Mexican Revolution

This article is about the Mexican Revolution of 1910. For the war of independence from Spain, see Mexican War of Independence.

Mexican Revolution Revolución Mexicana
Collage of the Mexican Revolution
Date 1910–1920 Location Mexico Result Porfirio Diaz ousted from power and exiled in France. Convention of Aguascalientes between revolutionary leaders. Mexican Constitution of 1917 enacted. Assassination of important revolutionary leaders Madero, Zapata and Carranza. Founding of the National Revolutionary Party.
Belligerents
Counter-revolutionary forces: Federal troops led by Porfirio Díaz Forces led by Bernardo Reyes Forces led by Felix Diaz Army of Victoriano Huerta U.S. Army (1910-1919)	Revolutionary forces: Maderistas Orozquistas Villistas Zapatistas Carrancistas Magonistas Seditionistas
Commanders and leaders
1910-1911: Porfirio Díaz 1911-1913: Pascual Orozco, fought own revolution after Diaz was overthrown and later sided with Huerta after Huerta took power Bernardo Reyes, lead own revolution until his death in 1913 Félix Díaz, sided with Reyes and later Huerta after Reyes died in 1913 Emiliano Zapata, sided with Orozco until Huerta took power Victoriano Huerta, sided with Reyes until Reyes died in 1913. After Reyes died, Huerta launched his own revolution and took power 1913-1914:Victoriano Huerta Pascual Orozco 1914-1919:Venustiano Carranza Alvaro Obregon 1920: Venustiano Carranza	1910-1911: Francisco I. Madero Pascual Orozco, fought against Diaz Bernardo Reyes, fought against Diaz Francisco Villa Emiliano Zapata Venustiano Carranza 1911-1913: Francisco I. Madero Francisco Villa Venustiano Carranza 1913-1914: Francisco Villa Emiliano Zapata Venustiano Carranza Alvaro Obregon 1914-1919: Francisco Villa Emiliano Zapata 1920: Alvaro Obregon

The Mexican Revolution (Template:Lang-es) was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz, and lasted for the better part of two decades until around 1929. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarian movements. Over time the Revolution changed from a revolt against the established order to a multi-sided civil war. This armed conflict is often categorized as the most important sociopolitical event in Mexico and one of the greatest upheavals of the 20th century.

After prolonged struggles, its representatives produced the Mexican Constitution of 1917. The Revolution is generally considered to have lasted until 1920, although the country continued to have sporadic, but comparatively minor, outbreaks of warfare well into the 1920s. The Cristero War of 1926 to 1929 was the most significant relapse into bloodshed.

The Revolution led to the creation of the Partido Nacional Revolucionario ("National Revolutionary Party") in 1929; it was renamed the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party) (PRI) in 1946. Under a variety of leaders, the PRI held power until the general election of 2000.

Porfirio Díaz's rule

Main article: Porfirio Díaz

File:P. Diaz.jpg

General Porfirio Díaz

Leaders of the 1910 revolt pose for a photo after the First Battle of Juárez. Present are José María Pino Suárez, Venustiano Carranza, Francisco I. Madero (and his father), Pascual Orozco, Pancho Villa, Gustavo Madero, Raul Madero, Abraham González, and Giuseppe Garibaldi Jr.

"Manifestación antireeleccionista" by José Guadalupe Posada

After Benito Juárez's death in 1872, Porfirio Díaz took over as Mexico's leader. As allies the two men had fought against the French in the Battle of Puebla, but once Juárez rose to power Díaz tried to unseat him. Díaz began his tenure as president in 1876 and ruled until May 1911 when Francisco I. Madero succeeded him, taking office in November. Díaz's regime is remembered for the advances he brought in industry and modernization, at the expense of human rights and liberal reforms.

Díaz's rule from 1876–1910 has become known as the Porfiriato era. Díaz had a strict "No Re-election" policy whereby presidents could not serve consecutive terms in office. He followed this rule when he stepped down (1880) after his first term and was succeeded by Manuel González. Gonzalez was controlled by Diaz and was commonly known as Diaz's puppet. The new president's period in office was marred by political corruption and official incompetence. When Díaz ran in the next election (1884), he was a welcome replacement. In future elections Díaz conveniently put aside his "No Re-election" slogan and ran for president in every election.

Diaz was an early liberal, but changed his views after Juarez took office. He became the dictator against whom he had warned the people. Through the army, the Rurales--a paramilitary force that kept order in the countryside--and gangs of thugs, Diaz frightened people into voting for him. When bullying citizens into voting for him failed, he simply rigged the votes in his favor. He justified his stay in office by claiming that Mexico was not yet ready to govern itself; only he knew what was best for his country and he enforced his belief with a strong hand. "Order followed by Progress" were the watchwords of his rule.

