CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Opus: Research and Creativity at IPFW Panel: “Mexico: Domestic Transformations and International Relations” Bre Anne Briskey Title: “The Struggle for Recognition” Faculty Advisor: Dr. Richard Weiner Paper written for: History F346: Modern Mexico (Fall 2015) Bre Anne Briskey is a graduate of Swanton High School in Swanton, Ohio. She is a second year Chapman Scholar, majoring in psychology. Bre Anne is a member of Phi Eta Sigma, the National Society of Leadership and Success, and Psi Chi. She is participating in the Honor Program at IPFW and is a member of its student group, the HonorDons. Bre Anne presented her statistics research project at the 2015 Student Research Symposium. Abstract 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. Bibliographical Note The majority of the sources utilized in this research paper were secondary sources. The primary source document was a speech, "The Situation of Mexico" presented by the Mexican Liberal diplomat, Matías Romero to a group of politicians in 1864. This source drew parallels between the Union and the Mexican Liberals in order to garner support. The secondary sources focused on the relationship between the Mexican Liberals and the United States, and the relationship between the Mexican Imperials, European countries, and the United States. It should be noted that the article by Schoonover explored the potential economic benefits the Union would have received if they officially supported the Mexican Liberals. Blumberg, Arnold. "The Diplomacy of the Mexican Empire, 1863-1867." Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 61, no. 8 (1971): 1-152. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1006015. Duncan, Robert H. "Political Legitimation and Maximilian's Second Empire in Mexico, 1864- 1867." Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos 12, no. 1 (1996): 27-66. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1052077. Goldwert, Marvin. "Matias Romero and Congressional Opposition to Seward's Policy toward the French Intervention in Mexico." The Americas 22, no. 1 (1965): 22-40. http://www.jstor.org/stable/979422. Hamnett, Brian. A Concise History of Mexico. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Hamnett, Brian. "Mexican Conservatives, Clericals, and Soldiers: The 'Traitor' Tomás Mejía through Reform and Empire, 1855-1867." Bulletin of Latin American Research 20, no. 2 (2001): 187-209. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3339608. Hanna, Kathryn Abbey. "The Roles of the South in the French Intervention in Mexico." The Journal of Southern History 20, no. 1 (1954): 3-21. Accessed November 8, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2954576. Hardy, William E. "South of the Border: Ulysses S. Grant and the French Intervention." Civil War History 54, no. 1 (2008): 63-86. doi:10.1353/cwh.2008.0008. Kelly, Patrick J. "The North American Crisis of the 1860s." The Journal of the Civil War Era 2, no. 3 (2012): 337-68. doi: 10.1353/cwe.2012.0074. Miller, Robert Ryal. "Arms across the Border: United States Aid to Juárez during the French Intervention in Mexico." Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 63, no. 6 (1973): 1-68. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1006291. Romero, Matías. "The Situation of Mexico: Speech". New York: W.C. Bryant & Co., Printers, 1864. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/007649323. Schoonover, Thomas. "Dollars over Dominion: United States Economic Interests in Mexico, 1861-1867." Pacific Historical Review 45, no. 1 (1976): 23-45. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3637299. .