Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
intellectuals was led by
Bartolomé Mitre,
Juan Bautista Alberti
and
Domingo
Sarmiento
. Their opportunity came when
Justo José de Urquiza
, a wealthy
caudillo
and former Rosas supporter from Entre Ríos,
turned against him in May, 1851. Urquiza
raised a volunteer army, which included mem-
bers of Rosas' own force. Rosas was easily over-
thrown on February 3, 1852.
Rosas fled to
England, where
he died 25 years
later.
A New Constitution
The next three decades were filled with efforts
to organize a unified nation and to create gov-
ernmental bodies that could formulate and
implement policy. On May 25, 1853 a new Con-
stitution closely modeled on that of the United
States replaced the Constitution of 1816.
Urquiza was elected the first constitutional
president of the Argentine Republic. He built
banks, schools, and roads linking Buenos Aires
to the outlying provinces. In 1862, Buenos Aires
was named the capital of the country.
Bartolomé Mitre
, then governor of Buenos
Aires, was elected president. He was succeeded
by
Domingo Sarmiento
, whose term (1868-
1874) saw Argentina take its place on the world
stage. It was Sarmiento who ushered in the
“golden age” of Argentina. It would last until
World War I.
During this period immigration soared, as did
exports to Europe; land was opened up; commu-
nications improved; and the nation's economy
boomed. Intellectual growth occurred as well,
