With the military victory of Buenos Aires at the battle of Pavón, the country was unified again.

The battle of Caseros, in 1852, marked a turning point in Argentine history: the fall of the government of Juan Manuel de Rosas opened the way for the constitutional organization of the country.

But the division into parties that had dominated the previous period was still present, and the parties that had helped in the victory hoped to direct the process: the federalists relied on the prestige and military and economic power of the victor, General Justo José de Urquiza, to sanction a completely federal constitution.

For their part, the Unitarians and many of the leaders of Buenos Aires wanted a unitary constitution, or at least one that would enshrine the predominance of that province.

Urquiza went ahead and, through the San Nicolás Agreement, invited the provinces to form a Constituent Congress in Santa Fe, which would end up sanctioning the Constitution of 1853.