Incorporated in Louisiana 1852. Under the Treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo, Americans secured the right to build a railroad or canal across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in southern Mexico. The southerners, who hoped to break up Mexico and turn it into a slave holding territory, were eager to invest in this scheme, but their available cash was unequal to their territorial agenda; few bonds were sold and no transportation facilities were built.