The Mexican Revolution
WHAP/Napp
“Although local protests and violence were frequent, only in Mexico did these vast
inequalities erupt into a nationwide revolution. There, in the early twentieth
century, middle-class reformers joined with workers and peasants to overthrow the
long dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz (1876 – 1911). What followed was a decade of
bloody conflict (1910 – 1920) that cost Mexico some 1 million lives, or roughly 10
percent of the population. Huge peasant armies under charismatic leaders such as
Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata helped oust Díaz. Intent on seizing land and
redistributing it to the peasants, they then went on to attack many of Mexico’s large
haciendas. But unlike the later Russian and Chinese revolutions, in which the most
radical elements seized state power, Villa and Zapata proved unable to do so, in part
because they were hobbled by factionalism and focused on local or regional issues.
Despite this limitation and its own internal conflicts, the Mexican Revolution
transformed the country. When the dust settled, Mexico had a new constitution
(1917) that proclaimed universal suffrage; provided for the redistribution of land;
stripped the Catholic Church of any role in public education and forbade it to own
land; announced unheard-of rights for workers, such as a minimum wage and an
eight-hour workday; and placed restrictions on foreign ownership of property.
Much of Mexico’s history in the twentieth century involved working out the
implications of these nationalist and reformist changes. The revolution’s direct
influence, however, was largely limited to Mexico itself, without the wider
international impact of the Russian and Chinese upheavals.
Perhaps the most significant outcome of the export boom lay in what did not
happen, for nowhere in Latin America did it jump-start a thorough Industrial
Revolution, despite a few factories that processed foods or manufactured textiles,
clothing, and building materials. The reasons are many. A social structure that
relegated some 90 percent of its population to an impoverished lower class
generated only a very small market for manufactured goods. Moreover,
economically powerful groups such as landowners and cattlemen benefited greatly
from exporting agricultural products and had little incentive to invest in
manufacturing. Domestic manufacturing enterprises could only have competed
with cheaper and higher-quality foreign goods if they had been protected for a time
by high tariffs. But Latin American political leaders had thoroughly embraced the
popular European doctrine of prosperity through free trade…”~ Ways of the World
1- Identify a cause and an effect of the Mexican Revolution.
__________________________________________________________________
2- What were the goals of Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata and yet what were
they unable to do?
__________________________________________________________________
3- Why was the Mexican Constitution of 1917 significant?
__________________________________________________________________
4- How did revolution in Mexico differ in impact from Russia and China?
__________________________________________________________________
5- Why did Latin America not fully industrialize in this period?
__________________________________________________________________
Notes:
I. After Independence
A. Early 1800s, Latin America achieved independence but did not industrialize
B. New nationssuffered from ideological divisions, unstable governments, etc.
C. By trading raw materials and agricultural products for foreign
manufactured goods and capital investmentseconomically dependent
D. Deeply split between wealthy landowners and desperately poor peasants
II. Mexico After Independence
A. Wealthy families of Spanish origin, less than 1 percent of the population,
owned 85 percent of Mexico’s land, mostly in huge haciendas (estates)
B. Also a handful of American and British companies controlled most of
Mexico’s railroads, silver mines, plantations, and productive enterprises
C. At the other end were Indians, many of whom did not speak Spanish
D. Mestizos, mixed Indian and European ancestry, only slightly better off
E. After independence, wealthy Mexican families and American companies used
bribery and force to acquire millions of acres of good agricultural land
F. Sugar, cotton, and other commercial crops replaced corn and beans, and
peasants had little choice but to work on haciendas
G. To survive, peasants had to buy food and other necessities on credit from the
landowner’s store ; eventually, they fell permanently into debt
H. For thirty-four years, General Porfirio Díaz ruled Mexico under the motto
“Liberty, Order, and Progress”
I. Though a mestizo himself, Díaz discriminated against the nonwhite majority
J. This devaluation of Mexican culture became a symbol of the regime’s failure
III. The Revolution
A. Uprisings broke out in 1911, government collapsed and Díaz fled into exile
B. Francisco I. Madero, son of a wealthy landowning and mining family,
became president and was welcomed by some, but aroused opposition too
