1824 Constitution of Mexico
Encyclopedia
The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1824 was enacted on October 4 of 1824, after the overthrow of the Mexican Empire
of Agustin de Iturbide
. In the new constitution, the republic took the name of United Mexican States, and was defined as a representative federal republic
, with Catholicism
as the official and unique religion
. It was replaced by the Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857
.
, the Mexican Empire
was dissolved and there was established a Supreme Executive Power formed by a triumvirate
whose members were Generals Pedro Celestino Negrete
, Nicolás Bravo
and Guadalupe Victoria
, whose substitutes were Jose Mariano Michelena
, Vicente Guerrero
and Miguel Dominguez
. This Supreme Executive Power was a provisional government
to called a new Constituent Congress. The new Congress was installed on 7 November 1823.
Among the members of Congress, two ideological tendencies were observed. The Centralists included Fray Servando Teresa de Mier
, the priest Jose Maria Becerra Jimenez, Carlos María de Bustamante, Juan José Ignacio Espinosa de los Monteros, Rafael Mangino y Mendívil and the priest José Miguel Guridi y Alcocer. On the other hand the Federalists included Miguel Ramos Arizpe
, Lorenzo de Zavala
, Manuel Crescencio Rejón, Valentín Gómez Farías
, Juan de Dios Cañedo, Juan Bautista Morales, Juan Cayetano Gómez de Portugal, Francisco García Salinas and Prisciliano Sánchez. Years later, these ideologies formed the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party.
The thesis of Servando Teresa de Mier
was opposed to dividing the territory into independent states, considering that this would weaken the nation, which needed unity to counter any attempted reconquest by Spain, which would be supported by other European nations. Though it was true that the American colonies
had united in a federation
, the concept would not necessarily work in Mexico, since the old provinces (now called states) had always been subject to a central government; he felt that future state governments would take a selfish attitude causing disunity and chiefdoms. There was already the experience of Central America, where, after the dissolution of the empire, the provinces had been given the status of free states, and on 1 July 1823, had decided not to join the new republic. Those who defended the federalist ideology argued that it was the desire and will of the nation to be formed in this way, and cited the prosperity established under this form of government in the United States, in contrast to the failure of Iturbide.
On 31 January 1824, the Constitutive Act of the Federation, which was an interim basis for the new government, was approved. The nation formally assumed sovereignty and was constituted by free, sovereign and independent states. During the following months, the debates on a permanent constitutional continued.
On 4 October 1824, the solemn proclamation of the federal pact under the name of Federal Constitution of United Mexican States was made.
On 10 October 1824, Guadalupe Victoria
was elected the first president of the United Mexican States for the period 1825-1829, and on the same day he and vice president Nicolás Bravo
took their oaths of office. Guadalupe Victoria
served as interim president from October 10 to March 31 of 1825. His constitutional term in office began on 1 April 1825.
for the formula for federal representation and organization, and on the Constitutional Decree for the Liberty of Mexican America of 1814, which abolished the monarchy. It introduced the system of federalism in a popular representative republic with Catholicism
as official religion. The 1824 constitution does not expressly state the rights of citizens. The right to equality of citizens was restricted by the continuation of military and ecclesiastical courts. The most relevant articles were:
Although this was not stipulated in the constitution, slavery was prohibited in the Republic. Miguel Hidalgo
promulgated the abolition in Guadalajara on 6 December 1810. President Guadalupe Victoria
declared slavery abolished too, but it was President Vicente Guerrero
who made the decree of Abolition of Slavery on 15 September 1829.
in New Spain
, the newly won Independence of Mexico, the size of the territory—almost 4,600,000 km² (1,776,069 sq mi)—and lack of easy communication across distances, there resulted a federal system with regional characteristics. The central states—Mexico, Puebla
, Querétaro
, Guanajuato
, Veracruz
and Michoacán
—which were the most populated, worked as an administrative decentralization. The states of the periphery—Zacatecas
, Coahuila y Texas, Durango
, Chihuahua, Jalisco
, San Luis Potosí
and Nuevo León
—acquired a moderate confederalism. The states furthest from the center—Yucatán
, Sonora y Sinaloa
, Tamaulipas
and Las Californias
—acquired a radical confederalism.
