This week on the History Files we continue our series on the evolution of the American West, embarking on a discussion of the Mexican American War.

Show notes and links:

* Fall of Tenochtitlan (1521).

* Joseph Lister originates use of antiseptics.

* The siege of the Beijing legations in the Boxer Rebellion (1900).

* Atomic bombing of Nagasaki (en.wikipedia.org).

* V-J Day (en.wikipedia.org).

* Watts riots (1965). Side note: Watts is also home to one of the weirdest examples of funky public pop “art”, the Watts Towers.

* King Tut’s Tomb May Hide Nefertiti’s Secret Grave  (news.discovery.com).

* 55 Days at Peking (dir. Nicholas Ray, Andrew Marton, Guy Green (1963). Starring Charleton Heston, David Niven, and Ava Gardner.

* The Atomic Times: My H-Bomb Year at the Pacific Proving Ground, Michael Harris (amazon.com).

* James K. Polk , 11th President of the United States.

* Battle of Palo Alto (en.wikipedia.org).

* Battle of Resaca de la Palma (en.wikipedia.org).

* flying artillery: the zenith of horse artillery in the 19th century.

* Samuel Colt and his revolver. (en.wikipedia.org).

* John Coffee Hays and the Texas Rangers.

* @history_files (twitter.com).

* CSICONauts Chat  (csicon.net).