1848. · Queretaro
by Peña y Peña, José Manuel de la
Queretaro: J.M. Lara, 1848.. [4],44pp. Original printed wrappers. Wrappers lightly soiled, lower half of spine chipped and beginning to split. Faint tideline to lower margin throughout, otherwise internally clean. Very good. An uncommon pamphlet printed near the close of the Mexican-American War, publishing President Manuel de la Peña y Peña's ardently anti-war remarks from prior to the conflict in an attempt to steer public opinion towards peace. Peña y Peña was the Minister of Foreign Affairs under President Herrera during the Texas Revolution, during which time he argued fiercely for a peace settlement. "War with the U.S. in order to dislodge the occupation of Texas," he notes in the remarks printed here, originally delivered in 1845, "is a bottomless abyss which will devour an untold series of generations and treasure which the imagination is unable to calculate, and in the end will submerge the republic with all its hopes for the future" (our translation from the Spanish). His remarks at the time predicted an "inevitable tragedy" should Mexico go to war with the United States, and he further warned that trying to save Texas would only cost more territory in the future. In the end, more than fifty percent of Mexico's area was lost, and that the country would be left unable to defend itself against other powers.
Peña y Peña was one of the only Mexican presidents in the 19th century to come from a legal rather than a military background. He became President for the first time after Santa Anna abdicated the position to lead the army at the outbreak of the Mexican-American War. He held the position throughout most of the conflict except for a brief term in the middle, and was again in office when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was negotiated and ratified. Leading up to the time of negotiations, there was considerable public unrest at the idea of what was considered a "dishonorable" peace, and the more distant states were beginning to agitate against the Federal government. This pamphlet was printed, as the preface states (in translation), "not only to demonstrate the immense convenience that the nation would have received from a settlement, but also effectively serve to correctly judge the question of peace that is being aired today. We believe its publication is necessary, although we have the pain of having seen the fatal predictions made in the circular about the evils of a war that, although just and holy, unfortunately could have given us no other result than a much more disadvantageous peace than the one that might have been celebrated [in 1845]."
A rare and significant printing of the unfortunately accurate predictions of one of Mexico's leading advocates for peace in the mid-19th century. TUTOROW 2956. PALAU 217561. HOWES P194, "aa." OCLC 2058651. (Inventory #: WRCAM57543)
Peña y Peña was one of the only Mexican presidents in the 19th century to come from a legal rather than a military background. He became President for the first time after Santa Anna abdicated the position to lead the army at the outbreak of the Mexican-American War. He held the position throughout most of the conflict except for a brief term in the middle, and was again in office when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was negotiated and ratified. Leading up to the time of negotiations, there was considerable public unrest at the idea of what was considered a "dishonorable" peace, and the more distant states were beginning to agitate against the Federal government. This pamphlet was printed, as the preface states (in translation), "not only to demonstrate the immense convenience that the nation would have received from a settlement, but also effectively serve to correctly judge the question of peace that is being aired today. We believe its publication is necessary, although we have the pain of having seen the fatal predictions made in the circular about the evils of a war that, although just and holy, unfortunately could have given us no other result than a much more disadvantageous peace than the one that might have been celebrated [in 1845]."
A rare and significant printing of the unfortunately accurate predictions of one of Mexico's leading advocates for peace in the mid-19th century. TUTOROW 2956. PALAU 217561. HOWES P194, "aa." OCLC 2058651. (Inventory #: WRCAM57543)
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