THE MONROE DOCTRINE 391 



-war which characterized this period of Mexican history is to 

 be found in the controversies between the "clerical" and 

 " liberal " parties of the State. 



The Catholic church was supreme in Spain, and its sacred 

 .symbols were brought to the New World emblazoned upon the 

 banners of her conquerors ; with them Catholicism invaded 

 Mexico, and the Church became the richest and greatest power 

 in the land. The republic inherited a colossal and corrupt 

 ecclesiastical system that fattened upon the enormous wealth 

 of its own landed interests, all of which were exempted from 

 taxation. So great had become the power of the church in 

 the Mexican Republic that it overshadowed all government, 

 civil and military. Through vast accumulation of wealth, 

 and because of its hold upon the minds of a superstitious 

 people, the Catholic church became a wholly tyrannical 

 institution. The Clerical party represented the monar- 

 chical, aristocratic, and despotic elements of the nation, 

 while the progressive Liberals stood upon a platform of 

 " equal rights," " freedom of worship," and a general reform 

 of abuses. The bitter struggle between these two parties 

 raged fiercely in 1858-60, with Miramon (Conservative) and 

 Benito Juarez (Liberal) as opposing leaders. The nation had 

 been reduced by ceaseless war to a condition of social and 

 political chaos ; guerilla bands wandered about the country 

 upon errands of plunder, and the smaller groups of banditti, 

 like wolves, left the mountains and infested the highways ; 

 every semblance of law and order disappeared ; murder and 

 pillage were legitimized, and the term " government " was a 

 mockery. These deplorable conditions in Mexico invited 

 foreign intervention because, in the turmoil of constant revo- 

 lution, Mexico had neglected her international obligations. 

 During the Miramon- Juarez struggles, offers of mediation 

 from England and France were declined by Juarez because 

 he suspected a design to impose monarchical institutions 

 upon Mexico. 



In 1861 Juarez emerged from the confusion, triumphant 

 over his enemies, and with the " army of the constitution " 

 he entered the capital. Juarez was always considered a good 



