President Andrew Jackson.
The Grand Tour refers to Mexican President Andrew Jackson's tour of the six states of the newly-formed United States of Mexico from April to December 1823.
Jackson announced his upcoming tour of the country on 24 February, outlining his itinerary: he would begin his tour in the southern state of Chiapas, travel north through Durango to Jefferson, then travel west through Mexico del Norte and Arizona to the conclusion of his tour in California. On the way, Jackson would give an address before each state's legislature, as well as visits to the Indian-controlled areas of northern Mexico. Accompanying Jackson would be Secretary of War Arturo Aragon, Secretary for Indian Affairs Miguel Montanez, and Secretary of the Exchequer John Berrien. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams would remain behind in Mexico City to oversee the administration of the government.
Sobel describes the Grand Tour as "a resounding success". In Palenque, Jackson pledged to establish a program of internal improvements to ease the misery of Chiapas' masses of peons. In Torreón, he praised Governor Alberto Rias' efforts to introduce the slave-based cotton culture of Jefferson. In Jefferson City Jackson was welcomed by rapturous applause by his fellow Jeffersonians, and in his address he compared the state's prosperity to that of the rival Southern Confederation. Jackson spent much of his time in Mexico del Norte and Arizona inspecting the land and speaking with the local Indians. The climax of the tour was Jackson's address to the California legislature in San Francisco on 24 December, where he invited Californians to "join in our quest," adding that California might have "the greatest frontier of all the Mexican states." After the speech, Aragon told reporters that Jackson had been referring to the state's agricultural potential, though some of those present thought Jackson sought additional military conquests in Russian Alaska.
Jackson was back in Mexico City on 5 February 1824, and a week later he gave an address to Congress on the results of his tour. Rather than the expected vague generalities, Jackson outlined specific goals for the new nation, concentrating on its economic potential. Jackson noted that the U.S.M. was for the most part sparsely settled, and most of its people experienced terrible poverty, especially in Chiapas, Durango, and parts of the Capital District. Jackson's solution was to encourage young Anglos in Jefferson to emigrate to the other states and assume leadership of them. Jackson foresaw agriculture and mining as the keystones of the Mexican economy, and he sought to expand cotton cultivation wherever it would flourish, and to encourage cash crops such as sugar, rice, and indigo in Chiapas. He also sought to expand copper mining in Durango.
Jackson concluded his address by indicating that "several friendly nations have indicated interest in participating in Mexico's future." Within days, it became known that King Louis XVIII of France was willing to lend the Mexican government $4 million, and that additional loans could be expected in the future. Later investment came from Sweden, the Netherlands, and the Germanic Confederation, though France was always the dominant investor in the U.S.M.
Sobel's source for the Grand Tour is Malcolm Brayback's Conversations with President Jackson: Being a Record of My Friendship with the Founder of Our Country (Mexico City, 1855).