Which war resulted in the U.S. gains of western lands after defeating Mexico?

• A. American Revolutionary War
• B. War of 1812
• C. Mexican-American War
• D. Spanish-American War

Answer: (C)

Expansion of U.S. territory through war and treaty is being tested. After defeating Mexico in the Mexican-American War (1846–1848), the United States gained a huge swath of western lands through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Mexico ceded California, Nevada, Utah, most of Arizona, and parts of New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming to the U.S., with the border set along the Rio Grande for Texas. In return, the United States paid about $15 million and assumed certain Mexican debts. This dramatically enlarged the American West and spurred further settlement and political debate over how new territories would be organized, including issues of slavery. Not the other wars: independence and sovereignty shifts came from different conflicts, and the Spanish-American War led to territories outside the continental West.