The United States and the Mexican Revolution
1
The Mexican Revolution
David Siquieros Mural: “Poeple in
Arms”
Mexico Under Porfirio Diaz
Diaz became President in 1877, and imposed
order by suppressing opposition.
He attracted foreign investors, especially the
United States
By 1908 the United States controlled ¾ of
Mexican mining
By 1913 more than ½ of Mexico’s $2 Billion in
foreign investments came from the United
States
3
Los Rurales
Porfirio
Díaz
(1830-1915)
David Siquieros Mural:
"Don Porfirio [Diaz] and
his Courtesans". 1957-65
A Mural by Diego Rivera
The Decadence of the Porfiriato
The seeds of revolution
Diaz’s policies were not popular with all Mexicans,
especially the workers and the poor
Emiliano Zapata wanted land for the American Indian
peasant population
Diaz resigned in May of 1911 after rebel troops were
victorious in northern and central Mexican cities
6
Francisco
Madero
Madero entered
Mexico City to
triumphal acclaim in
early June 1911.
Madero and the Revolutionary Leadership, 1911
Emiliano Zapata and the Revolution in Morelos
David Siquieros‘
“Zapata on
Horseback”
Emiliano Zapata (1879-1919)
Zapatistas moving to take cornfields.
Fransisco Madero
Madero was elected President in 1911
The United States supported Madero’s attempt to
create a democratic government by placing an
embargo on arms sales to his opponents
February 1913 = rebels, led by his own military
chiefs, attack Madero’s forces to gain control of
Mexico
Victoriano Huerta, Madero’s commanding general,
took control of the country
Madero was imprisoned and killed while
supposedly trying to escape
14
General Bernardo Reyes
Félix Díaz
General Vitoriano Huerta
Henry Lane Wilson
Madero fell to
a military
coup in
February of Fraincisco
Madero
1913
Huerta’s Mexico
Most European governments recognized
Huerta as the new leader of Mexico
The United States did NOT recognize Huerta
because of how he had come to power.
President Wilson began his “watchful waiting”
for a chance to take Huerta out of power
Huerta also faced opposition from 4 rebel
armies led by Venustiano Carranza, Fransisco
‘Pancho’ Villa, Emiliano Zapata, and Alvaro
Obregon
16
General Victoriano
Huerta
The Dolphin Incident

the US ship was stationed near Tampico, a
town controlled by Huerta. Several crew
members were arrested by Huerta loyalists
when they went ashore. They were released,
and an apology was offered by the arresting
soldiers’ superiors BUT the United States
demanded a formal apology and a 21 gun
salute to the American flag
April 22-Congress gave Wilson permission to
use armed forces against Mexico
18
United States Intervention
Wilson got his opportunity to act quickly
The United States seized the port city of Veracruz
because they had learned a German ship was landing
there with arms for Huerta
19 marines and over 300 Mexican civilians were killed
during the capture of the city. Huerta’s troops had
already left the city
19
April 1914:
President Wilson
sends U.S. troops to
occupy Veracruz
U.S. troop
ship
Monuments to the Defenders of
Veracruz against U.S. troops
Other countries intervene
Argentina, Brazil, and Chile– the ABC powers
convened a conference about the crisis in Mexico
They called for Huerta’s resignation and the creation
of a provisional government
Huerta refused until July 1914 when he resigned and
fled to Spain
22
The End of the Revolution
In March 1915 Venustiano Carranza became the
provisional president of Mexico after he reentered Mexico City. The United States
recognized his government six months later
2/3 of Mexico was still under the control of rebel
leaders Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa until
April 1915 when Villa was defeated
23
Villa and Zapata in Mexico City
November, 1914
Villa’s Troops Enter Chihuahua, 1914
The First Chief: Carranza
Venustiano
Carranza
(1859-1920)
“Plan of
Guadalupe”
Venutiano Carranza and
Alvaro Obregón
Alvaro Obregón
(1880-1923)
Pancho Villa
Villa was upset the United States had
recognized Carranza’s government because
he believed the United States should not have
interfered in Mexican politics
Villa raided a small New Mexican town-- 17
Americans and over 100 of Villa’s men were
killed
Wilson sent General John J. Pershing to
Mexico to capture Villa “dead or alive”
30
Pancho Villa and His Supporters
The Pursuit of Pancho Villa
15,000 US troops tried to capture Villa in his
home state, but they were unsuccessful
Pershing’s troops battled Mexican soldiers
when the US troops entered the city of
Carrizal instead of going around it
When Wilson realized a war between the
150,000 US troops on Mexico’s border and the
Mexicans was imminent, Wilson ordered the
troops to withdraw in January 1917
32
Pancho Villa 1880-1923
Venustiano Carranza in Power
Carranza called for a Constitutional
Convention in December 1916
Villa was still in hiding and Zapata’s only
stronghold was in the South
A new constitution was ratified in February
1917
The constitution put the common welfare
above that of individual rights; protected
workers with an 8 hour day, the right to
establish unions, and collectively bargain; and
established national ownership of most of
34
Between 1910 and 1920, between 1.5 and 2 million
Mexican lost their lives in the Revolution.
The census takers in 1920 counted
almost a million fewer Mexican than
they had found only a decade before.
Las Soldaderas
Las Soldaderas
Rivera’s “Good
Government”