Second Federal Republic of Mexico
The Second Federal Republic of Mexico refers to the period of Mexican history involving a second attempt to establish a federal government in Mexico after the fall of the unitary Centralist Republic of Mexico in 1846 at the start of the Mexican-American War. It would last up until the Second French Intervention in Mexico led to the proclamation of the Second Mexican Empire in 1863.
The period of the Second Federal Republic prove to be one of the most eventful periods in Mexican history, experiencing two foreign invasions, the loss of half of the national territory, constitutional change, and a civil war. It was also a period of Mexican political evolution experiencing the downfall of the Conservative Party that had predominated during the Centralist Republic, and marking the rise of a Liberal Party hegemony which would consolidate itself throughout the rest of the century.
The Second Federal Republic was born in the first months of the Mexican-American War in 1846, with the restoration of the Constitution of 1824. The war ended in 1848 with Mexico being forced to cede half of its territory to the United States. The period immediately following the war would nonetheless be followed by a period of stable, moderate governments.
A Conservative coup then overthrew the government in 1852, bringing Santa Anna back for what would be his final dictatorship.
The Liberal revolt which in turn overthrew him in 1853, would inaugurate what would come to be known as La Reforma, a series of substantial unprecedented reforms in Mexican constitutional history, most notably the separation of church and state and the nationalization of Catholic Church lands. A new constitution implementing such measures was promulgated in 1857, upon which the Conservative Party opposition took up arms, inaugurating three years of what would come to be known as the Reform War.
The Liberal government led by president Benito Juarez would emerge triumphant in 1860, but a financial crisis led the government to postpone its external debts, a measure that was used as a pretext by the Second French Empire to launch an invasion of Mexico with the aim of turning it into a client state led by Maximilian of Habsburg. The Second French Intervention in Mexico began in 1861, but was subsequently delayed by a year due to the French loss in the Battle of Puebla. French reinforcements arrived and President Benito Juarez was forced to evacuate the capital which the French occupied by June, 1863. French troops subsequently arranged a Mexican Assembly of Notables to declare the establishment of the Second Mexican Empire in July 1863, putting an end to the era of the Second Federal Republic of Mexico.
History
Fall of the Centralist Republic
The Mexican American War broke out in April 1846 during the presidency of Mariano Paredes.A series of uninterrupted Mexican losses inflamed opposition against the government, and Paredes faced revolution, he resigned on July 28, choosing to return to the military to help with the war effort. Nicolas Bravo was meanwhile chosen as his successor.
On August 3, the garrisons of Vera Cruz and San Juan de Ulua revolted, against Bravo. Mariano Salas was made the provisional president, and on August 22, he restored the Constitution of 1824, putting an end to Centralist Republic of Mexico, and inaugurating the era of the Second Federalist Republic.
Mexican American War
Restoration of the Federal System
Salas allowed the exiled Santa Anna to return to the nation, and the latter embraced the liberal Constitution of 1824, thus restoring the federal system and giving birth to the era of the Second Federal Republic. Salas now formed his cabinet out of liberals and Santa Anna supporters, including ex president Valentin Gomez Farias who now received the post of finance minister.Congress finally opened its sessions on December 5, 1846, at midnight, composed mostly of liberals. General Salas opened the session by lamenting the defeats that the military had faced, but expressed hope for the army of twenty thousand men that Santa Anna had gathered at San Luis Potosi. He expressed that he was completely behind continuing the war,. He also expounded upon the peace proposals that had been forwarded to him by the American government. In December the congress elected Santa Anna and Gomez Farias as president and vice-president respectively. Both men had previously won the elections of 1832 in the same fashion. They assumed power on the 24th.
The government struggled to finance the war, a problem made worse by the refusal of several state governments to cooperate, and by corruption in the finance ministry, which did not inspire confidence when the government proposed an audit of property owners.
On January 7, 1847, a measure was introduced to congress endorsing the seizure of fifteen million pesos from the church by nationalizing and then selling its lands.
