Book Description

Contemporary manuscript copies of published and unpublished letters and speeches in multiple hands, written by and to General Santos Degollado from 1848 to 1860. Degollado was a key leader of the Mexican Reforma movement, which lasted from 1854 and 1861 and which sought to move away from Spanish Colonialism by establishing a national identity for Mexico and restoring governmental and national control through a new constitution. These letters and political speeches span the entirety of Degollado's main political and military career, beginning in 1848 with his assumption to governor of Michoacan, to his military compaign as leader of the Ayutla army in 1854 (see leaves [114]-[116], dated January 28, 1855), to his service in the cabinet of Benito Juarez, ending with his resignation as commander-in-chief of the liberal army towards the end of the Three Years' War. Correspondents include Benito Juarez, Melchor Ocampo, and Juan Alvarez, among others. Included also are a few political speeches, as well as a previously published public notice dated 1849 (printed by Juan N. del Valle in Puebla). Many of the manuscripts, including many of the letters and speeches, contain ink edits in the same hand as the original copy. It is possible that some of these letters have been published elsewhere, namely in either "El centenario de Santos Degollado, documentos y cartas" (Departamento del Distrito Federal, 1961), or the "Coleccion de documentos ineditos o muy raros relativos a la Reforma en México" (Institutio Nacional de Antropologia y Historia, 1957-8, though the latter only covers the final 3 years of Degollado's career). However, we believe that most of these letters have not yet been published; additionally, none of the letters contained in the Archives or books mentioned above have been digitized, making this volume a valuable resource for students and scholars of the Mexican Reforma movement, and the liberal Mexican government of the mid-19th century.--Condensed from bookseller's description.