Mexican History
Mexican Independence to Early 20th Century
History 370 Sched: 21868
Date and Time: Wednesday, 4:00 p.m. to
6:40 p.m.
Class Location: LSN-111
Semester: Spring 2016
Robert Guzmán
Office: SSW Rm. 2209
Office Hours: By Appointment
e-mail: rguzman@mail.sdsu.edu
This course will explore the rich and vibrant cultural history of Mexico from
Mexico's Independence from Spain in the early 19th century to the Presidency of Lazaro
Cardenas. Based on primary and secondary sources, this course will analyze the creation
of the modern Mexican State amidst the throes of global conflict.
Students will have the opportunity to partake and delve into a comprehensive
journey that examines the causes of Mexican Independence which eventually pushed the
nascent nation to pursue a course of bloody conflict as it desperately tried to stabilize its
institutions of government. The legacy of the Nation's caudillos, or strong and influential
men that helped form the great nation state, will also be explored. In this manner, the
student would be able to understand the legacy they imparted to political, social, and land
reform.
This course would not be complete without the study of America's active
involvement in the affairs of Mexican politics. Careful scrutiny of America's
involvement with Mexican affairs will give the student a broader perspective of the
difficulties the people and the state of Mexico had to endure to secure their national
sovereignty. This course will end with the Presidency of Lazaro Cardenas, who in his
brief tenure, attempted to close the widening gap between classes.
Required Readings:
1. Michael C. Meyer, William L. Sherman, and Susan M. Deeds, The Course of
Mexican History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (9th or 10th edition)
2. Reader: Selected Reading from the following books:
Arnoldo De Leon, They Called Them Greasers: Anglo Attitudes Toward
Mexicans in Texas, 1821-1900. Austin, University of Texas Press, 1983.
John S.D. Eisenhower, Intervention!: The United States and the
Mexican Revolution 1913-1917. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. Press,
1993.
Reginald Horsman, Race and Manifest Destiny: The Origins of
American Racial Anglo-Saxonism. Cambridge, Harvard University
Press, 1981.
Lars Schoultz, Beneath the United States: A History of U.S. Policy
Towards Latin America. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1998.
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Thomas O'Brien, The Revolutionary Mission: American Enterprise in
Latin America, 1900-1945. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1996.
Gilbert M. Joseph and Timothy J. Henderson, eds., The Mexico Reader,
History Culture, Politics. Durham: Duke University Press, 2002.
The Americas Periodical Journal
Course Requirements, Papers, and Examinations:
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Please note that the course material will be presented through lectures, readings,
film(s), and class participation. As a result class attendance is highly
recommended.
Since 10 percent of your overall grade will be determined by class attendance and
class participation, it is imperative that you have read the assigned materials prior
to coming to class. A well prepared student enhances a broader and more
meaningful class participatory environment.
I will be taking attendance every class meeting. Missing two classes will result in
you not earning the 10 points associated with class attendance/class participation.
Consequently it could result in a drop of a grade (from an A to an B).
Furthermore, because class participation is so important I will take into
consideration your attendance in the final grade. To ensure that class
participation be kept at an optimal level, I will reserve the right to issue “pop”
questions and possible extra point assignments throughout the semester. These
undertakings will give you the opportunity to write about the material you were
assigned to read and to prepare yourself for a class in which participation is
extremely important.
I will also be assigning an 8 page book and peer journal analytical analysis
(double spaced, 12 type font, with margins no wider than 1.25 inches). You will
use the standard Chicago-style footnote and bibliographic citation format. This
style is the standard practiced to produce history papers. Failure to submit your
work in Chicago style will result in an automatic deduction of a letter grade
before the paper is even graded.
The analytical summary of your assignment must include the following points:
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6.
Brief bio on the author (no more than one page for the book review only).
Thesis of the book.
A brief summation of the book.
Describe the book’s strengths.
Describe the book’s weaknesses.
The effectiveness of the author’s thesis and your reaction to the work—i.e. how
does it contribute to the field of Latin American studies and or Latin American
History.
7. Input from at least two outside reviews for the book only.
8. Sources must be cited in Chicago style format.
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9. You must also include one journal article in this review. The information on the
article must contain the following:
o the article’s thesis
o summation of the article
10. Please note that 70 percent of the grade will go towards your review of the book
analytical review and 30 percent towards the journal review. Thus, it is in your
best interest to compose your paper as follows: 5 to 6 pages towards your book
review and 2 to 3 towards your journal review.
