On Monday, April 4, 1864 the United States House of Representatives passed a joint resolution, acknowledging that the nation would not tolerate the establishment of a monarchy in Mexico. This resolution was directed against Napoleon III of France who intended to install Maximilian of Hapsburg on the throne of Mexico. From America’s perspective, such an action would violate the non-interference principle of the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 and place a friend of the Confederacy in power south of the Rio Grande River. But the language of the joint resolution also revealed an embarrassing reality for the United States of America. As long as the war against the South was being fought, the United States could do little of substance but protest any European designs on lands within the Americas.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.