| United States Involvement In The Mexican Revolution |
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Initially, the United States stayed informed about the Revolution from documents given from the American Consulate in Mexico to the American Secretary of State who informed President William Howard Taft . They informed the American government of the built up to the Revolution and push to keep the Diaz government in power. It became clear that initially the United States did not want to intervene but wanted to keep the Diaz government in power to prevent problems with business relations between the two countries such as, the availability of oil between Mexico and the United States. The documents received were not only letters from the American Consulate, but were also translations of official documents of the constant changing government during the Revolution. The American Consulate had sent the Secretary of State translations of documents stating that after having overthrown Diaz, Francisco I. Madero had declared himself President of Mexico. Along with this document sent were Madero’s 10 Platform promises for Mexico. The U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Henry Lane Wilson , was involved in plotting the February 1913 coup d'état that overthrew Francisco I. Madero and installed Victoriano Huerta. On April 9, 1914, officials in the port of Tampico, Tamaulipas, arrested a group of U.S. sailors — including, at least one taken from on board his ship, and thus from U.S. territory. Mexico's failure to apologize in the terms demanded led to the U.S. navy's bombardment of the port of Veracruz and the occupation of that city for seven months; see Tampico Affair . In 1916, Pancho Villa crossed the U.S. border and attacked the town of Columbus, New Mexico; this was the sole invasion by a foreign armed corps of the continental U.S. in the 20th century. Villa’s group killed 17 men, burned army barracks and robbed stores. After the attack Villa came to represent mindless violence and banditry to people in the U. S. This raid led the U.S. to send a force under General John Pershing into Mexico, which spent 11 months unsuccessfully chasing him in the punitive Pancho Villa Expedition (March 1916 – February 1917). The expedition proved futile and was seen as an embarrassment for the Americans. The Zimmermann Telegram affair of January 1917, while it did not lead to direct U.S. intervention, also took place against the backdrop of the Constitutional Convention and exacerbated tensions between the USA and Mexico. During the Mexican revolution there was a great migration from Mexico into Southwestern U.S., thousands fled the civil war. Although there was a mix of social classes, the majority were poor and illiterate. They were seen as much needed cheap labour in the agrarian industry. Almost 10% of the total Mexican population emigrated during civil war years, many going to Texas.Some of the Mexican exiles living in the United States were intellects, doctors and professionals who wrote about their experience under the Diaz government and also spoke out against Diaz in Spanish- American Newspapers. Many publications were smuggled into Mexico to show support for the Mexicans back home, encouraging the fight, believing that Diaz was not fit to rule Mexico.
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