Time Travel Tuesday: 8 US states that once were part of Mexico

Many people know that California and Texas have large Mexican-American populations. In fact, one county is Texas is 97% Hispanic. Did you know that California, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and parts of Colorado and Wyoming used to belong to the Viceroyalty of New Spain, later to become part of the Mexican Republic? The Spaniards lived among, and even integrated with, the Native Americans who were already living there. The Mexican-American War led to the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848 and The Gadsden Purchase in 1853 which gave the United States control over what is now the states listed above. The Hispanics living in those areas were given the choice of moving to the Mexican Republic or staying and becomming full US citizens. Most of them chose to stay in the US.