— Ch. 1 · The Collapse Of 1846 —
Second Federal Republic of Mexico.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
In April of 1846, the Mexican American War erupted while Mariano Paredes held the presidency. A string of military defeats fueled public anger and forced Paredes to resign on July 28. He returned to his military post to fight alongside the army. Nicolas Bravo succeeded him as president but faced immediate rebellion from garrisons in Vera Cruz and San Juan de Ulua. On August 3, these garrisons revolted against Bravo's authority. The uprising installed Mariano Salas as provisional president. Salas restored the Constitution of 1824 on August 22. This act ended the Centralist Republic and began the Second Federal Republic. Congress opened its sessions at midnight on the 5th of December 1846. The body was dominated by liberals who debated how to fund a desperate war effort.
War And Territorial Loss
Santa Anna gathered an army of twenty thousand men at San Luis Potosi to defend the nation. He won the Battle of Buena Vista between February 22 and the 23rd of February 1847, though historians view it as a draw. American forces under Winfield Scott landed at Veracruz shortly after. Santa Anna traveled through Matehuala when news arrived that Valentin Gomez Farias had resigned due to internal revolution. Anaya took command of the capital and authorized a state of siege. The Americans broke through defenses at Cerro Gordo and advanced toward Mexico City. Congress granted Anaya extraordinary powers but forbade him from signing peace treaties alone. When the capital fell, the government fled northeast to Querétaro. Manuel de la Peña y Peña assumed the presidency after Anaya's term expired on the 8th of January 1847. Congress approved the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in May 1847. The treaty forced Mexico to cede half its territory to the United States. Jose Joaquin Herrera became president on the 3rd of June 1848, replacing Peña y Peña.