The War with Mexico/Volume 1/Notes On Chapter 2
II. THE POLITICAL EDUCATION OF MEXICO
1. To sketch the political development of Mexico is by no means easy. No scientific history of it exists, and all those who have written on the subject with first-hand knowledge have been party men. The best basis is the reports of the British ministers, for they were men of ability near the heart of affairs, comparatively without prejudice, and anxious to give a true account of what was taking place. With these reports as a prima facie standard, the author has felt able to use intelligently the statements of other foreign agents — diplomatic and consular — Mexican authors, the historical and political writers of several nationalities and a great number of periodicals.
For the colonial régime he consulted the following sources. Humboldt, Polit. Essay, i, passim. 52Poinsett, nos. 94 of 1827; 166 of 1829. Cuevas, Porvenir, 15. Ward, Mexico, i, 91-120. Rivero, México, 24. 261Mémoire. 11Serrurier to "the Duke," Apr. 20, 1818. 11Villevêque, Feb. 3, 1830. Mora, Obras, i, pp. cx — cxiii. Macgregor, Progress, passim. Tornel, Breve Reseña, 4. Consideraciones, 50-1. 11Mémoire submitted to the king by a Spaniard. Gage, Voyages, i, 223. Amer. Antiq. Soc., Proceedings, New Series, xxi, 277-83. Latané, Diplom. Rels., 12-20. Diario de México, 1810. Pensador, 1812, 45-6, 49, 51, 53. Gaceta del Gob. de Méx., 1810. Priestley, José de Gálvez, chaps. iand ii. Esperanza, Mar. 5, 1846. 296Poinsett to the Prest., Apr. 26, 1827.
2. The Revolution. Cuevas, Porvenir, 15, 17. Ward, Mexico, i, 84, 96, 100, 116-8, 120, 135, 195-6. México á través, ii, pp. x-xiii, 507-8, 525; iii, pp. iv-ix, 30-5, 76, 85-127, 162, 188, 210, 226, 271, 283, 311, 323, (331, 339, 343, 405, 428, 450, 460, 487, 491-2, 656, 661-85, 735-56; iv, pp. iv, vii, 30, 199, 200, 316. Arrangóiz, México, i, 33-5. Humboldt, Polit. Essay, i. 261Mémoire. Tornel, Reseña, 4-6, 162. Otero, Cuestión Social, 51-2. García, Plan. Itúrbide, Mémoires. Poinsett, Notes, 91; app., 39. Zavala, Revoluciones, i, 65, 68, 78-9, 86, 104, 111, 272, 406. 13Ward, nos. 37, 114 of 1826. 52Poinsett, no. 166 of 1829. Constituent Congress, Address, 1824. Alamén, México, i-iv. 11Martin, Feb. 1, 1827. Sierra, Evolution, i, 126, 149. 13Morier, no. 10 of 1825. Lerdo de Tejada, Apuntes, ii, 229-30, 234, 245. Consideraciones, 43, 51-2. Memoria de. . Guerra, 1823, p.9. Arróñiz, Orizaba. Liceaga, Adiciones, 378. Mora, Obras, i, p. vii. Mateos, Hist. Parl., ii, 222. Löwenstern, Le Mexique, 293. S. Anna, Manifiesto, 1823. Suárez y Navarro, Alegato. Id., Hist. de Méx. y del. . . 8. Anna. Carreño, Jefes, 13. Sol, June 15, 24, 1823. Rivera, Jalapa, ii, 107-26. Gaceta del Gob. de Méx., 1810, p. 867 (decree of the Inquisition summoning Hidalgo). Rivera, Gobernantes, ii, 1-72. Puga y Acal, Documentos, 20. Portrait of Itúrbide: City Hall, Mexico.
