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Hillfighter — The United States, 1837
Published: 2010-06-04 19:24:01 +0000 UTC; Views: 4666; Favourites: 18; Downloads: 61
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Description
By 1837 profound changes had occurred in Mexico. Less than a year after his coronation as Emperor of Mexico Agustin de Iturbide was forced to abdicate his throne.Like Napoleon before him, he had been a military emperor, a new monarch. His power was guaranteed by the military as well as his conservative stances towards the Catholic Church and the landowning elite. But he was opposed by members of the mexican congress who favored the creation of a republic, with liberal values like representative voting.
All this came to a head because the country's taxes had been mismanaged. Soon there wasn't enough money to pay for a standing army, a necessity in case Spain decided to reinvade the colony. With the Emperor's support among the army eroded due to lack of pay, Republican general Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna formed an army of opposition and marched on the capitol, Mexico City. In February 1823, the Emperor abdicated.
In January of 1824 Mexican leaders wrote a constitution. Influenced by the United States Constitution it contains directives for establishing three branches of government. However, it also establishes the Catholic faith as the only legal religion.
For the next decade, presidents ruled the United Mexican States and were overthrown in a series of coups. By 1836, Santa Anna had again risen to the top of Mexican politics. He abolished the 1824 Constitution and dissolved the Mexican Congress. Several mexican states declared their independence from Mexico including Texas.
After the Alamo, the Army of Texas was on the run. In a bold move, they decided to stop and attack the Mexican Army head on. At the Battle of San Jacinto (Apr 21, 1836), the Mexican Army was routed from the field. Captured, Santa Anna was forced to sign a peace treaty. But with news of his defeat Santa Anna was repudiated by a new government in Mexico City. Though the peace treaty was now scrap paper, the experience of defeat meant that the Mexican army never again invaded Texas.
--American History Map Series--
1790 [link]
1802 [link]
1804 [link]
1819 [link]
1823 [link]
1837
1846 [link]
1850 [link]
1862 [link]
1900 [link]
Original map base courtesy of Wikipedia
2/19/12 EDIT:
map base source [link]
map base created by Lokal_Profil [link]
