOWING THE WAR WITH THE UNITED STATES,

MEXICO WOULD CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE

WITH POLITICAL DIVISION, CIVIL WAR,

AND FOREIGN INTERVENTION.

BUT IN 1867, IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE WAR OF THE REFORM,

PRESIDENT BENITO JUAREZ WAS ABLE TO UNITE MEXICO

AND DEFEAT A FRENCH INVASION OF THE COUNTRY.

UNLIKE THE DIVIDED REPUBLIC

THAT HAD CONFRONTED THE UNITED STATES,

MEXICO HAD BECOME A STRONGER NATION.

EVEN SO, THE NORTH AMERICAN INVASION

WOULD NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.

[GONZALEZ SPEAKING SPANISH]

Translator: IT IS DIFFICULT TO OVERCOME A DEFEAT

SO TRAUMATIC, SO PAINFUL...

BUT IN TIME, WE WILL HAVE TO ASSIMILATE THAT.

SURELY IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME,

AND WE HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO

IN ORDER TO BUILD A VIABLE, MODERN, PROGRESSIVE,

FREE, AND JUST NATION.

Narrator: IN THE UNITED STATES,

MANY AMERICANS HAD BECOME CONVINCED

THAT THEIRS WAS A REPUBLIC FOR THE AGES,

A MODEL FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD TO FOLLOW.

THE PROFESSIONAL ARMY

GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT HAD CHAMPIONED THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER

WOULD HELP TRANSFORM THE UNITED STATES

INTO AN INTERNATIONAL POWER.

Johannsen: THERE WAS A POPULAR FEELING

THE UNITED STATES HAS THIS DESTINY

TO BECOME A WORLD LEADER IN INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT,

IN COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY,

AND EVEN IN REFERENCE

TO PROGRESS IN THE ARTS AND SCIENCES

AND INTELLECTUAL ADVANCE AND INTELLECTUAL ACHIEVEMENT.

THIS IS ALL PART OF THIS IDEA OF BOUNDLESSNESS, OF NO LIMITS.

THIS IS THIS ROMANTIC NOTION

THAT THROUGH AN ACT OF WILL, INDIVIDUALS, AMERICANS,

CAN ACHIEVE THIS GREATNESS FOR THEMSELVES AND FOR THEIR NATION.

Narrator: BUT THE UNITED STATES' SUDDEN EXPANSION

INFLAMED AN ISSUE THAT HAD HAUNTED THE NATION SINCE BIRTH:

WOULD THESE LANDS BE SLAVE OR FREE?

IT WAS A QUESTION THAT WOULD DRIVE THE REPUBLIC

INTO CIVIL WAR.

WHEN GENERALS ROBERT E. LEE AND ULYSSES S. GRANT

FINALLY SHOOK HANDS AT APPOMATTOX IN 1865,

THEY SOUGHT TO EASE THE MOMENT

WITH TALK OF THEIR EXPERIENCE IN MEXICO 18 YEARS EARLIER.

NEAR THE END OF HIS LIFE, A DISILLUSIONED ULYSSES GRANT

WOULD WRITE OF THE WAR WITH MEXICO...

As Grant: I REGARD THE WAR AS ONE OF THE MOST UNJUST EVER WAGED

BY A STRONGER AGAINST A WEAKER NATION.

Narrator: THERE WERE OTHERS WHO SHARED GRANT'S OPINION

THAT THE UNITED STATES HAD BEEN AT FAULT.

AND IF NOT AT FAULT, THAT IT DID NOT FULLY LIVE UP

TO ITS...

ITS IDEOLOGY AS EXPRESSED

IN THE NOBLEST OF THE AMERICAN WRITINGS

ON DEMOCRACY AND FREEDOM.

THIS WAS AN AGGRESSIVE WAR IN WHICH WE ATTACKED A NEIGHBOR,

AND HOWEVER MUCH WE MAY HAVE WON FROM THE WAR,

WE DO NOT LIKE TO LOOK AT THE WAY IN WHICH WE WON IT.

Narrator: THE LANDS TAKEN FROM MEXICO WOULD BECOME

AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF WEALTH FOR A GROWING UNITED STATES.

THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA

SPURRED A GREAT WESTWARD MIGRATION

OF ENTREPRENEURS AND SETTLERS SEEKING NEW OPPORTUNITIES.

FOR NATIVE AMERICANS,

IT WAS THE LATEST INVASION OF THEIR HOMELAND

AND THE BEGINNING OF ANOTHER STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL

THAT WOULD CONTINUE FOR GENERATIONS.

[MAN SPEAKING NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE]

Translator: IN THE FAR-DISTANT PAST,

THE WORLD SEEMED LARGE ENOUGH

FOR BOTH THE RED MAN AND THE WHITE MAN.

HE ONCE CAME TO TRADE.

HE COMES NOW TO FIGHT.

HE COVERS HIS FACE WITH CLOUDS OF JEALOUSY AND ANGER

AND TELLS US TO BE GONE.

SATE-ANGIAH, SITTING BEAR.

Narrator: AFTER THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO,

MORE THAN 75,000 MEXICANS CHOSE TO REMAIN ON LAND

WHICH HAD NOW BECOME PART OF THE UNITED STATES.

MOST WOULD BECOME U.S. CITIZENS,

BUT MANY WOULD LOSE THE LAND

ON WHICH THEIR FAMILIES HAD LIVED FOR GENERATIONS.

