WI: The Second Mexican-American War

I'd love to know the basis for concluding that late 19th century Mexico has a chance against one of the stronger Great Powers.

That's way Diaz, coined the famous phrase: "Poor Mexico, so far from God and so near to the USA". But everything is possible and a Government need to be prepared for every contingency.
 
That's way Diaz, coined the famous phrase: "Poor Mexico, so far from God and so near to the USA". But everything is possible and a Government need to be prepared for every contingency.

Being prepared for Mexico defeating the US is like being prepared for the possibility that the Tsar of All the Russias will spontaneously combust. Maybe less useful
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but i believe one of the reason's the US did not absorb more of the Mexican territories during the mexican-american war was the prevailing racial and religious views at the time?

Not wanting to take on regions heavily populated by "indian catholics" as they were seen by many in power at the time.

I don't see that view changing at all by the 1870's.
 

Daffy Duck

Banned
Interesting Question

I like this question. Very interesting.
With the overwhelming destruction wrought by the Civil War, I can't see a large-scale war breaking out with Mexico in the 1870s. And even if it did, the US could not hope to occupy and permanently subdue the Mexican, mestizo and native populations of northern Mexico. Won't happen people. It would be a temporary occupation, at best.

If you read your history of the Apache Wars, the Mexican Army (like ours) used native americans as scouts and soldiers. In this case, the Mexican Army used the Tarahumara, much like the U.S. Army used the Navajo and Apaches. Sending a conventional army into the northern Mexico Sierra Madre mountains (either range) would have been akin to suicide. Sending the US Calvary with Navajo/Apache scouts would a wiser choicer but it would still be a very bitter fight, in my opinion. The US Army could take the major cities and flat lands with no problem. But fighting and rooting out the Mexican army (in their own back yard), along with the Chiricahua Apache, Yaqui, Tarahumara, would take years to complete. They'd blend into the mountain terrain (which is rough as hell by the way) and employ hit and run tactics (does Pancho Villa or Geronimo ring a bell?).
However, I don't know the US had towards attitudes towards Mexico during the 1870s.
 

Daffy Duck

Banned
Idea

Incidentally, I posted a question a while back similar to this one... about the Crawford Affair blowing up to a full scale Second Mexican-American War in 1886.
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=264170

Although I received no replies, I speculate that the US would have done better than in a war with Mexico in the 1870s. Still a very tough fight.

It's too bad they didn't annex at least part of that region. The northern part of Mexico has some of the most ruggedly beautiful land to be found in North America.
 
Not to mention that by the 1890's the populations of all the Mexican border states exceeded 1 million people. The United States is not going to assimilate that many people, especially if they were forcibly conquered by a nation they did not really like before hand, and would probably hate afterwards.

As jycee mentioned earlier, by the late 19th century onward American imperialism would be economic in nature.
 
Not to mention that by the 1890's the populations of all the Mexican border states exceeded 1 million people. The United States is not going to assimilate that many people, especially if they were forcibly conquered by a nation they did not really like before hand, and would probably hate afterwards.

As jycee mentioned earlier, by the late 19th century onward American imperialism would be economic in nature.

And the US has a population of 63 million or so. Would it be worth the trouble to take the Mexican border states? Probably not. But if the US wanted to invest the effort, it can certainly try.
 
Didn't France want to support the confederacy but couldn't because they were already stuck fighting the mexicans, if they had won a quick victory they might let their Mexican puppet fight with the confederates.
 
Didn't France want to support the confederacy but couldn't because they were already stuck fighting the mexicans, if they had won a quick victory they might let their Mexican puppet fight with the confederates.

Why would their Mexican puppet want to fight with the Confederacy? What does it get out of it?

If France has securely set things up, that's much better protection from the US wanting to demolish it than making the US an enemy.
 
Why would their Mexican puppet want to fight with the Confederacy? What does it get out of it?

If France has securely set things up, that's much better protection from the US wanting to demolish it than making the US an enemy.
They recover some of their lost territory?
 
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