While Díaz's presidency was characterized by promotion of industry and the pacification of the country, some said; it came at the expense of the working class. Farmers and peasants both complained of oppression and exploitation. The economy took a great leap during the Porfiriato, as he encouraged the construction of factories, roads, dams, industries and better farms. This resulted in the rise of an urban proletariat and the influx of foreign capital (principally from the United States).

Part of his success in maintaining power came from mitigating U.S. influence through European investments--primarily from Great Britain and Imperial Germany. Progress came at a price, however, as basic rights such as freedom of the press were suspended under the Porfiriato. The growing influence of the U.S. was a constant problem for Díaz.

Wealth, political power and access to education were concentrated among a handful of families, overwhelmingly of European descent, known as hacendados, who controlled vast swaths of the country by virtue of their huge estates (one family, the Terrazas, had one estate in Sonora alone that comprised more than one million acres). Most people in Mexico were landless, laboring on the vast estates or in the mines for little more than slave wages. Foreign companies, mostly from the United Kingdom, France and the U.S., also exercised power in Mexico.

Díaz changed land reform efforts that were begun under previous leaders. His new "reforms" virtually undid all the work by leaders such as Juárez. No peasant or farmer could claim the land he occupied without formal legal title. Helpless and angry small farmers and landless peasants saw no hope for themselves and their families under a Diaz regime, and came to the conclusion that a change of leadership would be the only route that offered any hope for themselves and their country. Such famous figures in Mexican history as Francisco I. Madero, Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata would launch a rebellion against Díaz, all of which eventually coalesced into what became known as the Mexican Revolution. More than 95% of Mexico's land was owned by less than 5% of the population. This vastly unequal distribution of land--and, therefore, wealth--had plagued Mexico for many years, to the anger and dismay of the working classes, as this corrupt system allowed the rich to get richer while ensuring that the poor remained poor, or got even poorer. Workers on the vast "haciendas" were often treated like slaves, being beaten for the slightest infraction--real or imagined--and murders of workers by their "masters" was not uncommon. Another way to ensure that farmers and workers were kept under the thumb of the wealthy classes was to make sure that any debt incurred was passed down from generation to generation, thereby ensuring that it would never be paid off and the farmers would be kept in perpetual debt bondage.

Most historians mark the end of the Porfiriato in 1911 as the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. In a 1908 interview with U.S. journalist James Creelman, Díaz stated that Mexico was ready for democracy and elections and that he would step down to allow other candidates to compete for the presidency. Growing "old and careless", Díaz figured he would retire to Europe and allow a younger man to take over his presidency. Because of the turmoil this caused, Díaz decided to run again in 1910 for the last time, with an eye toward arranging a succession in the middle of his term.

Madero ran against Díaz in 1910. Diaz thought he could control this election as he had the previous seven. Although similar overall to Díaz in his ideology, Madero hoped for other elites to rule alongside the president. Díaz did not approve of Madero and had him jailed on election day in 1910. Díaz was announced the winner of the election by a "landslide", providing the initial impetus for the outbreak of the Revolution. When it became obvious that the election was fixed, Madero supporter Toribio Ortega took up arms with a group of followers at Cuchillo Parado, Chihuahua, Mexico on November 10, 1910.

Francisco I. Madero's presidency (1911–1913)

Main article: Francisco I. Madero

1903. The banner reads: "The Constitution has died" (La Constitución ha muerto).

In 1910 Francisco I. Madero, a young man from a wealthy family in the northern state of Coahuila, stated that he would be running against Díaz for the presidency in the next election. To ensure Madero did not win, Díaz had him thrown in jail, then declared himself the winner. Madero soon escaped and fled for a short period of time to San Antonio, Texas, United States. On October 5, 1910, Madero issued a "letter from jail" called the Plan de San Luis Potosí, with its main slogan Sufragio Efectivo, No re-elección ("free suffrage and no re-election"). It declared the Díaz regime illegal and called for revolt against Díaz, starting on November 20. Though Madero's letter was not a plan for major socioeconomic revolution, it offered the hope of change for many disadvantaged Mexicans.

Madero's vague promises of agrarian reforms attracted many peasants throughout Mexico. He received the support from them that he needed to remove Díaz from power and raised an army consisting mostly of ordinary farmers, miners, and other working-class Mexicans, along with much of the country's Indian population. Madero's army fought Diaz's forces with some success, and he attracted the forces of other rebel leaders like Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata and Venustiano Carranza, and they eventually joined together to fight Diaz. Diaz's army suffered several major defeats, and his administration started to fall apart..

File:Indian1234.jpg

Troops of Francisco Madero's revolutionary army.

