Representacion Que los Habitantes de Zamora Dirigen al Soberano Congreso Constituyente, Pidienole Que No Se Permita en la Republica la Libertad de Cultos Que Establece el Articulo 15 del Proyecto de Constitucion, Presentado por la Comision Respectiva el Dia 16 de Junio de 1856

Mexico City: Imprenta de M. Murguia, 1856. Good plus.. 28pp. Original printed wrappers, stitched. Paper reinforcement on blank verso of front wrapper. Some edge wear; moderate dust soiling and toning. Scarce plea by the inhabitants of Zamora, directed to the Constituent Congress, asking it not to allow in the Republic the freedom of worship proposed mid-1850s revision of the Mexican Constitution. The liberal constitution re-established a parliamentary federal government, and formally enshrined the abolition of slavery and important civil rights, but it also ended Catholicism as the official religion of Mexico, and sought to remove much of the Church's power by establishing secular public education, forcing the sale of church property, and ending its legal privileges under the guise of freedom of religion. The petition, which was written in response to the appearance of the proposed reform in a local newspaper, begs the congress to preserve "la religion de sus padres," and recites a veritable litany of historical, societal, and cultural contributions of the Catholic Church to Mexico. The document is signed in print by hundreds of Zamora residents. Tensions over the role of Catholicism in Mexico and many other reforms effected by the Constitution of 1857 eventually led to the outbreak of the Reform War in 1858. Published in attractive printed wrappers; we locate an example only at the Bibliotheca Nacional de España.