The Argentine dictator, general, and statesman Justo José Urquiza (1801-1870) was an ardent federalist and all his life fought against the dominance of the province of Buenos Aires at the expense of the interior provinces.

Justo José Urquiza was born on Oct. 18, 1801, in Arroyo de la China, in the province of Entre Rios. His parents were prominent and wealthy provincial landowners. Although much of his early practical education was received at the hands of the gauchos on the family estates, his formal education was as good as that of most political and military figures of his day, for he attended the Jesuit Colegio de San Carlos in Buenos Aires. Before he became embroiled in the political and military conflicts of his time, he amassed a considerable fortune as a merchant.

Urquiza became involved in the civil wars of the 1820s on the side of the provinces...