¡Happy Birthday, Benito Juárez!

…el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz.–Benito Juárez

210 years ago, on March 21, 1806, Benito Juárez (Benito Pablo Juárez García), one of Mexico’s most renowned leaders, was born.  Ask any Mexican about Benito Juárez, and you may find them promptly reciting a well-known aphorism of his:  “… el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz.”  The whole aphorism states:  “Entre los individuos, como entre las Naciones, el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz,” which translated to English means: “Among individuals, as well as between Nations, respect for another’s right is [the key to] peace.”  These words were uttered soon after the defeat, trial and execution of Maximilian I. And it is this victory at the hands of Benito Juárez for which Cinco de Mayo (aka La Batalla de Puebla) is best known.  An additional legal element that links this lawyer and statesman to our blog post is the fact that the Federal Law of Administrative Procedure of Mexico provides for the commemoration of federal holidays.  According to the Accord issued on January 29, 2016, March 21, 2016 is a federal holiday where work will be suspended in commemoration of the birth of Benito Juárez.

As with many leaders and heroes, Juárez’s biography is fraught with moments where he overcame considerable odds. At an early age, he was orphaned.  But as with any epic hero, fate seemed to look kindly upon him.  Before starting elementary education, it is believed that he did not speak Spanish.  Instead, he spoke Zapotec and would have to learn Spanish as he received a formal Western education.

Below I would like to flesh out some of the most salient and epic moments in his history—among other facts, for those who are not Mexican—as it is certainly fitting when commemorating a figure such as Juárez. I have added to his timeline events from our American history, so that in their juxtaposition, we can get a better sense of the world of his time.

1806

On March 21, Benito Juárez was born to Marcelino Juárez and Brígida García in San Pablo, Guelatao, Oaxaca, Mexico.

1809

• Orphaned at age 3, Juárez’s grandparents took custody of him; upon their deaths, his uncle, Bernardino Juárez, took him in and made him a shepherd.
• On March 4, James Madison was inaugurated president. (The Library recently celebrated his 265^th birthday.)

1810

On September 16, Fr. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla became the pioneer of the Mexican Independence movement when he “waved a banner bearing the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe and proclaimed ‘Long live independence.  Death to the Spaniards.’”

1812

On June 18, The War of 1812 began.

1817

On March 4, James Monroe was inaugurated president.

1818

On December 17, Juárez left his uncle’s home, set out for Oaxaca City and ended up in the home of Genoese gentleman Antonio Maza Padilla (and his Mexican wife, Petra Parada Sigüenza) at whose house his sister, María Josefa Juárez García, was a maid.  It is also worth noting that at this point Juárez only spoke his native Zapotec language.  It is in this home where he met Margarita Eustaquia Maza Parada, who later became his wife–D^a Margarita E. Maza Parada de Juárez.

1819

• On January 7, 1819, Juárez was enrolled in elementary school by Antonio Salanueva, a Franciscan book binder.
• Spain agreed to cede Florida to the United States.

1820

On March 6, President James Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise.

1821

• Agustín de Iturbide (Agustín I of Mexico) and Vicente Guerrero achieved Mexico’s Independence.
• In October, Juárez entered the seminary, where he studied Latin, theology and philosophy—with a relatively limited educational background.

1823

On December 2, the Monroe Doctrine was declared, stating that the “American continents…are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.”

1824

On October 4, the Mexican Constitution of 1824 was issued.

1825

• On January 10, José Ignacio Morales promulgated the first Constitution of the State of Oaxaca, which provided for the creation of the Oaxacan Institute of Arts and Sciences. The Oaxacan Institute of Arts and Sciences (now the Benito Juárez Autonomous University of Oaxaca) was established as a result of the issuance of a decree published on August 26, 1826.
• On March 4, John Quincy Adams was inaugurated president.

1827

On January 8, the Institute of Science and Arts of Oaxaca opened its doors, at which point Juárez enrolled.  (There are discrepancies on this milestone in the life of Juárez.  Some sources claim that he entered the priesthood; others claim he enrolled in law school.)

1829

On March 4, Andrew Jackson was inaugurated president.

1830

• On May 28, President Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act.
• On December 9, Benito Juárez graduated from the Institute of Science and Arts of Oaxaca.

1831

Benito Juárez began a legal practicum at the firm of Lic. Tiburcio Cañas. That same year, he was elected “regidor” (alderman) of the city of Oaxaca.

1833

• On February 11, Benito Juárez was elected deputy to the Chamber of Deputies of the state of Oaxaca (the lower house of Oaxaca’s bicameral legislature).
• On March 4, Andrew Jackson was inaugurated president for a second term.

