How did the residents of California and Texas at the time those states
were annexed to the U.S. become citizens of the US?

Dear martine3-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.

“The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the Mexican War, was signed
on February 2, 1848, by Nicholas P. Trist for the United States and by
a special commission representing the collapsed government of Mexico.”

“Under the treaty, Mexico ceded to the United States Upper California
and New Mexico (including Arizona) and recognized U.S. claims over
Texas, with the Rio Grande as its southern boundary. The United States
in turn paid Mexico $15,000,000, assumed the claims of American
citizens against Mexico, recognized prior land grants in the
Southwest, and offered citizenship to any Mexicans residing in the
area.”

MONTEREY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
http://users.dedot.com/mchs/treaty.html

So, in short, it was the same 1848 TREATY OF GUADALUPE-HIDALGO that
ended the Mexican-American War that also guaranteed U.S. citizenship
to Mexicans living in the newly acquired territories of Arizona,
California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Texas. There was nothing
in particular that the former Mexicans had to but to accept the offer
of US citizenship and they would automatically be able to legally
claim citizenship under this treaty. Those who chose not to become US
citizens were allowed to relocate to areas south of the dividing line,
the Rio Grande River, thus returning to Mexico and retaining their
indigenous citizenship.

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Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga


INFORMATION SOURCES

WOW MUSEUM
http://www.autry-museum.org/explore/exhibits/suffrage/suff_time.html

THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE-HIDALGO
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ghtreaty/

MONTEREY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
http://users.dedot.com/mchs/treaty.html


SEARCH STRATEGY



SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


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US CITIZENSHIP ACQUIRED TERRITORIES

Excellent summary of weblinks, as well as courteous tone.

Texas became a state with equal status to the original states, thereby
conferring US citizenship upon the citizens of the Republic of Texas,
on December 29, 1845, by a joint resolution of Congress.

Admission of Texas and subsequent forcible annexation of California in
1846 were precipitating causes of the Mexican War.

See:

Joint Resolution for the admission of the state of Texas into the
Union - Texas State Library
http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/annexation/dec1845.html

hlabadie-ga