The Struggle for Recognition During 19th Century Mexico

Despite the fact that 30,000 French troops invaded Mexico in the 1860s and installed Maximilian in power and created the Second Mexican Empire, Mexican liberals put up a sustained guerilla military resistance. But this paper examines a different significant battle, the one that took place on the political front. Both Maximilian and the liberal resistance that opposed him led by Juárez sought diplomatic support and recognition. At the time, not only was Mexico divided, but also the U.S. since the country was in the middle of the Civil War. This paper examines the attempts Maximilian and Juárez made to gain recognition and support during this complicated period during which the Union had to weigh the impact that its action in Mexico might have on France’s attitudes about the American Civil War.http://opus.ipfw.edu/stu_symp2016/1003/thumbnail.jp