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It is not my policy to accept late papers. In the remote case I do, late papers will
result in a drop of a half letter grade per day (Saturdays and Sundays also count).
I will also be administering a mid-term exam. You will be required provide your
own blue book and pen. A week prior to your examination I will distribute the
essay questions. These questions will be based on the required readings, lectures,
and film. These questions will be your study guide.
Your Final test will not be cumulative and it will be a take home exam. I will
assign you essay questions. You will answer these questions in a type-written
format. Please follow the Chicago style format. The questions will be issued a
week in advance and they will cover class lectures, readings, other class
discussions.
SYLLABUS STATEMENT
for Students with Disabilities
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for
this class, it is your responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 5946473. To avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact
Student Disability Services as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are
not retroactive, and that I cannot provide accommodations based upon disability until
I have received an accommodation letter from Student Disability Services. Your
cooperation is appreciated.
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Learning Outcomes:
After completing this course, you will have been taught and given the opportunity to
demonstrate proficiency in the following:
o Compare and contrast the “Mexican Experience” to the American
historical perspective you studied in high school as a means to better
understand the unique national growth and development of Mexico.
o Discuss in essay form how the decisions that were made in the past are
still currently shaping Mexico’s modern landscape and how this
impacts Mexico’s participation in global economic and political
affairs.
o Impart the lesson of how domestic interests, no matter how benign,
often shape and influence foreign policy relations.
o Demonstrate how to write in the Chicago style format; the format
accepted by most History journals.
o Discuss how gender, class, and ethnic categories evolved historically
and continue to manifest in contemporary national discourses in
Mexico.
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Grading:
Grading for this class is as follows:
Class attendance and in-class assignments
Mid-Term Examination
Book Review
Final Take Home Exam
Total
10 points
30 points
30 points
30 points
100 points
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is best defined whenever a student presents the ideas or words of others on
his/her paper as if it were their own. Therefore, if you take a fact, an idea, or a phrase
from someone else’s research, you must acknowledge the author’s work. When you
give the author credit, you are providing credit for his/her ideas through a footnote. If
you are not sure the idea may or may not be your own, protect yourself and give the
author credit by citing their argument on a footnote.
At this point in your academic career, most of you have not acquired the breadth and
depth of independent knowledge without finding the need to cite. In fact, papers look
polished and well researched if they contain ample citations/footnotes. One or two
citations per page will tip off the instructor to “Google” the paper for possible
plagiarism violations.
Citing the information also allows the instructor or other fellow readers to assess the
strength of your argument. For example, did the source you choose to cite come from
a primary (extremely well articulated argument) or secondary source (very good to
weak argument)?
Plagiarizing your work is a definite no-no. Using the ideas of others as your own
work inhibits your intellectual development. Remember, you are financing your
education by paying thousands of dollars per semester. Why spend all that money by
using the mind, the creativity, and the words of others? The purpose of the papers is
to not only engage your cognitive capacity but to make you a better writer. The paper
should inspire you to search out those questions you have inside and articulate them
in a concise paper. If you use the words of others, you will never acquire the capacity
to problem solve; you will develop short-cuts that will stunt your learning curve; you
might get in trouble academically; and more importantly, you will never be able to
cultivate your ability to write and express your own feelings.
The penalty for plagiarism as follows:
The student will receive a zero for their paper and/or their take home exam. You will
not be able to make up for the lost grade. Furthermore, plagiarism is an important
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tent policy of the University and not of the instructor. As a result, I will be forced to
take appropriate action that is consistent to University Policy.
Course Outline:
Week I
Geography of Mexico
Mono-crop Dependency
Population and Racial Composition of (New Spain) in the 1800’s
Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz
Current Population Estimates
Bourbon Reforms
Background of Independence: Mexico and Europe in the late 18th and early 19th
Centuries
Readings: The Course of Mexican History, Ch. 9-13, pp. 128-203.
From Reader: The Mexico Reader--Sor Juana, pp. 156-159.
Week II
Age of Caudillismo
Jose de Iturrigaray
Father Miguel Hidalgo
Jose Maria Morelos (2nd Phase of insurrection Movement)
Assessment of Morelos and Hidalgo
Guadalupe Victoria and Vicente Guerrero
Revisionism and Mexican Independence
Traditional Interpretation of Independence by Mexico
Age of Caudillismo Continued…
Augustine Iturbide
Plan de Iguala
Readings: The Course of Mexican History, Ch. 14-15, pp. 204-230.