3. Itúrbide, the Triumvirate, and the Constitution. 13Ward, secret and confid., July 14, 1825; no. 114 of 1826. 52Poinsett, nos. 94 of 1827; 166 of 1829. 11Villevêque, Feb. 3, 1830. 11Martin, Feb. 1, 1827.13Morier, no. 10 of 1825. 11Cipher despatch to French govt. about July, 1823. 261Mémoire. Cuevas, Porvenir, 14, 36, 140-2, 195-206, 211-5, 220-5, 231-8, 239, 245-51, 261, 277, 318-9, 358-9. Bocanegra, Memorias, i, 13-4, 18, 31-3, 38-40, 49-57, 61-3, 76-82, 97-9, 111-25, 207, 215, 220-4, 226, 231, 241, 284-9, 328-9, 370, 374. Itúrbide, Mémoires. Tornel, Reseña, 6-15, 18-22, 28, 37. Mora, Obras, i, pp. vii-viii, xii, xiv. Zavala, Revoluciones, i, 113-23, 152, 173, 176, 211, 214-5, 254-62, 274, 294, 347; ii, 294. Ward, Mexico, i, 202-6, 260-82. Poinsett, Notes, 71. Lerdo de Tejada, Apuntes, ii, 262. Negrete, México, xiii, 296; xiv, 239. Memoria de. . . Relaciones, Dec., 1846. Casasus, Deuda. Romero in No. Amer. Review, Jan. 1, 1896. Gutiérrez de Estrada, México. Mata, Reflecciones. Arco Iris, Dec. 7, 1847. Eco del Comercio, Mar. 10, 1848. Cosmopolita, Aug. 22, 1838. Maza, Código, 263. Rivera, Jalapa, ii, 225, 228. Id., Gobernantes, ii, 73-94. Esperanza, Mar. 5, 1846. 208MS. of the man who proclaimed the empire. Tornel, Discurso, 17. Alamn, México, v. Constituent Congress, Address, 1824. Otero, Cuestión Social, 53-5, 75, 108-9 México 4 través, iv, pp. iv, vii, 9-21, 26-37, 40-8, 50-9, 65-111, 115, 198, 200-9, 360. Sierra, Evolution, i, 160-6, 169, 173, 316. F. J. P., Ligeras Reflecciones. Reforma, Jan. 23, 1846. Consideraciones, 46. Sol, July 27, 1823. Mayer, War, 27-8, 135. Richtofen, Zustände, 21. Dictamen of revol. committee, June 12, 1835. Calderón, Life, i, 336. Löwenstern, Le Mexique, 294. Thompson, Recolls., 58. Lacombe, Le Mexique, 31.
4. It has recently been denied that our Constitution was imitated, but. this was stated by Poinsett (no. 166, March 10, 1829), Bocanegra (Mems., i, 329), Tornel (Reseña, 14), Otero (Cuestión Social, 121), and 261Mémoire; and the Congress itself, in an address to the nation, said, 'In all our proceedings, we have taken for a model the happy Republic of the United States of the North.' The Spanish constitution of 1812 and that of the French Republic were also in view. There was a supreme court, but it had no power to hold the balance between the states and the central government.
5. Victoria's administration. Portrait in city hall, Mexico. 52Poinsett, nos. 12, 20, 24, 32, 55, 60, 92, 94, 96-7, 99, 105, 107, 110, 114, 153, 166, 192 (1825-29). 296Id. to King, May 16, 1826. 13Hervey, Dee. 15, 1824. 13Morier, nos. 10, 19, 1825. 13Ward, nos. 15, 21, 34, 36, 44, 60, 64 and most private and confid. (Sept. 30) of 1825; 32, 77, 85, 99, 107, 114, 128, 136, secret and most confid. (Oct. 2225), and private (Oct. 34) of 1826; 3, 11, 15, 19, 24, 52, 58 of 1827. 13Pakenham, nos. 62, 84, 90 of 1827, 1, 107 of 1828; 22, 32, 38 of 1829; 17, 30 of 1830; and to Vaughan, Jan. 13, 1829. 11Martin, Feb. 1; Mar. 30; Apr. 25, 1827; Aug. 25; Dee. 25, 1828. 11Cochelet, Jan. 16, 1830. 11Villevêque, Feb. 3, 1830. 11Paper submitted to the French Cabinet, 1828. 11Instructions of Bresson, 1828. Tornel, Reseña, 16, 19, 24-5, 28-30, 34, 39, 43, 45-8, 80, 83, 85, 87, 129-30, 133-4, 163-4, 177-82, 200, 238. Bocanegra, Mems., i, 118, 231, 286, 374, 390, 444, 463, 467, 522. Zavala, Revoluciones, i, 149, 271, 343, 346-8, 351; ii, 35, 41, 44. México á través, iv, 103-4, 116, 121, 127-9, 131-3, 141, 144-5, 154-67, 170, 172, 193-4, 208-10. Mora, Obras, i, pp. viii-xii, xiv-xvi. Calderón, Life, i, 42, 96. Richtofen, Zustände, 22. Löwenstern, Le Mexique, 290. F. J. P., Ligeras Reflecciones. Cuevas, Porvenir, 268-9, 353, 376, 406, 411-2. Sierra, Evolution, i, 183. 52Manifiesto of Vera Cruz legislature, June, 1827. Son Peores los Gachupines. Ah, Traidores Gachupines. Crimenes de Zavala. Acta del Pronunciamiento. Revista Económica, Dec. 31, 1843. Cosmopolita, Feb. 14, 1838. Anteojo, Aug. 1, 1835; and other references in chap. iii (Poinsett section). Dictamen of revol. committee, June 12, 1835. 261Mémoire. Otero, Cuestión Social, 60, 66. Poinsett, Notes, 20. Rivera, Jalapa, ii, 364.
