Do Your Job…Get Fired! Unsettled Week Ahead

Mexico Got Shafted During and After The War...So Did the US Negotiator

 

 

On This Date in History:

Treaty In Spanish and English

Abraham Lincoln was a one term Congressman from Illinois.  He had an arrangement with the Whig party from Illinois from to rotate the seat and so his former law partner, Stephen Logan ran in his place after one term.  But, Logan lost for several reasons, one might have been because of Lincoln’s steadfast opposition to the Mexican War.  He thought that the war was nothing but a land grab by President James K. Polk.  But, patriotism had gotten the bulk of the public to support the war.

Trist Did So Well, He Got Fired

Well, things didn’t go so well for Mexico under Santa Anna, the same guy who lost Texas.  In fact, the Mexican War started over a dispute about the southern border of Texas, which by that time had become part of the United States.  So, with things well in hand, President Polk did exactly what Lincoln had accused him of doing.  He sent Nicholas P. Trist to Mexico City in May 1847 to offer the Mexicans terms for surrender.  But, there were mistakes and confusion and Polk lost patience with Trist and recalled him in October.  But, Trist disobeyed orders and stayed in Mexico to try and finish the job.  On January 25, 1848, Trist successfully negotiated a treaty to end the war.  The agreement became known as the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and called for Mexico to accept $15 million in exchange for the end of the war and ceding the area of present day California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico.  The treaty was signed on February 2, 1848 (groundhog day) and in the spring the Senate voted for approval.

Trist did a great job. He ended the war and got a good deal on a good chunk of the

Looks Like A Good Deal To Me...Not Good Enough For Polk

west and southwest United States that would later yield riches far far in excess of the $15 million paid.  In a twist of good timing…gold was discovered in California just the day before the treaty was agreed to.  So, did he receive a hero’s welcome back in Washington? No. Polk fired him for insubordination. 

As we saw yesterday James Marshall, the man who discovered the gold in California on January 24, 1848 ,died a pauper and the man who negotiated the treaty that brought California into the United States the very next day also ended up a less than glorified citizen.  For most of the rest of his life, Nicholas P. Trist worked as a low level clerk for a railroad.  It wasn’t until 1870 that someone figured that Trist deserved something and he was officially recognized for his achievement.  He fared better than James Marshall of Gold Rush Fame…he finally got his back pay in 1871 and became the consul in Havana.

So, the guy did his job and got the results he was sent to get.  But, he didn’t do it the way the President wanted and he is largely erased from history.  A case of procedure trumping results.

GFS Snow Accumulation Through Wed AM 1.28.09

Weather Bottom Line:

  The forecast is a bit up in the air.  While some of the forecasts on TV may prove to be accurate, at this point I don’t think anyone can give anything of any great certainty for the middle of next week.  We’re going to stay cold but the freezing line will be pretty close to us.  We do still have some moisture working its way over us for Sunday but shouldn’t be sufficient to bring anything more than a few brief snow showers or flurries.  Now, Tuesday into early Wednesday, we get a bunch of Pacific moisture coming across.  We will probably see some accumulating snow Tuesday afternoon into night.  Now, the GFS keeps us just barely on the cold side. It wants to give us up to 4 inches of now followed by

 

NAM Snow Accumulation Through Wed AM 1.28.09

 some sleet and then freezing rain before it goes back to snow and then has flurries or light snow Friday into Saturday.  This is the most extreme outlook.  The NAM doesn’t seem too interested in giving us  much precipitation on Tuesday and that’s as far out as it goes.  Now, the Canadian model gives us some snow, but not quite as much as the GFS and then turns it to all rain Wednesday into early Thursday.   The European keeps us cold and is kinda a mixture of the GFS and the Canadian.  We get some snow and then rain or a mix on Wednesday but then it digs a trof all the way to the Gulf Coast, pouring in much colder air and bringing some snow on Friday before warm air begins lifting back from the southwest early Saturday in advance of another storm dropping down into the north central plains.   Quite confusing.  I would plan on some snow on late Tuesdaysomewhere in between 2 and 4 inches.  Then I’d plan on a mix on Wednesday which may be a messy day…probably and interesting morning rush hour. I’d then plan on a continuation of chilly conditions.  In looking at the later modeling data, it would seem to me that there is some indication that there is a slight trend in wanting to have decent snow here on Tuesday and then the sleet/freezing rain/rain combo shows up.  The reason this is so difficult to pin down is because we are really really close to the freezing line and it could go either way.  It is interesting that both the late GFS and NAM snow accumulations both are pretty bullish through Wed Morning. After that is the tricky part.  We’ll need to stay tuned.  If you want a more concise forecast at this point…call God.