Today in the Sobel Timeline: August 12

On August 12, 1821, the first federal elections under the Mexico City Constitution were held in the United States of Mexico. The elections were dominated by the political parties of the state of Jefferson, the Continentalist Party and the Liberty Party, with only two seats in the Assembly, the lower house of Congress, being won by members of the Indian Party in Mexico del Norte. Because the franchise was restricted to English-speaking property owners, the disproportionately Anglo Continentalists won 68 out of 100 Assembly seats, and 18 of out 24 seats in the Senate, the upper house of Congress.