Without the existence of established political parties, three political tendencies are distinguished. The first still supported the empire of Iturbide, but was a minority. The second was influenced by the Yorkist Lodge
of freemasonry, whose philosophy was radical Federalism
and also encouraged an anti-Spanish sentiment largely promoted by the American plenipotentiary Joel Roberts Poinsett
. And the third was influenced by the Scottish Lodge
of freemasonry, which had been introduced to Mexico by the Spaniards
themselves, favored Centralism
, and yearned for the recognition of the new nation by Spain and the Holy See
.
With the consummation of independence, the Royal Patronage was gone, the federal government and state governments now considered these rights to belong to the State. The way to manage church property was the point that most polarized the opinions of the political class. Members of the Yorkist Lodge intended to use church property to clean up the finances, the members of the Scottish Lodge considered the alternative anathema
. According to the federal commitment, states should provide an amount of money and men for the army, or blood quota. The federal budget was insufficient to pay debt, defense, and surveillance of borders, and states resisted meeting the blood quota, sometimes meeting that debt with criminals.
Some state constitutions were more radical and took supplies to practice patronage locally, under the banner of "freedom and progress". The constitutions of Jalisco
and Tamaulipas
decreed government funding of religion, the constitutions of Durango
and the State of Mexico allowed the governor the practice of patronage, the constitution of Michoacán
gave the local legislature the power to regulate the enforcement of fees and discipline of clergy, and the constitution of Yucatán
, in a vanguardist way, decreed freedom of religion
.
(the constitutional president was Antonio López de Santa Anna
, but he was out of office), when the Basis of Reorganization of the Mexican Nation was approved, which ended the federal system
and established a provisional centralist system
. On 30 December 1836, interim president José Justo Corro
issued the Seven Constitutional Laws
, which replaced the Constitution. Secondary laws were approved on 24 May 1837.
The Seven Constitutional Laws among other things replaced the "free states" with French-style "departments
", centralizing national power in Mexico City
. This decision created an era of political instability, unleashing conflicts between the central government and the former states. Rebellions arose in various places, the most important of which were:
The Texas Annexation
and the border conflict after the annexation led to the Mexican-American War. As a result, the Constitution of 1824 was restored by interim President José Mariano Salas on 22 August 1846. In 1847, The Reform Act was published, which officially incorporated, with some changes, the Federal Constitution of 1824, to operate while the next constitution was drafted. This federalist phase culminated in 1853.
The Plan of Ayutla
, which had a federalist orientation, was proclaimed on 1 March 1854. In 1855, Juan Álvarez
, interim President of the Republic, issued the call for the Constituent Congress, which began its work on 17 February 1856 to produce the Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857.
First Mexican Empire
The Mexican Empire was the official name of independent Mexico under a monarchical regime from 1821 to 1823. The territory of the Mexican Empire included the continental intendencies and provinces of New Spain proper...
of Agustin de Iturbide
Agustín de Iturbide
Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Aramburu , also known as Augustine I of Mexico, was a Mexican army general who built a successful political and military coalition that was able to march into Mexico City on 27 September 1821, decisively ending the Mexican War of Independence...
. In the new constitution, the republic took the name of United Mexican States, and was defined as a representative federal republic
Federal republic
A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. A federation is the central government. The states in a federation also maintain the federation...
, with Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
as the official and unique religion
Confessional state
A confessional state is a state which officially practices a particular religion, and at least encourages its citizens to do likewise.Over human history, most states have been confessional states; the idea of religious pluralism in modern terms is relatively recent, and until the beginning of the...
. It was replaced by the Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857
Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857
The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857 was a liberal constitution drafted by 1857 Constituent Congress of Mexico during the presidency of Ignacio Comonfort giving birth to the Second Federal Republic of Mexico...
.
Drafting and Promulgation
After the abdication of Agustin de IturbideAgustín de Iturbide
Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Aramburu , also known as Augustine I of Mexico, was a Mexican army general who built a successful political and military coalition that was able to march into Mexico City on 27 September 1821, decisively ending the Mexican War of Independence...
