Rio Grande

(noun)

A river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico.

Related Terms

Examples of Rio Grande in the following topics:

  • The Mexican Borderlands

    • Texas claimed the Rio Grande as its border, while Mexico maintained that it was the Nueces River and did not recognize Texan independence.
    • Indeed, Taylor marched as far south as the Rio Grande, where he began to build a fort near the river's mouth on the Gulf of Mexico.
    • Texas continued to claim New Mexico as far as the Rio Grande.

  • The Mexican–American War, 1846–1848

    • The Republic of Texas claimed land up to the Rio Grande, based on the Treaties of Velasco.
    • President James Polk endorsed the Rio Grande boundary, which incited a dispute with Mexico.
    • After a series of failed negotiations with Mexico City, Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor and his forces south to the Rio Grande to enter the territory that Mexicans disputed.
    • Led by Taylor, 2,300 U.S. troops crossed the Rio Grande and headed toward the besieged city of Monterrey.
    • Mexico also came to recognize the Rio Grande as the border with the United States.

  • The Breakdown of Sectional Balance

    • In 1840, territorial expansion became a priority for President James Polk, as Texas was annexed shortly before his inauguration.Believing in the "Manifest Destiny" of the United States to expand to the Pacific, Polk supported "Texans in their efforts to seize all land to the Rio Grande and claim the river as their southern and western border, in spite of the fact that Mexico claimed the Nueces River as the Texan border.With the annexation of Texas and the growing conflict between Mexicans and Texans, the Mexican government broke diplomatic relations with the United States.
    • With the conflict over the Texan border escalating, Polk sent Zachary Taylor and American troops into Texas to defend the Rio Grande boundary, provoking the outbreak of war.The American public largely supported the war and was eager for news of conquest and war stories disseminated from newspapers and magazines.The war also held romantic appeal for Americans who believed that it was the destiny of the United States to possess the North American continent and to expand "progressive democracy" to new territories acquired from backward nations.
    • -Mexican border of the Rio Grande River, and ceded the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico; most of Arizona and Colorado; and parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming to the United States.In return, Mexico received $18,250,000, and the U.S. agreed to assume $3.25 million in debts that the Mexican government owed to U.S. citizens.The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was a source of controversy among U.S.
    • Mexico's cession of Alta California and Nuevo México and its recognition of U.S. sovereignty over all of Texas north of the Rio Grande formalized the addition of 1.2 million square miles of territory to the United States, with a final territorial adjustment between Mexico and the U.S. made with the Gadsden Purchase in 1853.

  • Tyler and Texas

    • Texas claimed the Rio Grande as its border, while Mexico maintained it was the Nueces River, and did not recognize Texan independence.
    • Indeed, Taylor marched as far south as the Rio Grande, where he began to build a fort near the river's mouth on the Gulf of Mexico.
    • Texas continued to claim New Mexico as far as the Rio Grande, supported by the rest of the South and opposed by the North and by New Mexico itself.

  • Victory in Mexico

    • –Mexican border as the Rio Grande River, and ceded to the United States the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming.
    • The acquired lands west of the Rio Grande are traditionally called the Mexican Cession in the United States, as opposed to the Texas Annexation 2 years earlier.
    • Mexico never recognized the independence of Texas prior to the war, and did not cede its claim to territory north of the Rio Grande or Gila River until this treaty.

  • Conclusion: The Effects of Westward Expansion

    • –Mexico border at the Rio Grande.

  • Events of the War

    • For the first time, aiming to curtail Britain and Prussia's ever-growing might, France formed a grand coalition of its own, which ended as Britain rose as the world's predominant power, altering the European balance of power.
    • In the Fantastic War (1762-63) in South America, Spanish forces conquered the Portuguese territories of Colonia do Sacramento and Rio Grande de São Pedro and forced the Portuguese to surrender and retreat.
    • Peter” (the present day Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul) would be retaken from the Spanish army during the undeclared Hispano-Portuguese war of 1763–1777.

  • Polk and Expansion

    • In January 1846, to increase pressure on Mexico to negotiate, Polk sent troops under General Zachary Taylor into the area between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande—territory that was claimed by both the United States and Mexico.

  • Ceramics in Early South America

    • The Nazca culture (also Nasca) flourished from 100 to 800 CE beside the dry southern coast of Peru in the river valleys of the Rio Grande de Nazca drainage and the Ica Valley.

  • French Colonialization

    • Following these preliminary trips, French fishermen and traders made frequent journeys to the Grand Banks, near Newfoundland, throughout the century.
    • France did make some unsuccessful attempts at colonization in Brazil, first in 1555 at Rio de Janeiro ("France Antarctique") and latter in 1612 at São Luís ("France Équinoxiale").