The following passage illustrates. the pamphleteering of the day: "The country is threatened; and by whom? The Gachupines. Persons in the midst of us are working for our ruin; and who? The Gachupines. Persons are laboring to sow discord among us; and who? The Gachupines. Persons are looking for hostile troops to reduce us to slavery again; and who? The Gachupines."" The popular party, associated with Masonic lodges of the York Rite, were commonly called Yorkinos, and the aristocratic party, associated with the Scotch Rite, Escoceses (i.e. Scotch). A particularly unfortunate fact was that under the Mexican constitution the arbiter between the nation and the states was a political body, Congress.
6. Guerrero's rise and fall. 62Poinsett, nos. 60 of 1826; 105, 151-3, 155, 157-60 of 1828; 166, 173 of 1829, and Apr. 3, 15; Sept. 2; Nov. 20; Dec. 23, 1829. 13Ward, Nov. 10, 1825. 13Pakenham, nos. 89, 99, 110, 122, 132, 143-4, 146, 151, 153 of 1828 ("totally unfit," Aug. 23); 2, 4, 8, 52, 79, 99, 108, 109 of 1829; 8, 17, 25 of 1830; 62 of 1833; to Vaughan, Jan. 13, 1829. 11Martin, June 30, 1827; Aug. 25; Sept. 26; Oct. 31; Dee. 1, 10, 19, 25, 31, 1828; Jan. 4, 13, 1829. 11Cochelet, June 6; Oct. 20; Nov. 29; Dec. 26, 1829, 231Butler to Jackson, June 6, 1834. 52Butler, Dec. 31, 1829; Jan. 5; Mar. 9, 1830. 52Cameron, Feb. 14, 1831. 261Mémoire. 52Zavala, Exposición to chamber of deputies, Apr. 23, 1829. Id., Revoluciones, i, 146; ii, 47, 57-8, 77, 147, 150-2, 175, 221. Gaxiola, Invasién, 156. Lerdo de Tejada, Apuntes, ii, 302-6, 336, 396. Cuevas, Porvenir, 285, 383, 413, 458, 475. Tornel, Reseña, 34-6, 45-6, 237, 309-13, 315-8, 323-4, 333-4, 338, 347-9, 383-6, 392, 407, 423-4. Bocanegra, Mems., i, 375, 473-4, 492, 494; ii, 7, 10-1, 25, 34, 57-9, 120, 135, 144, 150-9, 190, 657. México á través, ii, 612; iv, 98, 102, 166, 177-94, 197, 209-12, 215, 217-37, 267. Sierra, Evolution, i, 177-8. Juicio Imparcial. El Pueblo Pide Justicia. F. J. P., Ligeras Reflecciones. Mora, Obras, i, pp. xvi-xx. Bustamante, Manifiesto, 1830. Derrota del Sr. Guerrero. Mateos, Hist. Parl., iii, 256, 263. Memoria de. . . Relaciones, 1830, 11, 13. Poinsett in Commerc. Review, July, 1846, 34-9. 231T. H. Ellis, July 8, 1839. Anteojo, Aug. 1, 1835. 52Guerrero to Poinsett, Nov. 1, 1827. 11Id., Address on becoming President. Rivera, Gobernantes, ii, 164. Sosa, Biografías, 429, 1101. American Sentinel, June 15, 1836. The Acordada was a conspicuous building at Mexico made use of in Zavala's insurrection.
