How was the land of Mexican cession acquired?

The land of Mexican Cession was acquired as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848, ending the Mexican-American War. The treaty resulted in the United States acquiring over 525,000 square miles of land that had previously belonged to Mexico. This included the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. The United States paid $15 million to Mexico as part of the treaty.