Title: May 5 1862 – The Mexican Army Defeats the French at the Battle of Puebla |
Headings: May 5 1862 – The Mexican Army Defeats the French at the Battle of Puebla
May 5 1862 – The Mexican Army Defeats the French at the Battle of Puebla
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Content: Some, interested in central control placed in one individual, attempted to create a parliamentary monarchy similar to those on the rise in Europe. Others, enticed by the possibility of a federal republic similar to that in the neighboring U.S., attempted to exert influence by shedding the Catholic Church and subjugating the military. In 1855, led by Benito Juarez and Ignacio Comonfort, the progressive element gained control from General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Following the Mexican-American War, the country was now significantly smaller — Texas and much of the Southwest U.S. were lost — and the ousting of Santa Anna amounted to a new lease on life for Mexico as a nation. Immediately, Liberal representatives like Juarez offered fresh legislation to President Juan Alvarez that separated the Church from the state. Conservatives, angered by the assault on traditional religious involvement in governing, decried the laws and quickly mounted a rebellion in Puebla. Over the next two years, additional statutes authorized the government to seize Church property and, when necessary, hold public auctions when officials refused to sell land at reduced prices. Further, several important Catholic days were now relegated to minor status and crucial events to Mexico’s history honored with holidays of their own. Just as another Constitution was passed in 1857, the nation fell into civil war once again. General Tomas Mejia gathered an army to defend Conservative principles, eventually marching his forces into Mexico City and ousting Liberal politicians to start the Reform War.