7. Bustamante and the change of system. Pakenham, nos. 88, 108 of 1829; 5, 17, 24-5, 31, 59, 62, 66-7 of 1830; 8 of 1831; 47, 54, 70, 81-3, 87, 96 of 1832; 10, 19, 35, 39, 44, 62, 67, 69, 82-3 of 1833; 15, 22-3, 29, 36, 42, 48, 51, 57, 64 of 1834; 25, 35, 40, 47 of 1835; 24 of 1837. Poinsett, no. 12 of 1825. 52Butler, Jan.5; Mar.9; June 29; Aug. 26, 1830; Feb. 19; Aug. 20; Oct. 5; Dec. 6, 1831; Jan. 10; Feb. 27; Mar. 22; July 25; Oct. 7; Dee. 12, 1832; Mar. 16; June 5, 1833; Mar. 2, 8, 28: June 2; July 1, 9; Sept. 1; Oct. 20, 1834; Feb. 8, 1836. 52Butler to Jackson, July 28, 1831; June 21; July 18; 'Aug. 30, 1832; Jan. 2, 1833; Feb. 6; July 9; Dec. 24, 1834; Feb. 26, 1835. 52Ellis, nos. 2, 3, 1836. 52Ellis to Jackson, Aug. 26, 1836. 11Cochelet, Nov. 21, 1829. 261Mémoire. 13Morier, no. 10, 1825. 13Ward, secret and gonfid. July 14; no. 40, Sept. 25, 1825. 13Ashburnham, no. 70, 1838. 52Jones, no. 71, 1837. 52W. S. Parrott, no. 15, 1835. A. Bustamante to Congress, May 23, 1832. C. M. Bustamante, Gobierno, 275. Mora, Obras, i, pp. xx, xxi, xliii-xlvi, xlix, l, lvii, lxi, lxv, lxxvi-xc, cxii-cxxviii, cxxxix, cxcvii, ccxiv-cclxxxi, cclxv. Lerdo de Tejada, Apuntes, ii, 393, 396-7, 399, 403, 414, 548. Crepúsculo, May 8, 16, 1835. Rivera, Jalopa, i iii, 157-75, 195-202, 225-8. Id., Gobernantes, ii, 151-3, 168-9, 173, 177-8. Tornel, Reseña, 25. Cuevas, Porvenir, 342. Zavala, Revoluciones, i, 263; ii, 254, 269-70, 289, 365, 367, 369. Zamacois, México, xii, 24-5. Bocanegra, Mems., ii, 150-3, 157, 159, 190, 208, 329-31, 378-85, 417-8, 433-9, 445-60, 546-54, 598. México á través, iv, 142, 201, 230-1, 235-7, 240, 246-7, 255, 258, 265, 267, 285-6, 289-93, 295, 298-311, 315-9, 321-7, 332-53, 355, 357, 359, 362-82, 386-8, 390-1. Calderón, Life, i, 96; ii, 126. Poinsett in Commerc. Review, July, 1846, 34-9. Thompson, Recolls., 87-8. Sierra, Evolution, i, 181-2, 184, 187; ii, 494. El Vil y Traidor S. Anna. Juicio Imparcial. Imparcial, June 18, 1906. Búlnes, Grandes Mentiras, 208. Löwenstern, Le Mexique, 284, 287. Aviso á los Estados. S. Anna, proclam., June 1, 1834.
When Santa Anna resumed the Presidency in May, 1833, he painted himself in an address to Congress as the ideal patriot and saint, consecrated to liberty, enlightenment, morality, and the Christian religion, "straightforward" and "simple" in principles, "mild and tolerant" in character. His life, he assured the nation, was entirely devoted to the freedom and happiness of the people and the preservation of the Federal system." Before long his picture was drawn in different colors. "The Vile and Traitorous Santa Anna wishes to be Emperor," cried one pamphleteer. '"Depravity and ambition make up the character of that miserable Proteus,'"' responded another.
