On this date in 1848, the United States and a defeated Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending their controversial war, which began in May 1846 after some mutual provocations. In the peace treaty, Mexico recognized America’s annexation of the Republic of Texas, with the Rio Grande being the border. In exchange for $15 million and other provisions, the U.S. obtained all or much of what are now six of our other southwestern states. Some 80,000 Mexicans were thereby included in the subsequent 1850 Census. Now, the number of Mexican-Americans in the U.S. has reached over 34.5 million out of a total Hispanic population of 54 million. About 10 million of Texas’ population of 26.5 million are Hispanics. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.