, the Mexican Empire
First Mexican Empire
The Mexican Empire was the official name of independent Mexico under a monarchical regime from 1821 to 1823. The territory of the Mexican Empire included the continental intendencies and provinces of New Spain proper...
was dissolved and there was established a Supreme Executive Power formed by a triumvirate
Triumvirate
A triumvirate is a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals, each a triumvir . The arrangement can be formal or informal, and though the three are usually equal on paper, in reality this is rarely the case...
whose members were Generals Pedro Celestino Negrete
Pedro Celestino Negrete
Pedro Celestino Negrete was a Spanish politician and military man who served as a member of the interim government of México after the abolition of the First Mexican Empire. He fought alongside of Agustín de Iturbide in the royalist army during the Mexican War of Independence...
, Nicolás Bravo
Nicolás Bravo
Nicolás Bravo was a Mexican politician and soldier. He distinguished himself in both offices during the 1846–1848 U.S. invasion of Mexico....
and Guadalupe Victoria
Guadalupe Victoria
Guadalupe Victoria born José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix, was a Mexican politician and military man who fought for independence against the Spanish Empire in the Mexican War of Independence. He was a deputy for Durango and a member of the Supreme Executive Power...
, whose substitutes were Jose Mariano Michelena
José Mariano Michelena
José Mariano Michelena was a Spanish military officer in New Spain and Spain, a precursor of Mexican independence, and a politician in independent Mexico...
, Vicente Guerrero
Vicente Guerrero
Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña was one of the leading revolutionary generals of the Mexican War of Independence, who fought against Spain for independence in the early 19th century, and served briefly as President of Mexico...
and Miguel Dominguez
Miguel Domínguez
José Miguel Domínguez Alemán was a Spanish colonial official in New Spain who played a part in the Mexican independence movement...
. This Supreme Executive Power was a provisional government
Provisional government
A provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a very large government. The early provisional governments were created to prepare for the return of royal rule...
to called a new Constituent Congress. The new Congress was installed on 7 November 1823.
Among the members of Congress, two ideological tendencies were observed. The Centralists included Fray Servando Teresa de Mier
Servando Teresa de Mier
Fray Servando Teresa de Mier was a Roman Catholic priest and a preacher and politician in New Spain....
, the priest Jose Maria Becerra Jimenez, Carlos María de Bustamante, Juan José Ignacio Espinosa de los Monteros, Rafael Mangino y Mendívil and the priest José Miguel Guridi y Alcocer. On the other hand the Federalists included Miguel Ramos Arizpe
Miguel Ramos Arizpe
Don Miguel Ramos Arizpe was a Mexican priest and politician who served as deputy in 1810...
, Lorenzo de Zavala
Lorenzo de Zavala
Manuel Lorenzo Justiniano de Zavala y Saenz was a 19th-century Mexican politician. He served as finance minister under President Vicente Guerrero. A colonizer and statesman, he was also the interim Vice President of the Republic of Texas, serving under interim President David G...
, Manuel Crescencio Rejón, Valentín Gómez Farías
Valentín Gómez Farías
Valentín Gómez Farías was several times acting President of Mexico in the 1830s and 1840s.Gomez Farias was one of the more important political figures in early Mexico. The first presidency of Santa Anna from 1833 to 1836 was a temporary victory for the Mexican Liberals...
, Juan de Dios Cañedo, Juan Bautista Morales, Juan Cayetano Gómez de Portugal, Francisco García Salinas and Prisciliano Sánchez. Years later, these ideologies formed the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party.
The thesis of Servando Teresa de Mier
Servando Teresa de Mier
Fray Servando Teresa de Mier was a Roman Catholic priest and a preacher and politician in New Spain....
was opposed to dividing the territory into independent states, considering that this would weaken the nation, which needed unity to counter any attempted reconquest by Spain, which would be supported by other European nations. Though it was true that the American colonies
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
had united in a federation
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
, the concept would not necessarily work in Mexico, since the old provinces (now called states) had always been subject to a central government; he felt that future state governments would take a selfish attitude causing disunity and chiefdoms. There was already the experience of Central America, where, after the dissolution of the empire, the provinces had been given the status of free states, and on 1 July 1823, had decided not to join the new republic. Those who defended the federalist ideology argued that it was the desire and will of the nation to be formed in this way, and cited the prosperity established under this form of government in the United States, in contrast to the failure of Iturbide.