8. Centralism. 13Ashburnham, nos. 51, 52, 58, 64 of 1837; 7, 21, 23, 24, 37, 70, 111 of 1838. 13Pakenham, nos. 11, 12, 67, 76 of 1839; 21, 40, 72, 92, 95 of 1840; 42, 53, 94, 101, 116 of 1841. 13Pakenham to Harvey, July 20, 1839. 52W. D. Jones, June 22; July 19; Aug. 29; Sept. 26; Oct. 7,17; Nov. 4,11; Dec. 6, 1837; Apr. 10; Sept. 5, 8, 22; Oct. 1, 30; Dee. 7 (anarchy), 1838; Feb. 16, 19; Mar. 23 (Valencia); Apr. 20, 23; May 11, 1839. 52W. S. Parrott, July 29, 1837. 52Black, no. 307, 1840. 52Ellis, no. 29, 1840. 52Ellis to Jackson, Oct. 15, 1839. Bocanegra, Mems., ii, 807. Giménez, Mems., 70-3. Rivero, México, 75. Otero, Cuestión, 62-5. Robertson, Visit, i, 317. México á través, iv, 382, 387, 390-2, 395, 397, 399, 404-16, 419, 423, 427, 430-2, 438, 440, 443-4, 446-8, 451-2, 455-74. Calderón, Life, i, 349; ii, 187, 223-6, 232, 246, 250, 254, 274. El Que me Importa. Noticia Extraordinaria. Republicano, Feb. 3, 1847. London Times, Nov. 25, 1841. Lara, Revista Politica, 1840. Cosmopolita, Dec. 28, 1836. 56Greenhow, Aug. 12, 1837. Löwenstern, Le Mexique, 284. Sierra, Evolution, i, 185. Búlnes, Grandes Mentiras, 208. "I do not believe," wrote the British minister (no. 116, Nov. 8, 1841), "that history affords an example of the fate of a Country being so completely dependent upon the will of one man" [as Mexico's now is upon S. Anna's].
9. Santa Anna as Dictator and President. 13Pakenham, nos. 82 of 1833; 119 of 1841; 20, 57, 77, 99, 121 of 1342; 13 of 1843. 13Doyle, nos, 47, 72, 76, 81 of 1843. 13Bankhead, nos. 4, 43, 54, 66, 72, 73, 96, 105, 108, 110 of 1844; 1, 20, 50 of 1845; 57 of 1846. 231Butler to Jackson, Dec. 14, 1835. 52Ellis, no. 44 of 1841. 52Thompson, nos. 1, 3 of 1842; 31 of 1843; 40 of 1844. 523, E. Green, April 8; May 16; June 7. 21; July 14, 1844. Green to Calhoun, June 15, 1844 (Ho. 2; 28, 2, p. 59). D. Green to Calhoun, Oct. 28; Nov. 12, 29, 1844 (Jameson, Calh. Corn, 975, 991, 1000). "Consul Burroughs to Ellis, Jan. 10, 1837. 52Consul Dimond, no. 200, 1843, 52Shannon, nos. 3, 4, 5, 1844. 52Id., Jan. 9, 1845. 52B. Mayer, statement, Dec. 9, 1842. C, M. Bustamante, Gobierno, l, 11, 22, 65, 94, 106, 247, 287, 289, 298, 322 — 4, 384. Giménez, Mems., 263. Bocanegra, Mems., ii, 679. Calderón, Life, i, 337; ii, 195, 272-4, 392. Memoria de. . . Relaciones, Mar. 12, 1845; Dec., 1846. Mem. de. . . Haciendn, Feb., 1844. Mcm. de. . Justicia, Jan., 1844. Paredes [Letters], Adverteneia, 141. Jones, Memoranda, 433 (Arista). México a través, iv, 474-80, 484-90, 492-9, 506, 509, 517 — 30, 532 — 4, 540, 547. Zamacois, México, xii, 280 — 1, 283, 285, 330. Löwenstern, Le Mexique, 288, Rivero, México, 90, 94. Diario del Gabiernu, Jan. 12, 1845. Journal des Débats, Sept. 13, 1842; Mar. 16, 1844; Apr. 29, 1845. Revue de Paris, Dec, 1844. Constitutionnel, Jan. 6, 1844. Otero, Cuestión, 69-70. Tome], Reseña, 74. Zavala, Revoluciones, i, 151. 231Butler to Jackson, June 6, 1834. 11Martin, Aug. 25, 1828. 11Cochelet, Feb. 3, 1830. 