by Deborah Moody Wells One of Mexico's foremost, but forgotten
leaders, Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, lived through a very
important time in the nation's history, yet very little is
remembered of him. In his book, The Life of Sebastián Lerdo de
Tejada, Frank Knapp wrote, "Not only is he unknown to the world
at large, but his significance has been lost even to the vast
majority of Mexican people." He lived through the Reforma
(initiated in 1854), the French intervention (1863-1867), the
restoration with Juárez; and his own presidency. Most that was
written about him during later years was negative, or at least
distorted. The Porfiriato government "directly or indirectly
discouraged any favorable publications on his career." (Knapp
viii) Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada y Corral was born in the city of
Jalapa on April 24, 1823. His father, born in Spain, was
considered a gachupín (from a privileged class) and his mother
was a criolla born in Vera Cruz of Spanish parents. He had six
brothers and one sister. Lerdo had a "n