1834

• On January 13, given his graduation from the Institute of Arts and Sciences of Oaxaca and his practice at the firm of Tiburcio Cañas—as required by law—Juárez was certified and granted the title of lawyer.
• Soon after, Juárez was named “Acting Magistrate of the Court of Justice of Oaxaca.”

1836

Texas declared its Independence from Mexico.

1837

On March 4, Martin Van Buren was inaugurated president.

1839

The term “manifest destiny” was coined by John L. O’Sullivan.

1841

• On March 4, William Henry Harrison was inaugurated president. He died one month later and was succeeded by his vice president, John Tyler.
• On July 22, Juárez became a judge of first instance.

1843

On July 31, Juárez married Margarita Eustaquia Maza Parada, daughter of D. Antonio Maza Padilla.

1844

On December 4, Juárez was designated “fiscal del Tribunal Superior de Justicia del estado de Oaxaca” (state’s attorney of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of the State of Oaxaca) by Antonio de León.

1845

• On March 4, James Polk was inaugurated president.
• On December 29, Texas’s annexation took place.

1846

• Juárez was elected deputy of the Chamber of Deputies of the Mexican Congress.
• The U.S. declared war on Mexico with the aim of fulfilling its manifest destiny and acquiring California and parts of the American Southwest.

1848

On February 2, Mexican War concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

1849

• On March 5, Zachary Taylor was inaugurated president.
• Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery and became one of the most renowned members of the Underground Railroad.

1850

The Compromise of 1850 was set forth.

1852

On March 20, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published.

1853

• On March 4, Franklin Pierce was inaugurated president.
• From December 1853 – June 1855, Juárez lived in New Orleans, Louisiana as a result of Santa Anna’s order of exile, where he remained until his return to Mexico. In New Orleans, he met up with a group of liberals: Melchor Ocampo; José María Mata; Ponciano Arriaga; Manuel Cepeda Peraza; J. Guadalupe Montenegro; José Dolores Cetina; and Esteban Calderón.
• On December 30, 1853, the Gasden Purchase/ Treaty was signed by Santa Anna.

1855

• On October 4, Juan Álvarez appointed Juárez to be Minister of Justice, Ecclesiastical Affairs and Public Education.
• On November 23, Juárez Law (Law on the Administration of Justice and Organic Law of the Courts of the Nation of the District and Territories) was promulgated.

 1856

On June 25, Lerdo’s Law was issued, which aimed to reform and establish separation of church and state in Mexico. As a result, the Mexican Constitution of 1857 was promulgated on February 5^th, and Pope Pious IX excommunicated any who swore allegiance to that constitution.

1857

• On March 4, James Buchanan was inaugurated president.
• On March 6, Dred Scott v. Sanford Supreme Court Decision was issued.
• On May 23, Juárez was appointed by the new Mexican congress to preside over the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, which made him also the de facto vice-president of Mexico.
• On September 16, Mexico’s new constitution entered into effect.

1859

On April 7, under the Buchanan administration, the United States recognized Benito Juárez as the legitimate Mexican head of state.

1860

• On November 6, Abraham Lincoln was elected president.
• On December 20, the secession convention adopted the ordinance for South Carolina to secede, while a separate “Declaration on the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union” was adopted on December 24.

1861

• On February 9, Jefferson Davis was elected provisional president of the Confederacy and was inaugurated on February 18, in Montgomery, Alabama.
• In March, 155 years ago, Juárez was elected president under the Mexican Constitution of 1857.
• On March 4, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated president.
• Also in March, Confederate States of America (the Confederacy) was established.
• On April 12, the American Civil War began.

1862

On May 5, the French were defeated at the Battle of Puebla (Cinco de Mayo).

1865

• On April 14, Lincoln was assassinated.
• On December 6, the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified.

1867

• On March 30, the United States entered into an agreement with Russia for the purchase of Alaska for $7.2 million.
• On June 17, Maximilian I of Mexico was captured, prosecuted and executed.

1868

• On February 24, President Andrew Johnson was impeached by the House of Representatives, and became the first seated president to be impeached.
• July 28, 14^th Amendment to the Constitution, which defines citizenship, was ratified.

1869

On March 4, Ulysses S. Grant was inaugurated president.

1870

• On February 3, the 15^th Amendment was ratified, granting African-American men the right to vote.
• On October 22, Juárez survived a stroke.

1871

• On January 2, his wife, Margarita Eustaquia Maza Parada de Juárez, died.
• On October 12, Juárez was re-elected.

1872

On July 18, Juárez died after suffering a heart attack.

 

Note:  Caption below image was updated 3/21/2016.