Northup, Solomon. Twelve Years a slave (New York: Penguin Books, 2012). (461)

Mexico, as well as any other country in the world, holds moments in its history that embraces or rebels against change, and does so with the strain of wars, poverty and conflict. The early nineteen hundreds were no different for Mexico. Jim Tuck’s synthesis, titled “Cristero Rebellion” highlights just this, especially that of the conflict between church and state in the twenties and thirties. This particular struggle, rooted in conflict regarding the Constitution of Mexico, was highlighted by the reign as Plutarco Elias Calles, “a fanatic bent on exterminating Catholicism in Mexico” after succeeding the presidency of Alvaro Obregon.¹²⁶ In 1926 Calles even went as far as to fine priests and religious affiliates for wearing religious clothing, a mere punishment in comparison to the threat of jail time that the law held over their heads. This law would soon be coined “Calles Law”, creating a rebellion on the part of the Catholics, albeit slow going as the first efforts failed due to “lack of support from rich Catholics.¹²⁷ Shown by Tuck as a sort of tipping point for the Rebellion, The Chalchihuites Massacre, when a parish was attacked by two hundred forty soldiers, “created a chain reaction”.¹²⁸ Followed by Origel’s uprising the effects of the massacre rippled to the official beginning of The Cristero Rebellion – “a manifesto issued by Rene Capistran Garza…titled A la Nacion”.¹²⁹ Ultimately inexperience in the leadership roles of the rebellion set the revolution at bay, as “few movements have ever suffered more from a crisis in leadership”.¹³⁰ Taking the reader nearly step by step through the dynamics at play during the Cristero Rebellion, Tuck shows the pertinence which it held throughout the nineteen twenties, as well as the responsibility which reads have to propagate the information into modern day teachings.