It was a long negotiation process that ultimately led to the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo on February 2, 1848. President Polk sent “Peace Ambassador” Nicholas Trist to central Mexico in order to set the terms of the Treaty. On a note of interest, Trist was recalled by Polk but disobeyed orders to go back to Washington; he was the only American to sign the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. If Trist would have left for Washington like he was ordered to do, the treaty would probably never have happened. With this Treaty, the American Southwest as we know it today officially came under U.S. control and Mexico lost half of its country. The treaty established the Texas-Mexican border along the Rio Grande; fifteen years later it would be the same river that led to the Chamizal dispute between Mexico and the United States. It was agreed that a group of surveyors from each country, working together, would set out to map the new 2,000-mile long border.
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