In late 1910 revolutionary movements broke out in response to Madero's letter. Pascual Orozco, along with governor Abraham González, formed a powerful military union in the north and took Mexicali and Chihuahua City, although they were not especially committed to Madero. These victories encouraged alliances with other revolutionary leaders, including Pancho Villa. Against Madero's wishes, Orozco and Villa fought for and won Ciudad Juárez, bordering El Paso, Texas, along the Rio Grande.

After Madero defeated the weak federal army, on May 21, 1911 he signed the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez with Diaz. It stated that Díaz would abdicate his rule and be replaced by Madero. Insisting on a new election, Madero won overwhelmingly in late 1911. Some supporters criticized him for appearing weak by not assuming the presidency and failing to pass immediate reforms, but Madero established a liberal democracy and received support from the United States and popular leaders such as Orozco, Villa and Zapata.

Madero was a weak leader and quickly lost much of his support while in power. He angered both the more radical revolutionists and the conservative counter-revolutionists, including the unpopular Congress elected during Díaz's rule. His refusal to enact land reforms caused a break with Zapata, who announced the Plan de Ayala, which called for the return of lands "usurped by the hacendados" (hacienda owners) and demanded armed conflict against the government. Zapata then sided with Orozco.

Soon after this, Orozco also broke away from Madero's government and led a rebellion against him. He organized his own army, called "Orozquistas"--also called the Colorados ("Red Flaggers")--after Madero refused to agree to social reforms calling for better working hours, pay and conditions. The rural working class, which had supported Madero, now took up arms against him in support of Zapata and Orozco, further diluting what little support Madero had.

Madero's time as leader was short-lived and was ended by a coup d'état in 1913 led by by Gen. Victoriano Huerta. Madero had appointed Huerta as army commander when he first claimed power, but Huerta had turned against him. Following Huerta's coup, Madero was forced to resign. He and vice president José María Pino Suárez were both shot to death less than a week later by two army officers who were transporting them to a penitentiary. Both killers were quickly promoted--one to the rank of general--confirming suspicions, in most eyes, that they were acting on Huerta's orders. Even though Madero had lost much support among the people, his murder ruptured the country, and he was gradually lionized as a martyr of the revolution.

Victoriano Huerta's reign (1913–1914)

Main articles: Victoriano Huerta and La decena trágica

Gen. Victoriano Huerta

In early 1913, Gen. Victoriano Huerta, who commanded the armed forces, conspired with U.S. Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson and Mexican politicians Félix Díaz and Bernardo Reyes to remove Madero from power. La decena trágica was an event in which ten days of sporadic fighting in a faked battle occurred between federal troops led by Huerta and Díaz's conservative rebel forces. This fighting stopped when Huerta, Félix Díaz and Henry Lane Wilson met and signed the "Embassy Pact" in which they agreed to move against Madero and install Huerta as president. After this was accomplished, however, Zapata reunited with Villa and the other revolutionaries. Orozco, however, sided with Huerta and Huerta made him one of his generals.

When Huerta gained power and became president, most world governments acknowledged him as the rightful leader. However, incoming U.S. President Woodrow Wilson not only refused to recognize Huerta's government, but replaced Henry Lane Wilson as U.S. Ambassador with John Lind, a Swedish-American. Wilson and his Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan--and many Mexicans--saw Huerta as a usurper of presidential power in violation of the Constitution of Mexico.

American forces at Veracruz.

Venustiano Carranza, a politician and rancher from Coahuila, was at the forefront of opposition to Huerta, and organized his own rebel army, called the Constitutionalists, with the secret support of the United States. On March 26, 1913, Carranza issued the Plan de Guadalupe, which refused to recognize Huerta as president and called for war between the two factions. Leaders such as Villa, Zapata, Carranza and Álvaro Obregón led the fight against Huerta. In April 1914, U.S. opposition to Huerta had reached its peak when American forces seized and occupied the port of Veracruz, cutting off arms, supplies and money from Germany, which suppored Huerta. In late July the situation worsened for Huerta, and after his army suffered several defeats, he stepped down and fled to Puerto México.

Legacy

After Huerta vacated the presidency he moved to Spain in an attempt to establish a new home. Later he returned to Mexico to try to lead another counter-revolution within the post-revolutionary Mexican state.

Germany, which favored Huerta while he was in power, considered him an important factor in their plans for war in Europe. Knowing that the U.S. government was firmly opposed to Huerta's leading Mexico, the Germans saw him as a distraction to keep the Americans' attentions away from Europe. They funded Huerta's move to the U.S., from where he began planning another revolution in Mexico that would put him back in power. The German government gave him funding and advice.

The U.S government and Carranza, the newly elected President of Mexico, were understandably concerned when Huerta showed up in America. They kept him under surveillance to ensure that he did not gain entry into Mexico, as neither government wanted another counter-revolution. Fortunately for both of them, Huerta was stopped at the border in El Paso, Texas by U.S. border guards as he tried to enter Mexico and was kept there under house arrest. He died in early 1916.

