Momentous treaty coming to Denver

Historic document ending war with Mexico created much of American West

BY SONYA ELLINGBOE SELLINGBOE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo transformed what is now the western United States, and pages of that document will arrive at History Colorado Museum, 1200 N. Broadway, Denver to accompany the exhibit called “Borderlands.” e document came from the National Archives in Washington and will be exhibited only until May 22, because the paper is old and fragile. e treaty’s arrival in Denver is timed for Feb. 2, the 175th anniversary of its signing. e treaty was signed on Feb. 2, 1848, marking the end of the Mexican-American War. By shifting the e land became all or part of Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, as well as a large part of western and southern Colorado. Present borders were taking shape then. Redrawing boundaries did not change linguistic, ethnic or geologic boundaries that were in place prior to the treaty. is exhibit, rst presented at the Pueblo History Museum several years ago, will be of interest to history bu s of all ages. It includes maps, documents and numerous related artifacts, including clothing, guns, kitchenware, photographs of those early hardy types, items that

I visited this exhibit in Pueblo when it opened there several years ago and had a chance to see the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo then. It really is a good experience to see those actual old documents instead of settling for a photo!

U.S. borders south from the Arkansas River to the Rio Grande and west to the coast of California, Mexico relinquished 525,000 square miles of territory to the United States.