In 1846, the Mexican government returned to the 1824 Constitution, restoring Mexican federalism. The Mérida-Barbachano faction received the news enthusiastically and agreed to rejoin Mexico on November 2, 1846. On the other side, the Campeche-Méndez faction claimed that any reunion with Mexico would involve Yucatán in a war with the United States. In October 1846, the United States' fleet took Ciudad del Carmen, and blockaded the territory. On January 21, 1847, Santiago Méndez moved the Yucatán capital to Campeche which, within a few months, was also cut off by the United States' navy from trade with Texas, Mérida and Mexico. At the same time, the Mayans, who paid high taxes, provided most manual and unskilled labor and formed most of the rank and file of the military, took up arms against the whites and "mestizos" on July 30, 1847 at Tepich, spreading terror and causing considerable destruction and disruption of communications.