United States. President Polk (pronounced “poke”) signs the declaration of war with Mexico. The day before, the U.S. Senate had voted 40 to 2 in favor. The dispute is over the southern border of Texas, which had become a new U.S. state (formerly Mexico) a few months earlier. On the Rio Grande, the Americans accuse the Mexicans of attacking them. An American victory in the conflict will give the United States the territories of California, Arizona, and New Mexico.