THE UNITED STATES DOES NOT CLAIM THEM

AS FULL CITIZENS,

AS A MATTER OF FACT,

IMMEDIATELY, ALMOST, SETS UP MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE BARRIERS

AND MULTIPLE OBSTACLES

SO THAT THEY ARE NOT CONSIDERED FULL CITIZENS,

NEITHER THEY NOR THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

THAT WERE ALREADY HERE EITHER.

AND MEXICO HAS LOST SIGHT OF THEM, HAS LOST THEM.

SO...WHAT OF THEM?

WHO--NOT ONLY WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE,

BUT NOW THEY DON'T HAVE A HOMELAND,

AND THEY DON'T HAVE A NATION.

Narrator: IN CALIFORNIA, EVEN THE WEALTHY MARIANO VALLEJO

WAS UNABLE TO RETAIN HIS PLACE IN THE NEW ORDER.

IN WHAT MANY BELIEVED WAS A VIOLATION OF THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO,

VALLEJO WAS REQUIRED TO PROVE THE VALIDITY

OF HIS LAND GRANTS FROM MEXICO.

THE LEGAL BATTLE FORCED HIM TO SELL MUCH OF HIS PROPERTY

TO PAY LAWYERS.

IN THE END, HE LOST THE REST TO YANKEE MORTGAGE HOLDERS.

"THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE IS VERY FICKLE,"

VALLEJO WOULD WRITE.

"IT HIT ME AMONG THE FIRST."

AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH IN 1890,

ALL THAT REMAINED OF HIS ONCE VAST ESTATE

WAS 228 ACRES, 2 HORSES, AND A COW.

THE VIOLENCE IS NOT JUST MILITARY,

BUT IT IS A VIOLENCE OF THE SOUL.

IT IS A VIOLENCE OF THE SPIRIT

BY THOSE WHO COMMIT THAT VIOLENCE

AS WELL AS BY THOSE WHO ARE ON THE RECEIVING END,

AND FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, WE STILL LIVE THAT VIOLENCE.

THAT VIOLENCE HAS NOT HEALED.

WE LIVE WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF THAT VIOLENCE.

AND FOR ME, FOR US TO GO BEYOND THAT

IS TO COME TO TERMS WITH IT, IS TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT.

Narrator: IN 1947, HARRY TRUMAN BECAME

THE FIRST U.S. PRESIDENT TO EVER VISIT MEXICO CITY.

Newsreel: UNEXPECTEDLY, MR. TRUMAN MAKES

AN OUT-OF-THE-WAY STOP AT THE CHAPULTEPEC MONUMENT.

HERE HE PAYS A SIMPLE TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF MEXICAN YOUTHS

WHO DIED 100 YEARS AGO DEFENDING THEIR NATION'S CAPITAL

AGAINST AN AMERICAN ARMY.

ALL MEXICO WAS TREMENDOUSLY MOVED BY THIS ACT.

Narrator: TRUMAN BROUGHT TO MEXICO A PROMISE.

Truman: TO OBSERVE THE DOCTRINE OF NONINTERVENTION.

WHAT IT MEANS IS THAT A STRONG NATION

DOES NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO IMPOSE ITS WILL

BY REASON OF ITS STRENGTH UPON A WEAKER NATION.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

Translator: THE SOONER WE MEXICANS CONFRONT

HOW WE HAVE BEEN

IN THE PRESENCE OF THE UNITED STATES,

THE BETTER WE'LL BE ABLE TO RELATE TO THE NORTH AMERICANS.

ENOUGH OF MYTHS THAT WE ARE THE VICTIMS OF IMPERIALISM.

YES, CERTAINLY, WE WERE, AND WE WERE MANY OTHER THINGS AS WELL.

OUR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO HELPED THE UNITED STATES

AND ENABLED IT TO DO WHAT IT DID

AND TO SOME DEGREE, WHAT IT IS DOING EVEN TODAY.

SO FOR ME, IT SEEMS THAT THE WAR IS A VERY IMPORTANT EXAMPLE

OF WHAT MEXICANS SHOULD RECOGNIZE ABOUT HOW WE WERE,

WHAT ENORMOUS PROBLEMS WE FACED

IN SUCH A CRITICAL TIME AS THE WAR,

BECAUSE IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY

THAT WE DEMYSTIFY OUR RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES

AT A TIME WHEN WE ARE RESOLVING NEW BOUNDARIES

IN TERMS OF GEOPOLITICS, CULTURE, AND ECONOMICS.

AND I THINK THAT THAT WAR,

AND STUDYING THAT WAR,

IT WILL HELP FOR A BETTER FUTURE FOR THOSE 2 COUNTRIES

THAT CANNOT CHANGE GEOGRAPHY.

THEY HAVE TO LIVE TOGETHER.

CAPTIONING MADE POSSIBLE BY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND KERA

CAPTIONING PERFORMED BY THE NATIONAL CAPTIONING INSTITUTE, INC.

THIS SERIES HAS BEEN MADE POSSIBLE

BY GRANTS FROM THE FOLLOWING...

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES,

EXPANDING AMERICA'S UNDERSTANDING

OF WHO WE WERE, WHO WE ARE, AND WHO WE WILL BE...

AND THE ANNUAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM...

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY...

AND THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS...