Against the president's recall, Trist determined that Washington did not understand the situation in Mexico and negotiated the peace treaty in defiance of the president. In the six weeks it took to deliver Polk's message, Trist had received word that the Mexican government had named its special commission to negotiate.

President Polk had recalled Trist under the belief that negotiations would be carried out with a Mexican delegation in Washington. Nicholas Trist negotiated with a special commission representing the collapsed government led by Don Bernardo Couto, Don Miguel Atristain, and Don Luis Gonzaga Cuevas of Mexico. Trist and General Scott, after two previous unsuccessful attempts to negotiate a treaty with Santa Anna, determined that the only way to deal with Mexico was as a conquered enemy. The peace talks were negotiated by Nicholas Trist, chief clerk of the State Department, who had accompanied General Winfield Scott as a diplomat and President Polk's representative.

With the defeat of its army and the fall of the capital, Mexico City, in September 1847 the Mexican government surrendered to the United States and entered into negotiations to end the war. El Tratado de Guadalupe-Hidalgo (en Español) en DocsTeach requiere que los estudiantes lean y analizen el tratado para explicar el mensaje y el tono del mismo.

Day of defeat source background