On 31 January 1824, the Constitutive Act of the Federation, which was an interim basis for the new government, was approved. The nation formally assumed sovereignty and was constituted by free, sovereign and independent states. During the following months, the debates on a permanent constitutional continued.
On 4 October 1824, the solemn proclamation of the federal pact under the name of Federal Constitution of United Mexican States was made.
On 10 October 1824, Guadalupe Victoria
Guadalupe Victoria
Guadalupe Victoria born José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix, was a Mexican politician and military man who fought for independence against the Spanish Empire in the Mexican War of Independence. He was a deputy for Durango and a member of the Supreme Executive Power...
was elected the first president of the United Mexican States for the period 1825-1829, and on the same day he and vice president Nicolás Bravo
Nicolás Bravo
Nicolás Bravo was a Mexican politician and soldier. He distinguished himself in both offices during the 1846–1848 U.S. invasion of Mexico....
took their oaths of office. Guadalupe Victoria
Guadalupe Victoria
Guadalupe Victoria born José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix, was a Mexican politician and military man who fought for independence against the Spanish Empire in the Mexican War of Independence. He was a deputy for Durango and a member of the Supreme Executive Power...
served as interim president from October 10 to March 31 of 1825. His constitutional term in office began on 1 April 1825.
Content
The 1824 Constitution was composed of 7 titles and 171 articles, and was based on the Constitution of Cadiz for American issues, on the United States ConstitutionUnited States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
for the formula for federal representation and organization, and on the Constitutional Decree for the Liberty of Mexican America of 1814, which abolished the monarchy. It introduced the system of federalism in a popular representative republic with Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
as official religion. The 1824 constitution does not expressly state the rights of citizens. The right to equality of citizens was restricted by the continuation of military and ecclesiastical courts. The most relevant articles were:
- 1. The Mexican nation is sovereign and free from the Spanish government and any other nation.
- 3. The religion of the nation is the Roman Catholic Church and is protected by law and prohibits any otherConfessional stateA confessional state is a state which officially practices a particular religion, and at least encourages its citizens to do likewise.Over human history, most states have been confessional states; the idea of religious pluralism in modern terms is relatively recent, and until the beginning of the...
. - 4. The Mexican nation adopts as its form of government a popular federal representative republic.
- 6. The supreme power of the federation is divided into Legislative powerLegislatureA legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
, Executive powerExecutive (government)Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
and Judiciary powerJudiciaryThe judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
. - 7. Legislative powerLegislatureA legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
is deposited in a CongressCongressA congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different nations, constituent states, independent organizations , or groups....
of two chambersBicameralismIn the government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of two chambers or houses....
—a Chamber of Deputies and a Chamber of Senators. - 50. Political freedom of press in the federation and the states (paragraph 1).
- 74. Executive power is vested in a person called the President of the United Mexican States.
- 75. It provides the figure of vice president, who in case of physical or moral impossibility of the president, exercise the powers and prerogatives of the latter.
- 95. The term of the president and vice president shall be four years.
- 123. Judiciary powerJudiciaryThe judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
lies in a Supreme Court, the Circuit Courts and the District Courts. - 124. The Supreme Court consists of eleven members divided into three rooms and a prosecutor.
- 157. The individual state governments will be formed by the same three powers.
Although this was not stipulated in the constitution, slavery was prohibited in the Republic. Miguel Hidalgo
Miguel Hidalgo
Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor , more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or simply Miguel Hidalgo, was a Mexican priest and a leader of the Mexican War of Independence.In 1810 Hidalgo led a group of peasants in a revolt against the dominant...
promulgated the abolition in Guadalajara on 6 December 1810. President Guadalupe Victoria
Guadalupe Victoria
Guadalupe Victoria born José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix, was a Mexican politician and military man who fought for independence against the Spanish Empire in the Mexican War of Independence. He was a deputy for Durango and a member of the Supreme Executive Power...
declared slavery abolished too, but it was President Vicente Guerrero
Vicente Guerrero
Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña was one of the leading revolutionary generals of the Mexican War of Independence, who fought against Spain for independence in the early 19th century, and served briefly as President of Mexico...
who made the decree of Abolition of Slavery on 15 September 1829.
