Trist, Nicholas Philip definition of Trist, Nicholas Philip in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Trist, Nicholas Philip, 1800–1874, American diplomat, b. Charlottesville, Va. He attended West Point, studied law under Thomas Jefferson, whose granddaughter he married, and was private secretary to Andrew Jackson. He served as U.S. consul (1833–41) in Havana, Cuba, and was chief clerk of the Dept. of State when he was sent (1847) to Mexico as a special agent to conduct negotiations to end the Mexican War Mexican War, 1846–48, armed conflict between the United States and Mexico.

Causes

While the immediate cause of the war was the U.S. annexation of Texas (Dec., 1845), other factors had disturbed peaceful relations between the two republics.
..... Click the link for more information. . A short armistice was reached after the battles of Contreras and Churubusco (Aug., 1847), but negotiations were unsuccessful and war was resumed. President Polk had Trist recalled. Trist had reopened negotiations before his recall arrived and decided to ignore the order. He succeeded in negotiating the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Guadalupe Hidalgo, Treaty of, 1848, peace treaty between the United States and Mexico that ended the Mexican War . Negotiations were carried on for the United States by Nicholas P. Trist . The treaty was signed on Feb.
..... Click the link for more information. . Polk supported the treaty but declared Trist in disgrace. Trist did not recover his unpaid salary and expenses until 1871.