The Mexican-American War was a critical event in the mid 1800's as it helped add a large swathe of what is now the Western United States. It helped fulfill the idea surrounding Manifest Destiny and the expansionism of territorial claims for the United States. It had social, economic, and political consequences for both Mexico and the United States. I had a conversation with Dr. Peter Guardino who is a professor of History at Indiana University. His work includes includes "Peasants, Politics, and the Formation of Mexico’s National State: Guerrero, 1800-1857", and "The Dead March: A History of the Mexican-American War" which won the Distinguished Book Award for non-United States History from the Society for Military History and Bolton-Johnson Prize from the Conference on Latin American History. The Mexican-American War is an overlooked event in the history of the United States and had long lasting impacts throughout the 1800's