Federation
At the time of the promulgation of the Constitution, the nation was composed of 19 free states and 3 territories. That same year, two changes were made in the structure, resulting finally in 19 free states, 5 territories and the federal district.| Map of Mexico under the Constitution of 1824 | The 19 founding states were: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
- The five Federal Territories were: Alta CaliforniaAlta CaliforniaAlta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
, Baja CaliforniaBaja California PeninsulaThe Baja California peninsula , is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico. Its land mass separates the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California. The Peninsula extends from Mexicali, Baja California in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur in the south.The total area of the Baja California...
, ColimaColimaColima is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima....
, TlaxcalaTlaxcalaTlaxcala officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala is one of the 31 states which along with the Federal District comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipalities and its capital city is Tlaxcala....
, and Santa Fe de Nuevo MéxicoSanta Fe de Nuevo MéxicoSanta Fe de Nuevo México was a province of New Spain and later Mexico that existed from the late 16th century up through the mid-19th century. It was centered on the upper valley of the Rio Grande , in an area that included most of the present-day U.S. state of New Mexico...
. - The Federal District was established around the City of MéxicoMexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
on November 18, 1824.
Reactions
Due to the influence of Spanish liberal thought, the fragmentation that had been gradually consolidated by the Bourbon ReformsBourbon Reforms
The Bourbon Reforms were a set of economic and political legislation introduced by the Spanish Crown under various kings of the House of Bourbon throughout the 18th century. The reforms were intended to stimulate manufacturing and technology in order to modernize Spain...
in New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
, the newly won Independence of Mexico, the size of the territory—almost 4,600,000 km² (1,776,069 sq mi)—and lack of easy communication across distances, there resulted a federal system with regional characteristics. The central states—Mexico, Puebla
Puebla
Puebla officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla....
, Querétaro
Querétaro
Querétaro officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro de Arteaga is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and its capital city is Santiago de Querétaro....
, Guanajuato
Guanajuato
Guanajuato officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato....
, Veracruz
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
and Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
—which were the most populated, worked as an administrative decentralization. The states of the periphery—Zacatecas
Zacatecas
Zacatecas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas....
, Coahuila y Texas, Durango
Durango
Durango officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja...
, Chihuahua, Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
, San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí officially Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is San Luis Potosí....
and Nuevo León
Nuevo León
Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...
—acquired a moderate confederalism. The states furthest from the center—Yucatán
Yucatán
Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
, Sonora y Sinaloa
Sonora y Sinaloa
Sonora y Sinaloa was a province in the Provincias Internas and under the jurisdiction of the Real Audiencia of Guadalajara of Viceroyalty of New Spain. After Independence Sonora y Sinaloa became one of the constituent states of the Mexican Republic...
, Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...
and Las Californias
Las Californias
The Californias, or in — - was the name given by the Spanish to their northwestern territory of New Spain, comprising the present day states of Baja California and Baja California Sur on the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico; and the present day U.S. state of California in the United States of...
—acquired a radical confederalism.
Without the existence of established political parties, three political tendencies are distinguished. The first still supported the empire of Iturbide, but was a minority. The second was influenced by the Yorkist Lodge
York Rite
The York Rite or American Rite is one of several Rites of the worldwide fraternity known as Freemasonry. A Rite is a series of progressive degrees that are conferred by various Masonic organizations or bodies, each of which operates under the control of its own central authority...
of freemasonry, whose philosophy was radical Federalism
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
and also encouraged an anti-Spanish sentiment largely promoted by the American plenipotentiary Joel Roberts Poinsett
Joel Roberts Poinsett
Joel Roberts Poinsett was a physician, botanist and American statesman. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives, the first United States Minister to Mexico , a U.S...