Week III
Iturbide and the First Empire
Rise to Power
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
Plan de Casa Mata
First Mexican Republic
Women in Mexico City
American Attempts to destabilize Mexico
Age of Santa Anna
Readings: The Course of Mexican History, Ch. 16-17 pp. 231-248.
From Reader: Race and Manifest Destiny, pp. 1-6; The Mexico Reader--Women and
War in Mexico, pp. 196-205.
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Week IV (book topic due)
The Texas Question in Mexican Politics 1821-1836
The Pastry War
Santa Anna and the Caudillo Stereotype
Assessment of Santa Anna
Mexican American War 1846-48
Relations between US and Mexico, 1821-1846
U.S. Attitudes toward the Mexican
U.S. Perception of Manifest Destiny
John Slidell’s Mission to Mexico
Clash on the Rio Grande, 1846
U.S. Declaration of War
War
Readings: The Course of Mexican History, Ch. 18 pp. 249-268.
From Reader: Race and Manifest Destiny pp. 209-248 ; They Called Them Greasers,
pp. 1-13.
Week V (book topic due)
Mexican American War 1846-48
Los Niños Heroes
The San Patricio Battalion
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (February, 1848)
Revolution of Ayutla and Constitution of 1857
Background Plan of Ayutla
Liberals versus Conservatives
Lucas Aleman and the Conservative ideology
The Reform Era, 1855-1876
Juan Alvarez as Provisional president
Ley Juarez
Ley Lerdo
Ley Iglesias
Readings: The Course of Mexican History, Ch. 19 pp. 269-280.
From Reader: Beneath the United States, pp. 14-38; Race and Manifest Destiny, pp.
229-248;
Week VI (journal article topic due)
Constitution of 1857
Plan of Tacubaya (December, 1857)
Resignation of Commonfort
Civil War (1858-1860)
Benito Juarez
Juarez Government in Guanajuato
Juarez in Veracruz
Financial Crisis of 1859
McLane-Ocampo Treaty of 1859
Jecker Loan
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Reform Laws of 1859-1860
Readings: The Course of Mexican History, NO REQUIRED READINGS
Week VII (book and journal research)
The War to the Death
Battle of Estancias de las Vacas
Jesus Gonzalez Ortegas
End of War of the Reform, December, 22nd 1860
Problems of Juarez in 1861
Moratoreum on Debts (July 1861)
Cinco de Mayo, 1862
First Battle of Puebla
Second Battle of Puebla
Juarez in Exile
Emperor Maximilian
Empress Carlota's delusions of grandeur
Lerdo and the Construction of the Diaz Regime, 1872-1892
Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada, 1872-1876
Assessment of the Reform Era, 1854-1876
Readings: The Course of Mexican History, Ch. 20-21, pp. 283-309.
From Reader: Mexico Reader--Empress Carlota, pp. 265-269.
Week VIII (book and journal research)
The Porfiriato, 1876-1911
Background of Porfirio Diaz
Diaz's Last Administration, 1876-1880
Constructing a Dictatorship, 1884-1892
Lerdo and the Construction of the Diaz Regime, 1872-1892
Philosophical Foundation of Regime--Positivism
Diaz and the Roman Catholic Church
Cientificos
Economic Development
Land Law of 1884
U.S. Investments in Mexico by 1910 Under Diaz
Readings: The Course of Mexican History, Ch. 22-24, pp. 310-346.
From Reader: The Revolutionary Mission, pp. 13-43; Beneath the United States, pp.
78-90.
MID TERM EXAM
Week IX (rough draft submissions due)
Decline and Fall of the Diaz Dictatorship, 1892-1911
Problems of Presidential Succession
Elections of 1888, 1892, 1896, 1900
Foreign Impression of Diaz
Opposition to Diaz
James Creelman Interview, 1908
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Organizing Club of the Democratic Party
Role of Jefes, Politicos, and Caciques
Francisco I. Madero
Presidential Succession, 1910
Centenial Celebration of 1910
Madero and the Plan of San Luis Potosi
Mexican Revolution: Madero, Huerta, and U.S. Intervention
Crane Brenton, The Anatomy of Revolution
Revolutions of rising expectations
Mexico's Revolutionary Family
Emiliano Zapata
Pancho Villa
Fransisco Madero
Readings: The Course of Mexican History, Ch. 25-26, pp. 347-378.