Pancho Villa (active 1911–1916)

Main article: Pancho Villa

Pancho Villa (left), Commander of the División del Norte (Division of the North), and Emiliano Zapata, Commander of the Ejército Libertador del Sur

Gen. Francisco "Pancho" Villa with his staff in 1913. Villa is in gray suit in center. His aide, Gen. Rodolfo Fierro, is to Villa's right.

Gen. Caho meeting with the Governor of Chihuahua, March 20, 1914.

José Doroteo Arango Arámbula, better known as Francisco "Pancho" Villa, came from the northern state of Durango. With his army, known as "Villistas", he joined the ranks of the Madero movement. He led his Villistas in many battles, including the attack on Ciudad Juárez in 1911, which led to the defeat of Mexican President Gen. Porfirio Díaz.

In 1911 Gen. Victoriano Huerta--commander of the rebel forces of Francisco I. Madero--appointed Villa his chief military commander. However, Huerta and Villa eventually became bitter enemies. In 1912 Villa's men seized a horse from a Diaz supporter and Villa decided to keep it for himself. Seeing the opening he needed to get rid of Villa, Huerta ordered his execution for insubordination (Madero had issued strict orders against looting). Raúl Madero, Madero's brother, intervened to save Villa's life. Jailed in Mexico City, Villa fled to the United States. Soon after the assassination of President Madero he returned to Mexico to fight Huerta, although he had only a handful of companions with him. However, by 1913 his forces had swelled into an army of thousands, called the División del Norte (Northern Division). Villa and his army, along with Carranza and Obregón, joined forces to fight against the Huerta dictatorship.

Villa and Carranza had different goals. Because Villa wanted to continue the revolution, he became an enemy of Carranza. After Carranza took control in 1914, Villa and other revolutionaries who opposed him met at what was called the Convention of Aguascalientes. The convention deposed Carranza in favor of Eulalio Gutiérrez. In the winter of 1914 Villa's and Zapata's troops entered and occupied Mexico City. Villa's treatment of Gutiérrez, and the citizenry in general, outraged more moderate elements of the population, and Villa was forced from the city in early 1915.

Columbus, New Mexico, after being attacked by Villa's forces.

In 1915 Villa took part in two of the most important battles of the revolution, that together are known as Battle of Celaya, which occurred from April 6–7 and from April 13–15. He attacked the forces of Gen. Obregon but was badly defeated in what became one of the bloodiest battles of the revolution, with thousands dead. With his forces' defeat of Villa, Carranza seized power. A short time later the United States recognized Carranza as president of Mexico. On March 9, 1916, Villa crossed the U.S.–Mexico border and raided Columbus, New Mexico, in order to extract revenge on an American arms dealer who sold ammuntion to Villa that he used in the Battle of Celaya and which turned out to be useless. During this attack, 18 Americans died but 90 of Villa's men were killed by U.S. troops and civilians who repelled the attack (another version of the story is that Villa didn't lead the attack on Columbus but that it was carried out by two of his lieutenants, a pair of brothers who were trying to curry favor with Villa by killing the crooked arms dealer. When Villa heard about the incident he was so outraged that he had the brothers executed, but by then the damage had already been done).

Under heavy pressure by public opinion (stoked mainly by the papers of ultra-conservative publisher William Randolph Hearst) to punish these Mexican attacks, U.S. President Wilson sent Gen. John J. Pershing and around 5,000 troops into Mexico in what turned out to be an unsuccessful attempt to capture Villa. It was known as the Punitive Expedition. After nearly a year of pursuing Villa, the hunt was called off, the forces returned to the U.S. and Pershing was given command of the American Expeditionary Force in WWI. The American intervention had been limited to the western sierras of Chihuahua. It was notable as the first time the U.S. Army used airplanes in military operations. With the Americans always in pursuit of him, Villa had the advantage of intimately knowing the inhospitable terrain of the Sonoran Desert and the almost impassable Sierra Madre mountains and always managed to stay one step ahead of his pursuers.

Even though Villa's forces were badly depleted by his loss at Celaya, he continued his fight against the Carranza government. Finally, in 1920, Obregón--who had defeated him at Celaya--finally reached an agreement with Villa, who "hung up his guns" and retired to his farm. In 1923 Villa was assassinated by a group of seven gunmen who ambushed him while he was sitting in the back seat of his car--he never learned to drive--in Parral. It is presumed the assassination was ordered by Obregón, who feared a bid for the presidency by Villa.

