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Abstract:
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These documents were crucial to the formation of the short-lived Federal Republic of Central America. As Central American countries achieved their independence from Spain the question of governmental authority permeated most of the newly independent territories. In 1821, Agustín de Iturbide proclaimed the Plan de Iguala, which established a Mexican Empire. This plan failed, however, and by 1823 the Mexican Empire was dissolved. As a result, the states of Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Honduras united to form the Federal Republic of Central America (also sometimes known as the United Provinces of Central America or the United States of Central America), and later added Los Altos to the confederation. Liberals in each of the constituent states had high hopes for the confederation, which was largely modeled after the United States' form of government. However, more conservative forces including the church and wealthy land owners opposed the principles of the confederation; this led to civil war and the eventual dissolution of the confederation in 1840. The documents that appear here were central to the formation of the confederation. The first, a broadsheet written in 1823, calls for the support of the people for the new union. The second, a manifesto that was written in 1824, establishes the liberal aims of the confederation. |