. And the third was influenced by the Scottish Lodge
Scottish Rite
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry , commonly known as simply the Scottish Rite, is one of several Rites of the worldwide fraternity known as Freemasonry...
of freemasonry, which had been introduced to Mexico by the Spaniards
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
themselves, favored Centralism
Centralized government
A centralized or centralised government is one in which power or legal authority is exerted or coordinated by a de facto political executive to which federal states, local authorities, and smaller units are considered subject...
, and yearned for the recognition of the new nation by Spain and the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
.
With the consummation of independence, the Royal Patronage was gone, the federal government and state governments now considered these rights to belong to the State. The way to manage church property was the point that most polarized the opinions of the political class. Members of the Yorkist Lodge intended to use church property to clean up the finances, the members of the Scottish Lodge considered the alternative anathema
Anathema
Anathema originally meant something lifted up as an offering to the gods; it later evolved to mean:...
. According to the federal commitment, states should provide an amount of money and men for the army, or blood quota. The federal budget was insufficient to pay debt, defense, and surveillance of borders, and states resisted meeting the blood quota, sometimes meeting that debt with criminals.
Some state constitutions were more radical and took supplies to practice patronage locally, under the banner of "freedom and progress". The constitutions of Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
and Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...
decreed government funding of religion, the constitutions of Durango
Durango
Durango officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja...
and the State of Mexico allowed the governor the practice of patronage, the constitution of Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
gave the local legislature the power to regulate the enforcement of fees and discipline of clergy, and the constitution of Yucatán
Yucatán
Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
, in a vanguardist way, decreed freedom of religion
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
.
Repeal and Resettlement
In 1835, there was a drastic shift to the new Mexican Nation. The triumph of conservative forces in the elections unleashed a series of events that culminated on 23 October 1835, during the interim presidency of Miguel BarragánMiguel Barragán
Miguel Francisco Barragán Andrade was a Mexican general and a centralist politician. He served as Minister of War in the government of Antonio López de Santa Anna in 1833 and 1834, then as president of Mexico from January 28, 1835 to February 27, 1836.- The War of Independence and the First Empire...
(the constitutional president was Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , often known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, known as "the Napoleon of the West," was a Mexican political leader, general, and president who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government...
, but he was out of office), when the Basis of Reorganization of the Mexican Nation was approved, which ended the federal system
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
and established a provisional centralist system
Centralized government
A centralized or centralised government is one in which power or legal authority is exerted or coordinated by a de facto political executive to which federal states, local authorities, and smaller units are considered subject...
. On 30 December 1836, interim president José Justo Corro
José Justo Corro
José Justo Corro was a Mexican lawyer, politician, and president of the Republic, from March 2, 1836 to April 19, 1837.-Background:...
issued the Seven Constitutional Laws
Siete Leyes
The Siete Leyes were a series of constitutional instruments that fundamentally altered the organizational structure of the young first Mexican republic...
, which replaced the Constitution. Secondary laws were approved on 24 May 1837.
The Seven Constitutional Laws among other things replaced the "free states" with French-style "departments
Department (subnational entity)
Department is the name given to the administrative and political subdivisions of many countries.As a territorial unit, "department" was first used by the French Revolutionary governments, apparently to emphasize that each territory was simply an administrative sub-division of the united sovereign...
", centralizing national power in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. This decision created an era of political instability, unleashing conflicts between the central government and the former states. Rebellions arose in various places, the most important of which were:
- TexasMexican TexasMexican Texas is the name given by Texas history scholars to the period between 1821 and 1836, when Texas was an integral part of Mexico. The period began with Mexico's victory over Spain in its war of independence in 1821. For the first several years of its existence, Mexican Texas operated very...
declared its independence following the change from the federalist system, and refused to participate in the centralized system. American settlers held a convention in San Felipe de Austin and declared the people of TexasTexianTexian is an archaic, mostly defunct 19th century demonym which defined a settler of current-day Texas, one of the southern states of the United States of America which borders the country of Mexico...
to be at war against Mexico's central government, ignoring therefore the authorities and laws. Thus arose the Republic of TexasRepublic of TexasThe Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
.
- YucatánYucatánYucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
under its condition of Federated Republic declared its independence in 1840 (officially in 1841). The Republic of YucatánRepublic of YucatánThe Republic of Yucatan was a nineteenth century sovereign state during two periods of the century. The first Republic of Yucatan, founded May 29, 1823, joined the Mexican federation as the Federated Republic of Yucatán on December 23, 1823, less than seven months later...
finally rejoined the nation in 1848.
- The states of Nuevo LeónNuevo LeónNuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...
, TamaulipasTamaulipasTamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...
and CoahuilaCoahuilaCoahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...
became de factoDe factoDe facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
independent from Mexico (in just under 250 days). The Republic of the Rio GrandeRepublic of the Rio GrandeThe Republic of the Rio Grande was an independent nation that insurgents against the Central Mexican Government sought to establish in northern Mexico. The rebellion lasted from January 17 to November 6, 1840 and the Republic of the Rio Grande was never officially recognized.- Background :After a...
never consolidated, because independence forces were defeated by the centralist forces.
- TabascoTabascoTabasco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa....
decreed its separation from Mexico in February 1841, in protest against centralism, rejoining in December 1842.
The Texas Annexation
Texas Annexation
In 1845, United States of America annexed the Republic of Texas and admitted it to the Union as the 28th state. The U.S. thus inherited Texas's border dispute with Mexico; this quickly led to the Mexican-American War, during which the U.S. captured additional territory , extending the nation's...
and the border conflict after the annexation led to the Mexican-American War. As a result, the Constitution of 1824 was restored by interim President José Mariano Salas on 22 August 1846. In 1847, The Reform Act was published, which officially incorporated, with some changes, the Federal Constitution of 1824, to operate while the next constitution was drafted. This federalist phase culminated in 1853.
The Plan of Ayutla
Plan of Ayutla
The Plan of Ayutla was a plan aimed at removing Antonio López de Santa Anna as dictator of Mexico. Initially drafted on February 24, 1854, by Colonel Florencio Villarreal, it was proclaimed on March 1, 1854, in Ayutla, Guerrero...
, which had a federalist orientation, was proclaimed on 1 March 1854. In 1855, Juan Álvarez
Juan Álvarez
Juan Nepomuceno Álvarez Hurtado was a general and interim president of Mexico for a few months in 1855. He fought in all the major wars of Mexico, from the War of Independence through the Pastry War, the Mexican-American War, and the War of the Reform to the war against the French Intervention...
, interim President of the Republic, issued the call for the Constituent Congress, which began its work on 17 February 1856 to produce the Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857.
See also
- Constitutions of MexicoConstitutions of MexicoSince declaring independence in 1810, Mexico has adopted a number of constitutions or other documents of basic law with constitutional effects. Not all these can be considered constitutions, and not all of them enjoyed universal application...
- Constitutionalists in the Mexican RevolutionConstitutionalists in the Mexican RevolutionConstitutionalists, or Carranzistas were the third faction in the Mexican Revolution consisting of mainly middle-class urbanites, liberals, and intellectuals who desired a constitution under the guidelines “Mexico for Mexicans”...
- Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857
- Political Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1917 (currently in force)
- Politics of MexicoPolitics of MexicoThe politics of Mexico take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic whose government is based on a congressional system, whereby the president of Mexico is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system...
- Texas RevolutionTexas RevolutionThe Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was an armed conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836...
- Republic of the Rio GrandeRepublic of the Rio GrandeThe Republic of the Rio Grande was an independent nation that insurgents against the Central Mexican Government sought to establish in northern Mexico. The rebellion lasted from January 17 to November 6, 1840 and the Republic of the Rio Grande was never officially recognized.- Background :After a...
- Republic of YucatánRepublic of YucatánThe Republic of Yucatan was a nineteenth century sovereign state during two periods of the century. The first Republic of Yucatan, founded May 29, 1823, joined the Mexican federation as the Federated Republic of Yucatán on December 23, 1823, less than seven months later...
- Mexican-American War
