Since the Mexican War of Independence ending in 1821, Mexican liberals, a political party which evolved from the Masonic Lodge of the York Rite created by Joel R. Poinsett who was an American Diplomat sent by President James Monroe to secretly propose the purchase of the northern provinces from the First Mexican Empire; and the conservative party—which as its name indicates, had as its principal objective was to preserve the traditions and customs of the nation—were constantly in conflict at each other throughout the first decades of the existence of Mexico.