C. In 1913, after two years as president, Madero was overthrown and murdered
by one of his former supporters, General Victoriano Huerta
D. Woodrow Wilson, president of the United States, showed his displeasure by
sending the United States Marines to occupy Veracruz
E. New leadersVenustiano Carranza, landowner/Álvaro Obregón, teacher
F. Calling themselves Constitutionalists, Carranza and Obregón organized
private armies and succeeded in overthrowing Huerta in 1914
G. By then, the revolution had spread to the countryside
H. As early as 1911, Zapata, an Indian farmer, had led a revolt against the
haciendas in the mountains of Morelos, south of Mexico City
I. Francisco “Pancho” Villa also organized an army in the north and seized
land from the large haciendas to create family ranches
J. Zapata and Villa were part agrarian rebels, part social revolutionaries
K. Enjoyed popular support but could never rise above their regions
L. 1919, Constitutionalists killed Zapata; Villa was assassinated four years later
M. An estimated 2 million people lost their lives in the civil war
IV. After the Revolution
A. Constitution of 1917 promised universal suffrage and one-term presidency;
state-run education to free poor from hold of Catholic Church; and laws
specifying minimum wages and maximum hours to protect laborers
B. ArtistsJosé Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlosocial themes
C. In 1928, Obregón was assassinated
D. His successor, Plutarco Elías Calles, founded National Revolutionary Party,
or PNR (abbreviation of its name in Spanish)
E. Lázaro Cárdenas, chosen by Calles to be president in 1934, brought
peasants’ and workers’ organizations into party, and renamed it Mexican
Revolutionary Party (PRM), removed the generals from government
F. Most dramatic move was the expropriation of foreign-owned oil companies
G. Mexico and the United States chose to resolve the issue through negotiation
I. But Revolution did not fulfill democratic promise of Madero’s campaign,
brought to power a party that monopolized government for eighty years
J. But allowed far more sectors of the population to participate in politics and
made sure no president stayed in office more than six years
Complete the Review Quilt Below (Place Key Points in Each Box):
Causes of
Effects of Mexican Problems after
Class Divisions
Mexican
Independence in
Independence:
after
Independence in
early 1800s:
Independence:
early 1800s:
Problems facing
Peasants:
Land Ownership
after
independence
Porfirio Díaz:
Francisco
Madero:
Constitutionalists: Emiliano Zapata:
Pancho Villa:
Agrarian Rebels:
Effects of
Regionalism:
Mexican
Revolution:
Effects of
Revolution:
Artists of
Revolution:
Constitution of
1917:
Political Changes
after 1917:
Nationalization of
Oil:
Reforms after
1917:
Questions:
 Describe Mexico after independence.
 Describe Mexico’s social and economic hierarchy after independence.
 Describe the government policies of Porfirio Díaz.
 Who was Francisco Madero and what happened to him?
 Explain the various factions of the Mexican Revolution.
 How did the Constitution of 1917 change Mexico?
 Has the Constitution of 1917 delivered on its promises? Explain your answer.
1. Which of the following best
4. Who were caudillos?
describes Mexico’s road to
(A) Latin American cattle ranchers
independence?
(B) Liberal politicians who safeguarded
(A) A mass movement of the lower
constitutional rule in Latin America
classes led to the formation of a
(C) Wealthy plantation owners who
participatory democracy.
dominated Latin American agriculture
(B) A failed mass movement of the
(D) Conservative strongmen who established
lower classes was followed by a
dictatorships in many Latin American
successful anti-Spanish rising by nations
Mexican conservatives.
(E) Indian warriors who rebelled against
(C) The Spanish quickly and
Latin American governments
voluntarily granted Mexico its
independence.
4. In which Latin American nation did
(D) The Mexican army, aided by the
indigenous people play the most
young United States, rapidly
prominent political role during and
expelled the Spanish rulers.
after the winning of independence?
(E) None of the above.
(A) Argentina
(B) Colombia
2. Who among the following was
(C) Brazil
Mexico’s most liberal reformer
(D) Mexico
during the nineteenth and early
(E) Cuba
twentieth centuries?
(A) Agustín Iturbide
5. Which best characterizes the rule
(B) Lopez de Santa Anna
and impact of Porfirio Díaz in
(C) Porfirio Díaz
Mexico?
(D) Benito Juárez
(A) Sacrifice of liberal political
(E) Emiliano Zapata
principles in pursuit of industrial
and infrastructural
3. Which area of the Latin American
modernization
economy was most damaged by free(B) Peasant-based populist mandate
trade relations with the British?
achieving comprehensive land
(A) Rail
reform
(B) Port city
(C) Puppet rule manipulated by
(C) Manufacturing
German imperialism bringing
(D) Ranching
little to no economic development
(E) Agricultural
(D) Conservative ruler who returned
large landowners and Catholic
elites to power
Thesis Statement: Change Over Time: Mexico 1517 – 1917 C.E.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________