The signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, marked the end of the Mexican-American War. Under this treaty Mexico ceded to the United States the present-day states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California. All Mexicans who were living in that region became U. S. citizens automatically, but the Indians did not. The U.S. government considered itself responsible to protect its citizens from the Indians and instructed the Navajos to stop all raids against Americans and Mexicans.
The Government Moves In
In 1855, Fort Defiance was built in the heart of Navajo country in Canyon de Chelly. The same year the Navajo signed a treaty decreasing the size of their territory to 7,000 square miles, of which only 125 square miles were suitable for cultivation. The Navajo leaders found it too difficult to keep their people from raiding neighboring Indian or American settlement, and clashes between the Indians and the settlers continued.
In 1858, the pasture land around Fort Defiance became a point of contention when the new post commander, Major William T. H. Brooks decided that he wanted to use the land as grazing ground for the army's horses. Brooks ordered Manuelito to move his livestock or they would be killed.
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