From Reader: The Revolutionary Mission, pp. 251-284 ;
Week X (rough draft submissions due)
Fall of Diaz, May 1911
Death of Diaz, Paris, 1915
Francisco de la Borra
Provisional President
Emiliano Zapata
Maderos Inauguration, November 8, 1911
Plan de Ayala, November 28th, 1911
Madero's View of the Revolution
Counter Revolutions
Bernardo Reyes
Pascual Orozco
Felix Diaz
Concerns of the Foreign Investment Community
Henry Lane Wilson
Second Revolt of Reyes and Diaz
Huerta's Return to Command
Ten Tragic Days
Pact of the Embassy
Death of Madero and Pino Suarez
Assessment of Madero
Reader: The Course of Mexican History, Ch. 27, pp. 379-387.
From Reader: Intervention!, pp. 1-38
Week XI (rough draft submissions due)
Huerta and U.S. Intervention
Huerta and Counter revolution
Woodrow Wilson's Mexican Policy
Missionary Diplomacy
De Jure Recognition
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Huerta and the Militarization of Mexico
Northern Revolutionary Family
Venustiano Carranza
Pancho Villa
Alvaro Obregon
Woodrow Wilson versus Huerta
Tampico and Veracruz Incidents
Fall of Huerta, July 1914
Mexican Revolution, Civil War, Constitution of 1917, and the Carranza Era 19151920
Plan of Guadalupe (March 1913)
Zapata's View of the Revolution
Convention of Aguas Calientes
Reader: The Course of Mexican History, Ch. 28, pp. 388-397.
Reader: From Reader: Beneath the United States, pp. 220-252; Intervention!, pp.
79-108; 139-150 and 151-164.
Week XII (rough draft submissions due)
Civil War, 1914-1915
Carrancistas versus Villistas
Mariano Azuela, Los de Abajo
Battle of Celaya, 1915
Battle of Trinidad, 1915
Recognition of Carranza by the U.S. (1916)
South Ysabel Massacre
Raid on Columbus New Mexico
Constitution of 1917
Presidential Power
Articles 3(5,24,130)
Article 27
Article 123
Mexican Revolution, Civil War, Constitution of 1917, and the Carranza Era 19151920
Election of 1917
The Conspiracy to Kill Zapata
Fall of Venustiano Carranza
Election of 1920
Plutarco Elias Calles
Plan of Agua Prieta
Tlaxcalantongo
Women and the Mexican Revolution
Reader: The Course of Mexican History, Ch. 29-30, pp. 398-422.
From Reader: Intervention!, 175-186; The Americas--Women and the Mexican
Revolution, pp. 53-82.
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Week XIII
Men of the North, 1910-1934
Coahuila, Chihuahua, Durango, Sonora
Sonoran Presidents:
Adolfo de la Huerta, 1920
Alvaro Obregon, 1920-1924
Elections of 1924
Death of Villa, 1923
Army Revolt of 1923
Exile of de la Huerta
Plutarco Elias Calles, 1924-1934
Mexico and the Roman Catholic Church
Mexican Catholic Apostolic Church
Church and State problems
Cristero Revolt, 1926-1929
The role of women in the Cristero Rebellion
Election of 1928
Obregon Elected and assassinated
Trial of Toral and Madre Conchita
Violence in the Mexican Revolution
Emilio Portes Gil
Calles's Puppetship 1928-1934
Formation of the P.N.R. (1929)
Readings: The Course of Mexican History, Ch. 31-32, pp. 425-443.
From Reader: Beneath the United States, pp. 272-282; The Americas--The Role of
Women in the Mexican Cristero Rebellion, pp. 303-324.
RESEARCH PAPER DUE
Week XIV
Lazaro Cardenas
Crisis of 1935-1936
Cardenas, 1936-1938
CTM
Expropriation of Rail Roads, 1937
Expropriation of Foreign Oil Holdings
Land Reform
Education Reform
Labor Reform
Nationalization of Oil
Terms of Expropriation, 1938
Petroleros Mexicanos (PEMEX)
Assessment of the Cardenas Era 1934-1940
Readings: The Course of Mexican History, Ch. 33-34, pp. 444-467.
From Reader: The Revolutionary Mission, pp. 285-311
TAKE-HOME EXAM GIVEN TO STUDENT
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