George McDuffie of Jefferson.
George McDuffie was a major figure in early efforts to bring the industrial revolution to Jefferson in the 1820s. This was a time when both Great Britain and the Northern Confederation were undergoing industrialization and a railroad boom, and some of Jefferson's business leaders wished to see the same happen in their state. They were frustrated in this aim by President Andrew Jackson, who opposed industrialization and wished to see the United States of Mexico focus on agriculture and mining.
Jackson's policies, including low tariffs, opposition to the building of railroads, and unwillingness to support the Sprague Bill (which would have subsidized efforts to find coal in Mexico del Norte and California) prompted McDuffie and his supporters in Jefferson to break away from the Continentalist Party in 1832 and form their own pro-industry Progress Party. It was not long before the Progress Party merged with the U.S.M.'s main opposition party, the Liberty Party. McDuffie and his followers provided the Libertarians with much-needed leadership and funding in the 1833 Mexican elections.