I was surprised to find anything about the Mexican War in the popular press (even though it was in a college bookstore). It's pretty awkward to remind people that 1/4 of the mainland US was basically stolen from our neighbor at gunpoint, and that we even celebrate it in the first line of the Marine Corp Hymn. Most history classes in high school just blur the whole thing over, like it was some kind of bad dream.

When they begin to address state history in 4th grade it's primarily about the missions. San Pasqual battlefield apparently gets some 4th grade class visits, as does the mission and Mexican army barracks over in Sonoma. But it's primarily missions, or at least it was in my day (admittedly many years ago).

In fact, I was in college before I was introduced to the fact that ante-bellum California had a sizable number of southern citizens (some of whom came/stayed here after being discharged from service in the Mexican war) and were sympathetic to slavery and the southern cause when the time came. One of California's senators and a chief justice of the state supreme court fought a duel right over here south of San Bruno Mountain, and the root of their antagonism was the issue of slavery. The senator, Broderick, was a free state man and his killer, Chief Justice Terry, was a southern sympathizer. Because of the circumstances of the duel many of the state's citizens viewed it as a murder, and reaction to it was one of the factors that turned public opinion more directly against the south.

This state has a very interesting history beyond that of the missions but I don't think they cover much of it prior to college. In fact, I was over at Vallejo's Petaluma Adobe a couple of days ago, a place established with the help of the Mexican government to keep an eye on the Russians up at Fort Ross (among other things). Very little of this is taught prior to college, as far as I know.

However, I am prepared to be corrected. As I say, it's been about 45 years since I was in school age.

Looking back 40 plus years:

I think in my sophomore year of high school in the South Bay Area (Daly City, CA) I was lucky enough to have had a pretty good class that at least touched upon the complexities of what it meant to be of, or a, Californio. Certainly later, after a hitch in the Marines, my experience at a high quality East Bay Diablo Valley College reinforced that one needed to become comfortable in more than the usual version of U.S. Western Expansion (Manifest Destiny?) to garner a whiff of the richer elements of California History.

One Professor was also the author of my H.S. text as I recall. Rankin? Ransom? In his mid-30's to 40's in the early 80's. Well done book. Not a bad lecturer, but he wrote a better book. IMO.

I remember that I was living in a cheap apartment in what was then known as the "Biker town" of Benicia. Two-time Capitol of California I believe...

Nice place then. I also had hair on my head. sigh.

I realize I am responding to a post that is about 4 months old but have you had a chance to read or review THE VIEW FROM CHAPULTEPEC? edited by Cecil Robinson. It contains various primary source accounts of reactions to the Mexican War from the Mexican perspective. Hope this was helpful.

Thank you for responding. This sounds like just the thing, especially if it involves primary source material.