The Story of Poinsettia Day and U.S.-Mexico Relations

History Notes

In the late 1820s, Joel Roberts Poinsett introduced the poinsettia plant to Americans, who marveled at its foliage.

Written by Lindsay Schakenbach Regele. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/poinsettia-day-monroe-doctrine-and-us-mexican-relations. Video production by Laura Seeger and Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle.

Learn More:

Flowers, Guns, and Money: Joel Roberts Poinsett and the Paradoxes of American Patriotism (University of Chicago Press, 2023)

Ana Romero-Valderrama, “La coalición pedracista: elecciones y rebeliones para una re-definición de la participación política en México (1826-1828)” (PhD. Diss. Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologiìa, Mexico, 2011).

Jay Sexton, The Monroe Doctrine: Empire and Nation in Nineteenth-Century America (New York: Hill and Wang, 2011).

María Eugenia Vázquez Semadeni, “Del mar a la política: Masonería en Nueva España, México, 1816-1823,” Revista de Estudios Históricos de la Masonería Latinoamericana y Caribeña (Dec. 2015)

Torcuato S. Di Tella, National Popular Politics in Early Independent Mexico, 1820-1847 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1996).

United States' Mexican Company, Statement in relation to the United States' Mexican Company (Albany: Websters and Skinners, 1826).

This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.