Rethinking mid-nineteenth-century Mexican conservatism: the importance of religion and anti-U.S. sentiment during the 1857-61 Civil War

This article reassesses the nature of mid-nineteenth-century Mexican conservatism during the 1857–61 Civil War. It demonstrates that there was no easily distinguishable conservative ideology, noting the contribution moderate liberals made to the tacubayista cause and finding much in General Miguel Miramón’s 1859 manifesto that was strikingly liberal. However, notwithstanding the conservatives’ divisions and muddled politics, it argues that they were nevertheless united by their combative defense of Catholicism and a heartfelt anti-US sentiment, which translated into a deadly hatred of everything the radical liberals stood for.