The proposal created great controversy and on February 27, 1847, several national guard battalions proclaimed against the government. They released a manifesto excoriating the government for pursuing a divisive policy instead of uniting the country in the war effort and seeking a means of funding the military that was backed by national consensus.This became known as the Revolt of the Polkos, because the young middle class men who made up the militias stations throughout the capital were known for dancing the polka.
American Troops Land at Veracruz
Meanwhile news arrived that Santa Anna had won the Battle of Buena Vista which took place on February 22 to February 23, 1847, and which in reality had been a draw. Santa was heading back to Mexico City to arrange defenses against the forces of Winfield Scott who had just landed at Veracruz. He was at the town of Matehuala on the way from Angostura to San Luis Potosí City, when he received news that there had been a revolution against the government of Valentin Gomez Farias.Valentin Gomez Farias resigned. The insurrection ended, troops were sent back to their stations, and the presidency passed over to Santa Anna, but in turn Santa Anna passed the presidency over to Pedro María de Anaya, as he went to face the forces of Winfield Scott.Anaya was authorized by congress to place the capital under a state of siege. After the Battle of Cerro Gordo in which the Americans broke through the defenses on the way to Mexico City, congress gave the president extraordinary faculties, without giving him the authority to sign a peace treaty on his own, or to alienate any portion of national territory, and anyone who now attempted to negotiate with the Americans was declared a traitor. On April 2, 1847, Anaya convoked a junta in which he to resolve the issue on whether to defend the capital in case there was not a reasonable chance of winning. All of the supply and budget issues were expounded and the cabinet endorsed guerrilla warfare. When Santa Anna returned to the capital, Anaya passed the presidency down to him.
Battle for Mexico City
Santa Anna was in charge of the presidency as the Americans advanced upon and eventually captured Mexico City. The presidency was eventually transferred back to Anaya, who had commanded forces in the defense of Mexico City. After the loss of the capital the Mexican government fled northeast to the city of Querétaro City. Various governors gathered at Queretaro and suggested various options to the government ranging from a continuation of the war to the surrender of the sparsely populated northern territories. Per the instructions of Congress, Anaya's term ended on January 8, 1847, and the presidency passed to Manuel de la Peña y Peña, who had already served a brief term during the war.Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Congress finally met in May, 1847 and at its opening session President Peña y Peña recommended a policy of peace, and recounted the progress that had been made in the fields of order and finances amidst so many challenges. He explained how as Minister of Foreign Relations under President Herrera, he had been against the war. He did not view this stance as dishonorable as even the most martial of nations at one point had faced a war they could not win. He expressed belief that Mexico simply did not have the ability to continue the war, and proclaimed that anyone who viewed such a stance as dishonorable was not worthy of being called honest.Negotiations were opened with the United States government, and after deliberating upon the matter, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was approved by congress.
As the peace treaty was concluded and the occupiers were on the point of leaving the country, congress named Jose Joaquin Herrera to the presidency of the republic, and Peña y Peña left his post as president in exchange for the presidency of the Supreme Court on June 3, 1848. The government left Queretaro and returned to the capital.
An Era of Peace and Moderate Rule
Herrera Presidency
The Herrera Administration faced enormous financial challenges and while the rest of the Herrera ministry was stable, many financial ministers resigned. However, the economy seemed to be overall improving. Abundant harvests were reported, and the mines began to increase their yields. Construction on a railway and telegraph line was begun, and the first industrial exhibition in Mexico opened on November 1, 1849, in Mexico City.On November 4, 1848, the army was reduced to 10,000 men, and conscription was abolished, yet the latter measure had to be abrogated when only enough volunteers could be found to fill half of the men needed in the army.
The government attempted to establish military colonies along the frontier to settle and pacify the region against Indian raids. The project was hampered by lack of funds, but by 1851, despite not being as extensive as originally planned, reasonable progress on the colonies had nonetheless been made, and three successful settlements were home to over two thousand individuals.
The 1851 election was won by Mariano Arista, Herrera's Minister of War, and Herrera was the first Mexican president to complete a full term since the inaugural holder of the office, Guadalupe Victoria has passed power over to Vicente Guerrero in 1828.