Venustiano Carranza (1914–1920)

Main article: Venustiano Carranza

Venustiano Carranza

Venustiano Carranza became president in 1914, after the overthrow of the Huerta government. He was driven out of Mexico City by Villa and Zapata in December 1914, but later gained the support of the masses by the development of a program of social and agrarian reform. He was elected president in 1917. To try to restrain the revolutionary slaughter, Carranza formed the Constitutional Army to try to bring peace by the adoption--albeit reluctantly--of the majority of the rebels' social demands into the new constitution. The socialist constitution addressed foreign ownership of resources (Article 27), an organized labor code (Article 123), the role of the Roman Catholic church in education (Article 3), and land reform.

During his presidency he relied on his personal secretary and close aide, Hermila Galindo de Topete, to rally and secure support for him. Through her efforts he was able to gain the support of women, workers and peasants. Carranza rewarded her efforts by lobbying for women's equality. He helped change and reform the legal status of women in Mexico.

Although his intentions were good, Carranza was not able to stay in power long enough to enforce many of the reforms of the Constitution of 1917. There was greater decentralization of power because of his weakness. He had appointed Gen. Obregón as Minister of War and of the Navy. In 1920 Obregón, with Gens. Plutarco Elías Calles and Adolfo de la Huerta, led a revolt against Carranza under the Plan of Agua Prieta. Their agents assassinated Carranza on May 21, 1920.

Emiliano Zapata (active 1910–1919)

Main article: Emiliano Zapata

Emiliano Zapata

Emiliano Zapata was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution. He is considered one of the national heroes of Mexico: towns, streets and housing developments named "Emiliano Zapata" are common across the country. His image has been used on Mexican banknotes. People have long taken different sides on their evaluation of Zapata and his followers: some considered them bandits, but to others they were true revolutionaries who worked for the peasants. Presidents Porfirio Díaz and Venustiano Carranza called Zapata a womanizer, barbarian, terrorist and bandit. Conservative media nicknamed Zapata "The Attila of the South".

Many peasants and indigenous Mexicans admired Zapata as a practical revolutionary whose populist battle cry, "Tierra y Libertad" (Land and Liberty), was spelled out in the Plan de Ayala for land reform. He fought for political and economic emancipation of the peasants in southern Mexico. Zapata's trademark saying was, "It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." Zapata was killed in 1919 by Gen. Pablo González and his aide, Col. Jesús Guajardo, in an elaborate ambush. Guajardo set up the meeting under the pretext of wanting to defect to Zapata's side. At the meeting, Gonzalez's men assassinated Zapata.

Zapatistas

Francisco I. Madero, Emiliano Zapata, in Cuernavaca

"Zapatista" originally referred to a member of the revolutionary guerrilla movement founded about 1910 by Zapata. His Liberation Army of the South (Ejército Libertador del Sur) fought during the Mexican Revolution for the redistribution of agricultural land. Zapata and his army and allies, including Pancho Villa, fought for agrarian reform in Mexico. Specifically, they wanted to establish communal land rights for Mexico's indigenous population, which had mostly lost its land to the wealthy elite of European descent.

The majority of Zapata's supporters were indigenous peasants from Morelos and surrounding areas, but intellectuals from urban areas also joined the Zapatistas and played a significant part in their movement, specifically the structure and communication of the Zapatista ambitions. Zapata had received a limited education in Morelos, only going to school for a few years. Educated supporters helped express his political aims. The urban intellectuals were known as "city boys" and were predominantly young males. They joined the Zapatistas for many reasons, including curiosity, sympathy, and ambition.

Zapatistas.

Zapata agreed that intellectuals could work on political strategy, but he had the chief role in proclaiming Zapatista ideology. The city boys also provided medical care, helped promote and instruct supporters in Zapatista ideology, created a plan for agrarian reform, aided in rebuilding villages destroyed by government forces, wrote manifestos and sent messages from Zapata to other revolutionary leaders. Zapata's compadre Otilio Montaño was one of the most prominent city boys. Before the Revolution Montaño was a professor. During the Revolution he taught Zapatismo, recruited citizens and wrote the Plan de Ayala for land reform. Other well-known city boys were Abraham Martínez, Manuel Palafox, Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama, Pablo Torres Burgos, Gildardo Magaña, Dolores Jiménez y Muro, Enrique Villa and Genaro Amezcua.

Zapatista women

Women who fought alongside Zapata.

Since Zapata's political ambitions and campaign were usually local, women were able to aid the Zapatista soldiers from their homes. There were also female Zapatista soldiers who served from the beginning of the revolution. When Zapata met with President Madero on July 12, 1911, he was accompanied by his troops. Among them were female soldiers, including officers. Some women also led bandit gangs before and during the Revolution. Women joined the Zapatistas as soldiers for various reasons, including revenge for dead family members or to perform raids. Perhaps the most popular Zapatista female soldier was Margarita Neri, who was a commander. Women fought bravely as Zapatista soldiers and some were killed in battle, and long after the revolution ended many continued to wear men's clothing and carry pistols. Col. María de la Luz Espinosa Barrera was one of the few whose service was formally recognized with a pension as a veteran of the Mexican Revolution.

