Question

7th grade social studies benchmark q2 20... question 12 of 23 submit test the war with mexico, 1846–1848 jan, 1846 president polk orders u.s. troops into disputed territory. may 13, 1846 congress declares war on mexico. april 25, 1846 mexican and u.s. troops clash near rio grande. may 16, 1846 general taylor leads troops across the rio grande. june 14, 1846 americans take control of california in the bear flag revolt. aug 18, 1846 general kearny takes santa fe. feb. 23, 1847 general taylor wins control of northern mexico at buena vista. mar 9, 1847 general scott invades mexico near veracruz. sept. 14, 1847 mexico city surrenders to scott. 1848 feb 2, 1848 treaty of guadalupe hidalgo ends the war and gives the mexican cession to the united states. use the timeline to answer the question. which of the following actions were taken by president polk in order to secure the disputed territory for america? choose the two correct answers. ☐ president polk agreed to return texas to mexico in exchange for california. ☐ president polk offered to send american military leaders to help train the mexican army. ☐ president polk sent an army into the disputed territory to provoke an attack by the mexican army. ☐ president polk sent a negotiator to mexico city to try to purchase california and new mexico. ☐ polk allowed california to be admitted to the union as a free state.

Explanation:

1. From the timeline, "Jan 1846: President Polk orders U.S. troops into disputed territory" and "April 25, 1846: Mexican and U.S. troops clash near Rio Grande" shows sending troops to disputed territory provoked Mexico (so "President Polk sent an army into the disputed territory to provoke an attack by the Mexican army" is correct).
2. Also, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (Feb 2, 1848) ended the war and gave Mexico's cession to the US, but the option "President Polk sent a negotiator to Mexico City to try to purchase California and New Mexico" aligns with Polk's attempts to acquire territory (though the war happened, the initial attempt to negotiate/purchase is part of the context, and from the options, this and the troop - provoking option are correct. Wait, re - checking: The timeline starts with Polk ordering troops into disputed territory (to provoke? The clash came after). And the option "President Polk sent an army into the disputed territory to provoke an attack by the Mexican army" matches the timeline's Jan 1846 action leading to April clash. Also, "President Polk sent a negotiator to Mexico City to try to purchase California and New Mexico" is a known action of Polk before the war (trying to buy, then when that failed, using troops). So the two correct options are:

• President Polk sent an army into the disputed territory to provoke an attack by the Mexican army.
• President Polk sent a negotiator to Mexico City to try to purchase California and New Mexico.

Answer:

• President Polk sent an army into the disputed territory to provoke an attack by the Mexican army.
• President Polk sent a negotiator to Mexico City to try to purchase California and New Mexico.