Why did the u.s. want California

What helped the u.s. win the war

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why did the u.s. want california

Resources, and lebensraum.

what helped the u.s. win the war

Stronger industrial base and army leadership. Faulty Mexican rifles forcing them to shoot from the hip in order to protect the face and miss.

Actually, the French sold the Mexicans those defective rifles. The Americans knew about the defect that forced the Mexicans to shoot too high. So in battles where they were out of sight of one another, such as in a field of high grass or thickets at night the Americans would get low so that the bullets would fly over their heads. Then they would rise and open up with a barrage and get low again. Neither did the hip level rifle position lend itself to accuracy. Of course bringing the rifle to eye-level could have meant losing an eye so I guess that explains part of the whole disaster. At least in reference to certain battles where the Mexicans should have either drawn or carried the day due to numerical superiority.