Agrarian land reform

Main article: Agrarian land reform in Mexico

Under the Porfiriato, rural peasants suffered the most. The regime confiscated large sections of land, which caused a major loss by the agrarian work force. In 1883 a land law was passed that gave ownership of more than 27.5 million hectares of land to foreign companies. By 1894 one out of every five acres of Mexican land was owned by a foreign interest. Many wealthy families also owned huge estates, resulting in landless rural peasants working on the property as virtual slaves. In 1910 at the beginning of the revolution, about half of the rural population lived and worked on such plantations.

United States involvement

Main article: United States involvement in the Mexican Revolution

Ricardo Flores Magón (left) and Enrique Flores Magón (right), prisoners in Los Angeles.

In the ten-year span that America was involved in the Mexican Revolution, groups such as the Red Cross were able to help the Mexican people. The interests among United States citizens in Mexico during the revolution, on the other hand, were mostly representative of the United States politicians. Economic interests in Mexico from 1910-1920 had decided what American policy toward Mexico during that period would be.

At the turn of the 20th century, Americans citizens and corporations held about 27% of Mexican land. By 1910 American investment in the country--such as land, railroads, mines, factories, etc.--had increased even more, pushing President Woodrow Wilson to intervene in Mexican affairs because the revolution was negatively impacting the Mexican economy, thereby endangering American business interests. Twice during the Revolution the United States sent troops into Mexico.

Defense position set up by revolutionary forces.

The first time was in 1914, during the Ypiranga incident. When American intelligence agents discovered that the German merchant ship Ypiranga was carrying illegal arms to Huerta, President Wilson ordered troops to the port of Veracruz to stop the ship from docking. He did not declare war on Mexico. The American forces then skirmished with Huerta's troops in Veracruz. The Ypiranga managed to dock at another port, which infuriated Wilson. The ABC Powers arbitrated and U.S. troops left Mexican soil, but the incident added to already tense United States–Mexico relations.

In 1916, in retaliation for Pancho Villa's raid on Columbus, New Mexico, and the death of 16 American citizens, President Wilson sent forces commanded by Brig. Gen. John J. Pershing into Mexico to capture Villa. Villa was deeply entrenched in the mountains of northern Mexico, and knew the terrain too well to be captured. Pershing was forced to abandon the mission and return to the United States. This event, however, further damaged the already strained United States–Mexico relationship and caused Mexico's anti-American sentiment to grow stronger. Some historians believed the United States government invested too much in the Mexican issue and violated its own avowed neutrality.

The Catholic Church during the revolution

See also: Roman Catholicism in Mexico

From 1876-1911 relations between the Roman Catholic church and the Mexican government were stable. Porfirio Díaz had a keen interest in keeping good relations with the Church, since he was worried about the American expansionist threat. Díaz addressed the issue thusly:

"Persecution of the Church, whether or not the clergy enter into the matter, means war, and such a war that the Government can win it only against its own people, through the humiliating, despotic, costly and dangerous support of the United States. Without its religion, Mexico is irretrievably lost."

However, Díaz was not completely supportive of the Church. Before his own presidency Diaz had supported the Juarez regime, which implemented anti-clerical policies, such as expropriation of large tracts of Church-owned property and the forced laicization of Mexican clergy. Indeed, many Roman Catholic clergy, including the Blessed Miguel Pro, were executed during the anti-clerical Cristero War of Mexican President Plutarco Elías Calles during the latter part of the Revolution.

Youth movement

As the Revolution progressed, the status of the University in relation to it changed several times; each time its students took different positions as well. Under different university directors, different revolutionary ideals were forced upon the student body. In many cases the curriculum would change as well. With each change, however, the importance of youth groups became more crucial. The university's students made up the bulk of the youth movement, chiefly composed of educated youth. During the Revolution, some viewed students as anti-revolutionary because of the image of the university as a safe haven for the rich and privileged. People engaged in the Revolution urged the university and students to become more involved and to accept the ideals and beliefs of the revolution.

The youth movements of the revolution were mainly confined to higher schools and especially the National University of Mexico. Young men used art, music, and poetry to speak out on the Revolution and encourage support. The leaders in government often made efforts to suppress such outlets. After the Revolution, new governments in turn gradually tried to suppress the freedoms of the University. By the 1920s, student protests were against the government.

End of the revolution

Rebel camp

Monument to the Revolution located due west of the center of Mexico City.

Historians debate the exact end of the "revolutionary period". The most tumultuous phase of it ended with the death of the Constitutional Army's primer jefe (First Chief) Venustiano Carranza in 1920, and the election and inauguration of Gen. Álvaro Obregón as President. Coup attempts and sporadic uprisings continued, such as the Cristero Wars of 1926–1929, which erupted after Prescient Plutarco Calles, Obregon's handpicked successor and an anti-Catholic fanatic, persecuted the church in Mexico.