52Butler, July 9, 1834. Alvarez, Manifiesto, 1845. Ellis, Soul of Spain, 37, Sierra, Evolution, 1, 211. Defensa del Gen. S. Anna. Cause Criminal. S. Anna, Address, 1846. Rivera, Jalapa, iii, 507, 545, 612, 647 — 73. Lerdo de Tejada, Apuntes, 11, 502 — 5, 511. Texas Register, Mar. 15, 1845 (Eyewitness). London Times, Nov. 15, 1841; Feb. 13: Dec. 6, 1845. Thompson, Recolls., 76, 80, 85-6. Tudor, Tour, ii, 164. Proceso de S. Anna, 1845. saw. S. Parrott, Apr. 29, 1845. (S. Anna's appearance) N. Orl. Commerc. Bulletin, July 18, 1836; 5200nsul Cameron, Feb. 14, 1831; Stapp, Prsoners, 151 — 2; Mofras, Explor., i, 14; Thompson, Recolls., 65; Ferry, Revels, 253 — 5; 231Ellis to family, July 8, 1839.
"Genius of evil," cried a pamphleteer to Santa Anna, "demon of avarice and covetousness, you are, like Attila, the scourge of God. Your power has been, like that of Satan, a power of corruption, of ruin, and of destruction. You resemble a fury of hell, blind, devastating, and bloody. Amid the horrors of civil war, amid lakes of blood and mountains of dead bodies. you always present yourself like a spectre, inciting all to devastation, slaughter, and revenge"; and such productions almost whitened the pavements. —
10. Herrera's administration. (In Sept, 1845, Herrera became President by regular election.) 13Bankhead, nos. 108 of 1844; 2, 17, 30, 70, 82, 85 of 1845. 56W. S. Parrott, Apr. 29, 1845; May 22, 30; June 10, 24; July 12, 15, 2e, 30; Aug. 16, 23, 29; Sept. 2, 18, 29; Oct. 11, 1345. 50Slidell, no. 4, Dec. 27, 1845. 52Consul Campbell, June 7, 1845. Memoria de. . . Relaciones, Dec., 1846. Memoria do. . . Guerra, Dec, 1846. Zavala, Revoluciones. ii, 47. 52Dimond, June 11; Dec. 14, 1845. Siglo XIX, Oct. 5, 9; Nov. 15, 22, 30, Dec. 6, 9, 1845. Diario, Apr, 19; June 7; Sept. 10, 1845. Republicano, Feb. 3, 1847. Amigo del Pueblo, Nov. 30, 1845. London Times, Aug. 6; Oct. 6; Nov. 11; Dec. 6, 1845; Jan. 8, 1846. México á través, iv, 529, 541-5. Smith, Annex. of Texas, 423-4, Importantes Recuerdos. National, Mar. 18, 1845. Journal des Débats, Apr. 29; Aug. 2, 1845. Wash. Union, Sept. 29, 1845. Constituent Congress, Address, 1824. Cuatro Palabras. Consideraciones, 43-5. Voz del Pueblo, Nov. 12, 1845. Rivera, Jalapa, iii, 693-720. Baz, Juárez, 43. Rivera, Gobernantes, ii, 281-4.
11. A thoughtful Mexican analyzed the situation in substance as follows: Our people as a whole have forgotten morality, sincerity, patriotism, disinterestedness, and all the other virtues that upbuild great nations; only selfishness, base and ruinous passions, hatreds and vile revenges exist among us, and on all sides discords and rancors force themselves upon the dullest eye; the country, weakened by the parties, divided by incompatible interests and claims, has been unable to obtain order and repose, because interested persons have always promoted anarchy and disorder in every possible way; the liberty that the army achieved has been used only as brutal license; and each of us, regarding himself as a judge in the land, has felt entirely emancipated from all obligations, and fully at liberty to upset everything at his will.