During the Restoration, a whole generation strove to modernize the country. Nicolás Sancho,Taboada, J. Blasco and E. Gracia Ibáñez are some distinguished men from Alcañiz who, together with some other men from “El Bajo Aragón” such as J.Pio Membrado and S. Vidiella constitute a point worthy of mention due to their contribution to the region. These are years of numerous local publications such as the History and Geography Bulletins of the County, and a number of newspapers such as “El Bajo Aragón” (1867), “La Alianza” (1880), “Tierra Baja” (1905-1928), “La Voz de Alcañiz” (1928-29) or “Democracia” (1931) just to mention a few out of a list of more than thirty publications. Some of these publications reported the need of improvements in agriculture, cattle breeding, education, culture and the creation of a railroad.

During the 1920s and 1930s the process of modernization will continue although it will not be always possible. “El Bajo Aragón” was still based on agriculte and suffered from high rates of illiteracy and social inequalities. This was the situation when the Republic arrived.

As far as politics is concerned, this period witnessed the confrontation of the Right and the Left, and the anarchists' insurrections which brought about an uprising in December 1933. In 1936 Alcañiz and the county were occupied by the Right and later by the Left with the arrival of some militians from Catalonia who were travelling to Zaragoza. A lot has been written about the collectivizations. These experiences did not take root in Alcañiz as much as they did in other villages such as “Mas de las Matas” and “La Fresneda”. Alcañiz was an urban centre, which did not create the necessary favorable conditions for them to develop. There are different views on collectivizations: the anarchist and the communist. The war left the people in absolute poverty and created a feeling of insccurity due to the collapse of the Government, which makes it difficult to know whether these  collectivizations were imposed or not. These experiences came to an end in August 1937 by Enrique Llister and his 11th division.

Alcañiz and its county “El Bajo Aragón” were definitely conquered by the troops of General Franco between March and April in 1938, a year before the Civil War ended.

The most tragic episode of the Civil War took place in Alcañiz, the 3rd May 1938. The city was brutally bombed by the Italian aviation causing the death of more than 500 people. Few days later the war came to an end in the county and a new and difficult period began.