One major uprising occurred in 1923, when former interim President Adolfo de la Huerta led a revolt against President Álvaro Obregón, whom he denounced as corrupt- after Obregon endorsed Plutarco Calles as his successor. Catholics, conservatives and a considerable number of army officers, who felt Obregon had reversed Carranza's policy of favoring the army at the expense of the farmer-labor sector, supported de la Huerta. With his superb organizing ability and popular support, Obregon crushed the rebellion and forced De La Huerta into exile. On March 7, 1924, he fled to Los Angeles and Obregon ordered the execution of every rebel officer who had a rank higher than major. Despite the fact that minor revolts and mutinies occurred over the following years, de la Huerta's revolt was regarded as the last major uprising to take place against the Mexican government after the Mexican Revolution.

Effective implementation of the social provisions of the 1917 Constitution of Mexico and the near cession of revolutionary activity did not occur until the administration of Lázaro Cárdenas (1934–1940). According to Robert McCaa, the total "demographic cost" during the Mexican Revolution 1910–1920 was approximately 2.1 million people. Only two major figures in the rebellion, Alvaro Obregon and Pancho Villa, lived past 1920. Venustiano Carranza, Francisco Madero and Emiliano Zapata each died violently during the revolution. In the middle of the revolution, Pascual Orozco, who was living in exile in Texas, was killed while attempting to steal cattle from a ranch. During the course of the revolution, however, counter-revolutionaries Victoriano Huerta and Porfirio Diaz died comfortably in their beds.

A triple execution in Juarez, c. 1916.

Villa, who had ambitions to run for President of Mexico, was assassinated in 1923; While different people were reported to have been connected to his murder, it has been long believed that Plutarco Calles, who saw Villa as a potential challenge in the upcoming presidential election, was the main person who organized it. During the course of the Cristero War, Obregon--who was re-elected President after his supporters amended the Mexican Constitution to allow former presidents to seek a non-consecutive term-- was also assassinated, in 1928 by a Catholic fanatic named Jose de Leon Toral.

With Obregon dead, Calles was now the most powerful figure in Mexico. As a result of the social crisis caused by Obregon's death, Calles formed the National Revolutionary Party (PNR). The party would be regarded as the world's most durable political entity. Between 1928 and 1934, a period known as Maximato, three front men for Calles served as President of Mexico. By 1934 Calles, who had become increasingly conservative and rich, had lost influence among the large number of liberals and progressives in the PNR and agreed to let leftist Lazaro Cardenas run for President. Calles, however, could not control Cardenas. In 1936 Cardenas had Calles and 20 of his top henchmen arrested and deported to the United States.

Cárdenas was regarded as the most radical president in Mexican history but also as the most honest. His vision for Mexico was based on three principles: the ejidos (common lands) restored through a strong agrarian program to combat the domination of the large haciendas; a socialist education system to oppose the "fanaticism" of the Church; workers, cooperatives to check the excesses of industrial capitalism. To achieve this goal, he pleaded with workers, peasants and students to form a united front. Cárdenas also abolished capital punishment, better known in Mexico as fusilamiento, death by firing squad, in 1938. He also nationalized Mexico's oil industry, which was controlled by American and European oil companies, and renamed the PNR the Party of Mexico's Revolution (PRM). Cárdenas and the PRM's ability to control the republic without summary executions showed the revolutionary period was at its end.

Another major step occurred in 1940, when Cárdenas voluntarily relinquished all power to his successor Manuel Ávila Camacho, a legal transition that was unprecedented in Mexican history. In 1942 Ávila Camacho and all living ex-Presidents appeared on stage in Mexico City Zócalo, in front of the Palacio Nacional, to encourage the Mexican people to support the Americans and British in World War II. This demonstration of political solidarity among diverse elements signaled the true end of the Revolution. Given its importance in national history, Mexican politicians and political parties refer frequently to the Revolution in their political rhetoric.

See also

• Battle of Tierra Blanca
• List of wars involving Mexico

Bibliography

Many portions of this article are translations of excerpts from the article Revolución Mexicana in the Spanish Wikipedia.

