Guadalupe Hidalgo, Treaty of

Treaty that ended the Mexican War (1846–48) between Mexico and the USA. Under the terms of the treaty, signed on 2 February 1848 at the Villa de Guadalupe Hidalgo, now part of Mexico City, the USA acquired 1,360,000 sq km/525,000 sq mi of land in what is now Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah, in exchange for $15 million.

Mexico also gave up the title to Texas. The USA agreed to settle all the claims made by US citizens against Mexico, up to a total of $3.25 million.

By adding a vast new territory to the USA, the treaty stirred up more controversy about the expansion of slavery in the union, one of the main causes of the American Civil War.