Manuel de la Peña y Peña
Manuel de la Peña y Peña | |
---|---|
18th President of Mexico | |
In office 16 September – 13 November 1847 | |
Preceded by | Antonio López de Santa Anna |
Succeeded by | Pedro María de Anaya |
In office 8 January – 3 June 1848 | |
Preceded by | Pedro María de Anaya |
Succeeded by | José Joaquín de Herrera |
Personal details | |
Born | Tacubaya, New Spain | 10 March 1789
Died | 2 January 1850 Mexico City, Mexico | (aged 60)
Resting place | Panteón de Dolores |
José Manuel de la Peña y Peña (10 March 1789 – 2 January 1850) was a Mexican lawyer and judge, who served two non-consecutive, but closely following terms as the president of Mexico during the
He was foreign minister and a member of the peace party whom under the presidency of
Early life
Peña y Peña was born in the town of Tacuba on 10 March 1789 to a poor family. Upon finishing his primary education he entered the Tridentine Seminary and received high marks and various awards from the departments of grammar, rhetoric, philosophy, and civil and canonical jurisprudence, winning a scholarship along with Manuel Posada y Garduño, the future archbishop of Mexico. He was well distinguished in the practice of jurisprudence, and his teacher Jose Gonzales Retana assured him a promising career.[1]
He was admitted to the bar on 16 December 1811 during the
Judicial career
Peña y Peña assumed a seat in the
During the Centralist Republic of Mexico, he was named Minister of the Interior by President Anastasio Bustamante in 1837 and the following year he was named to the Supreme Moderating Power, an executive council that was meant to be above even the president. In this post his sought to counter the tendencies of the federalists who were backed by part of the military and counted upon considerable public support. He gave a detailed report on constitutional reform, and played a role in reforming the law for punishing robbery. Peña y Peña was also professor of public law at the University of Mexico and towards the end of 1841 he was given the task of writing the civil code and civil procedure and named a member of the legislative junta which wrote a new constitution, the Bases Orgánicas. In 1843 he was named to the council of state and also elected to the senate being reelected, in November 1845 in which he once again was named Minister of Foreign Relations, being in agreement with President Herrera's aims in seeking to avoid war with the United States. He was assigned to negotiate an extradition treaty with Spain, and when Herrera was overthrown in December 1846, Peña y Peña returned once again to his post on the Supreme Court.[4]
First Presidency
First Presidency of Manuel de la Peña y Peña[5] | ||
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Office | Name | Term |
Relations | Luis de la Rosa | 26 September 1847 – 13 November 1847 |
Justice | Luis de la Rosa | 26 September 1847 – 13 November 1847 |
Treasury | Luis de la Rosa | 26 September 1847 – 13 November 1847 |
War | Luis de la Rosa | 26 September 1847 – 13 November 1847 |
He would be in this post when the
He published a manifesto on 13 October 1847, explaining that in spite of his poor health and lack of forces, he was fulfilling a duty prescribed by the constitution, and he assured that he would only be in power shortly, and expounded his principles and sentiments and the conduct he planned to pursue to conclude his presidency with honor and a satisfied conscience. He pleaded with the states to maintain loyalty to the central government and provide arms and funds for the war effort. He promised to protect the public interest, the rights of all classes, and to respect and protect the Catholic religion.[7]
Congress meanwhile joined him at Querétaro. President Peña y Peña was convinced that the war could not be continued due to a lack of funds,
Second Presidency
Second Presidency of Manuel de la Peña y Peña<[5] | ||
---|---|---|
Office | Name | Term |
Relations | Luis de la Rosa | 9 January 1848 – 3 June 1848 |
Justice | Jose Maria Duran | 9 January 1848 – 3 June 1848 |
Treasury | Luis de la Rosa | 9 January 1848 – 3 June 1848 |
War | Pedro María de Anaya | 9 January 1848 – 3 June 1848 |
When Anaya's interim term expired on 8 January 1848, congress was not in session, and Peña y Peña being next in the line of succession assumed the presidency again. He published a manifesto expounding upon his hopes that congress could meet and urged the state governors to cooperate and help in the matter, and he resolved to prevent the remaining unoccupied state capitals from falling into enemy hands. Luis de La Rosa holding the dual portfolios of Finance and Relations also made efforts to arrange a session of congress. The Peña y Peña administration was hoping that a reunion of congress would stymie the separatist movements that were beginning to flare up throughout the country. The legislature of San Luis Potosí proposed to stop recognizing the federal government at Querétaro over disagreements regarding its peace efforts.[10] Insurrections were also found in the states of the north, in the state of Mexico.
President Peña y Peña recognizing that a large part of the agitation was due to the extraordinary abundance of idle officials ordered that the Ministry of War and military offices be occupied, and published regulations regarding the matter. Meanwhile, he continued negotiating with the government of the United States through the American commissioner Nicholas Trist. A peace treaty was finally signed on 2 February 1848 in the villa of Guadalupe. The signing was attended by Bernardo Cuoto, Luis Gonzaga Cuevas, Miguel Atristain. Minister Luis de la Rosa announced to the state governors that the treaty would be submitted for the approval of congress, and that while the deputies gathered there would be an armistice. The U.S. Senate approved the treaty with slight modifications[11]
The majority of the state governors accepted the treaty and the armistice was signed at Querétaro by General
Congress finally met in May, and at its opening session President Peña y Peña recommended a policy of peace, and ordered the progress that had been made in the fields of order and finances amidst so many challenges. He recounted how as Minister of Foreign Relations under President José Joaquín de Herrera, he had been against the war. He explained that he did not view this stance as dishonorable as even the strongest and most militarist nations had to face the reality that there were wars which they could not win. He expressed belief that Mexico simply did not have the ability to continue the war, and proclaimed that anyone who viewed such a stance as dishonorable was not worthy of being called honest.[13]
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Congress at Querétaro now had to negotiate a peace treaty with the invader while also dealing with separatism and anarchy spreading throughout the country. The
The majority of congress supported the government's peace policy viewing in the
Meanwhile, the President had to deal with guerilla warfare throughout the country afflicting both the American occupiers and Mexican merchants. The aim of the guerillas was to disrupt the American supply chain from Veracruz to the capital. This was also leading to indiscriminate American reprisals.
Death
Less than two years after the conclusion of the war, Peña y Peña would die on the evening of 2 January 1850. His funeral was a major public event and he lay in state for three days, in the halls where the Supreme Court met. A procession of prominent individuals made up of clergy, statesmen, and academics accompanied the coffin to the National Cathedral where Peña y Peña was laid to rest.[20]
See also
References
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 341.
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 342.
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 342.
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 342.
- ^ a b Memoria de hacienda y credito publico. Mexico City: Mexican Government. 1045–1046. p. 1052.
- ^ Bancroft, Hubert How e (1879). History of Mexico volume V: 1824–1861. p. 527.
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 341.
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 343.
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 344.
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 348.
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 349.
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 350.
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 351.
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 352.
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 352.
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 353.
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 353.
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 353.
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 353.
- ^ Rivera Cambas, Manuel (1873). Los Gobernantes de Mexico: Tomo II (in Spanish). J.M. Aguilar Cruz. p. 354.
Further reading
- (in Spanish) "Peña y Peña, Manuel de la", Enciclopedia de México, v. 11. Mexico City, 1996, ISBN 1-56409-016-7.
- (in Spanish) García Puron, Manuel, México y sus gobernantes, v. 2. Mexico City: Joaquín Porrúa, 1984.
- (in Spanish) Orozco Linares, Fernando, Gobernantes de México. Mexico City: Panorama Editorial, 1985, ISBN 968-38-0260-5.