General

• Britton, John A. Revolution and Ideology Images of the Mexican Revolution in the United States. Louisville: The University Press of Kentucky, 1995.
• Chasteen, John. Born In Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America. New York:
• Doremus, Anne T. Culture, Politics, and National Identity in Mexican Literature and Film, 1929–1952. New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc., 2001.
• Documents on the Mexican Revolution Vol.1 Part 1. ed. Gene Z. Hanrahan. North Carolina: Documentary Publications, 1976
• Foster, David, W., ed. Mexican Literature A History. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994.
• Gonzales, Michael J. "The Mexican Revolution: 1910–1940" Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2002.
• Hauss Charles, Smith Miriam, "Comparative Politics", Nelson Thomson Learning, Copyright 2000
• Hoy, Terry. "Octavio Paz: The Search for Mexican Identity." The Review of Politics 44:3 (July, 1982), 370–385.
• Lucas, Jeffrey Kent. The Rightward Drift of Mexico's Former Revolutionaries: The Case of Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2010.
• Macias, Anna. "Women and the Mexican Revolution, 1910–1920." The Americas, 37:1 (Jul., 1980), 53–82.
• Mora, Carl J., Mexican Cinema: Reflections of a Society 1896–2004. Berkeley: University of California Press, 3rd edition, 2005
• Meyer, Jean A. The Cristero Rebellion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976, pp. 10–15
• Myers, Berbard S. Mexican Painting in Our Time. New York: Oxford University Press, 1956.
• Noble, Andrea, Photography and Memory in Mexico: Icons of Revolution. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2010.
• Noble, Andrea, Mexican National Cinema, London: Routledge, 2005.
• Orellana, Margarita de, Filming Pancho Villa: How Hollywood Shaped the Mexican Revolution: North American Cinema and Mexico, 1911–1917. New York: Verso, 2007
• Paranagua, Paula Antonio. Mexican Cinema. London: British Film Institute, 1995.
• Quirk, Robert E. The Mexican Revolution and the Catholic Church 1910–1919. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1973, pp. 1–249
• Reséndez Fuentes, Andrés. "Battleground Women: Soldaderas and Female Soldiers in the Mexican Revolution." The Americas 51, 4 (April 1995).
• Smith, Robert Freeman. The United States and Revolutionary Nationalism in Mexico 1916–1932. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1972
• Soto, Shirlene Ann. Emergence of the Modern Mexican Woman. Denver: Arden Press, 1990.
• Swanson, Julia. "Murder in Mexico." History Today, June 2004. Vol.54, Issue 6; p 38–45
• Turner, Frederick C. "The Compatibility of Church and State in Mexico." Journal of Inter-American Studies, Vol 9, No 4, 1967, pp. 591–602
• Weinstock, Herbert. "Carlos Chavez." The Musical Quarterly 22:4 (Oct., 1936), 435–445.

Online

• Brunk, Samuel. The Banditry of Zapatismo in the Mexican Revolution The American Historical Review. Washington: April 1996, Volume 101, Issue 2, Page 331.
• Brunk, Samuel. "Zapata and the City Boys: In Search of a Piece of Revolution." Hispanic American Historical Review. Duke University Press, 1993.
• "From Soldaderas to Comandantes" Zapatista Direct Solidarity Committee. University of Texas.
• Gilbert, Dennis. "Emiliano Zapata: Textbook Hero." Mexican Studies. Berkley: Winter 2003, Volume 19, Issue 1, Page 127.
• Hardman, John. "Soldiers of Fortune" in the Mexican Revolution. "Postcards of the Mexican Revolution"
• Merewether Charles, Collections Curator, Getty Research Institute, "Mexico: From Empire to Revolution", Jan. 2002.
• Rausch George Jr. "The Exile and Death of Victoriano Huerta", The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 42, No. 2, May 1963 pp. 133–151.
• Tannenbaum, Frank. "Land Reform in Mexico". Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 150, Economics of World Peace (July 1930), 238–247.
• Tuck, Jim. "Zapata and the Intellectuals." Mexico Connect, 1996–2006.

External links

• Mexican Revolution from the Library of Congress at Flickr Commons
• EDSITEment's Spotlight: The Centennial of the Mexican Revolution, 1910-2010 from EDSITEment, "The Best of the Humanities on the Web"
• U.S. Library of Congress Country Study: Mexico
• Mexican Revolution of 1910 and Its Legacy, latinoartcommunity.org
• Women and the Mexican Revolution on the site of the University of Arizona
• Stephanie Creed, Kelcie McLaughlin, Christina Miller, Vince Struble, Mexican Revolution 1910–1920, Latin American Revolutions, course material for History 328, Truman State University (Missouri)
• Mexico: From Empire to Revolution, photographs and commentary on the site of the J. Paul Getty Trust
• Mexican Revolution, ca. 1910-1917 Photos and postcards in color and in black and white, some with manuscript letters, postmarks, and stamps from the collection at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University
• Papers of E. K. Warren & Sons, 1884–1973, ranchers in Mexico, Texas and New Mexico, held at Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University
• Mexican Revolution, in the "Boys' Historical Clothing" website. This is an overview of the Revolution with a treatment of the impact on children.
• SMU's Mexic : graphs from the DeGolyer Library contains contains dozens of photographs related to the Mexican Revolution.
• Time line of the Mexican Revolution