Reform War

1850-the Liberal factions gained political control under leaders such as Benito Juarez, Miguel Lerdo de Tejada, Juan Álvarez and others.
25 de junio de 1856-the Lerdo Law, named after Miguel Lerdo de Tejada came out. Under this new law, the government began to confiscate Church land.

Opposition to the Lerdo Law and the 1857 Constitution culminated in a take over of Mexico City byConservative forces.
Reform war:

1850s

1855- The Juárez Law, named after Benito Juárez, restricted clerical privileges, specifically the authority of Church courts, by subordinating their authority to civil law.

December 22, 1860 conservatives were defeated at Oaxaca and Guadalajara. Liberals occupied the city of Mexico by January first 1861
By 1857, additional anti-clerical legislation, such asthe Iglesias Law (named after José María Iglesias) regulated the collection of clerical fees from the poor and prohibited clerics from charging for baptisms, marriages, or funeral services.

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Ascendency of the Liberals in the 1850s
In the 1850s, the Liberal factions gained political controlunder leaders such as Benito Juárez, Miguel Lerdo de Tejada, Juan Álvarez and others. This ascendancy came after the loss of about half of Mexico’s colonial territory to the United States in the Mexican-American War. Liberals believed that the Church and the military were the source of most of Mexico’s problems.
Liberals had two internal factions, the puros or radicals, and the moderados ormoderates. These two factions united when Juárez and Melchor Ocampo, the leaders of these two factions and both in exile in New Orleans in 1854, supported the uprising of Juan Alvarez against Antonio López de Santa Anna, who was widely blamed for the loss of Texas and what is now the southwest U.S. The two set out principles in a document called the Plan of Ayutla.[3] The Plan brought together a broadcoalition of forces that was able to oust Santa Anna from the Mexican presidency.
The Liberals’ challenge to the Catholic Church’s hegemony in Mexico came about in stages even before the 1850s. State level measures adopted since the 1820s and the reform measures of Valentín Gómez Farías led to political defense of Mexico’s Catholic identity, including integration of Church and State. Thisincluded Catholic newspapers such as La Cruz and conservative groups that strongly attacked Liberal policies and ideology. This ideology had roots in the European Enlightenment, which sought to reduce the role of the Catholic Church in society. The Reforms began in the 1830s and 1840s coalesced into principle laws of the Reform era, which were passed in two phases, from 1855–1857 and then from 1858 to1860. The 1857 Constitution of Mexico was promulgated near the end of the first phase. More Reform laws were passed from 1861–1863 and after 1867 after the Liberals emerged victorious after two civil wars with Conservative opponents.
Civil war
Each of the Reform Laws met strong resistance from Conservatives, the Church and the military, culminating in military action and war. After the JuárezLaw, General Tomás Mejía rebelled against the Liberal government in the defense of the Catholic identity of Mexico in the Sierra Gorda region of Querétaro. Mejía would conduct operations against Liberal forces for the next eight years.
Opposition to the Lerdo Law and the 1857 Constitution culminated in a take over of Mexico City by Conservative forces. This operation was called the Plan ofTacubaya. When the military took control of Mexico City, then president Ignacio Comonfort agreed to the Plan’s terms, but Benito Juárez, then president of the Supreme Court, defended the 1857 Constitution. Juárez was arrested.[9] Comonfort was subsequently forced to resign and army general Félix Zuloaga was put in his place. After arriving in Mexico City, Zuloaga’s supporters closed Congress and...