mexican+revolution+stugy+guide

Mexican Revolution Study Guide

· The Porfiriato o Politics · Diaz campaigned on the slogan “no re-election” but he allows a puppet president and makes him look bad so that everyone wants Diaz back; he stays in power · repressive tyranny · rurales: ley fuga – fugitive law; allowed them so spread fear and intimidation · had jefes politicos under his complete control · treatment of indigenous people: Yaquis tribe - outrageous treatment and suffering; Diaz wanted Yaquis’ ears. · rurales killed peasants for their ears and took them to Diaz, saying that they were from Yaquis · tries to send the Yaquis to Yucatan because he wants to put them near the most war-like people. He wants them to kill each other. · “divide and rule” – playing both sides against the middle to maintain anti-clericalism without angering the church; manipulation o Economics · científicos: capitalism, modern industrialization, and technology · conflicts with the hacienda system (hacienda: feudal, peonage; has a boss, ruling by the planting class) 17 families controlled 1/5 of Mexico · Limantour balances budget, repays debt to foreign countries, made a surplus budget, places gold standard. · Geography is mixed, everything is different from place to place. Makes it hard to standardize anything. · Hacendados don’t want to change, but Diaz comes along with railways to bring the country together. · US and GBR want Mexico, Diaz plays them against each other. · Urban working class rises, Mexican labor unions become enemies of Diaz · Labor unions were not out to start a revolution yet. · issues at Rio Blanco textile mill and Cananea; important because Diaz killed people and that although revolution was not happening yet, economy was deteriorating. · jefes politicos have become complacent from age; Diaz starts to lose his grip, allowing for Madero, Zapata, and Villa to come to power.
 * Point 1—Causes of the Mexican Revolution: social, economic, and political; the role of the Porfiriato regime**

II. Madero
 * Point 2—The revolution and its leaders (1910-17): ideologies, aims, and methods of Madero, Villa, Zapata, Carranza; achievements and failures; Constitution of 1917: nature and application**

· Revolution broke out principally because Diaz could not figure out what to do about his successor. · Reyes (gov. of Neuvo Leon) vs. Limatour (cientifico) · Creelman interview – Diaz will not run in 1910 – Diaz banishes Reyes to Europe goes quietly—was it a strategy to lure them from their holes? · Madero – vegetarian teetotaler—communicated with a spirit named Jose—publishes The Presidential Succession of 1910 – concedes that Porfirio had made some economic success but the enslavement of the Yaquis, repression of the workers at CAnanea, the national levels of illiteracy, the toadying to Standard Oil and the entire sytem of autocratic centralism – Diaz purges the new party—throws Madero in prison. His was a purely political middle-class movement with a definite appeal to literate urban elites and intellectuals – To start armed revolution of not? Don’t want a French Revolution or property damage—Diaz Miltary is mighty but to do nothing would hand Diaz victory om a plate. National uprising to begin on 20 November 1910 · Plan of San Luis Potosi proclaimed the election of 1910 null and void, declared that he was the real president of Mexico, and called on all Mexicans to refuse obedience to Diaz- promised restitution of lands to villages and Indian communities -- 6pm

III. Zapata

· Watched Madero’s challenge to Diaz with interest · Land played an important role in his mentality – mystical attachment to the land – remembered his father weeping when one of the family orchards was taken over by a hacienda– resist the hacendados and debt peonage. In Morelos, the conflict was between the villagers and the sugar-cane plantations – when trains (Vera Cruz-Mexico City line) allowed imprtaion of industrial machinery, problem got worse. · Freign sugar beet is competition. Diaz doubles import duty on foreign sugar, thereby making Morelos the 3rd largest sugar supplier attempts to strangle the villages, and to make everyone see that the independent pueblos were backward obstacles to the economic problems Diaz wanted; it was the cientifico project in deadly action · Diaz’s crony governor planters Pablo Escandon who would look away when they stole farms. · Escandon aimed to break the pueblos as institiutions, leaving an almost Marxian division between the plantocracy and a vast body of dispossessed ex-villagers with nothing but there labor to sell – aspired for the · Platonic ideal of the hacienda that would eventually convert Morelos into a Hadienda only territory · Zapata is in opposition to all this- machismo-bullfighter ladies man—attached to Anenecuilco—got all the historical docements that pertained to Anenecuilco and got a Nahuatl-speaking Indian to translate – then he buried it so that none would fall into enemy hands · Zapata was fully behind Madero and the maderistas—reached a climax in the summer of 1910. BY now alarmed at the threat from Madero, who had jumped bail and was in the United States, Diaz decided he could only handle his troubles in the north if he had peace in the south. Suddenly ordered the owners of the Hospital hacienda to return to Anenecuilco everything that had been appropriate over the last 40 years – Anenecuiilco and Zapatistas are wild with joy—Zapata knows it’s not over yet—knows Madero’s rebellion must succeed. HE took his first tentative step to the Mexican Revolution by sending his mentor Pablo Torres Burgos to Madero in Texas.

B. Villa-Quasi Criminal · Organized people like cowboys,, railroad worker, etc. · Mexican rough riders. · Called his people dorados. In his pillaging of villages he gained recruits and constantly crossed the border. · After Huerta had Madero assassinated, Villa played a key role in the usurpation of Huerta through gaining followers in the north in the region of Chihuahua. · Gained money by holding up banks, trains, and printing his own money. · Respected as a general even in the United States. · Eventually the US decides to support Carranza out of the four revolutionaries involved in Mexico at the time. Because of this, Villa attacked US to discredit Carranza. Most famous attack at Columbus, NM where Villa attacked and killed 18 Americans. Town is wiped out Another famous escapade was the Santa Ysabel massacre in which Villa stops a train with 17 Texas businessman and only one makes it out alive. Angers the US. · Because of this, Pershing is sent to hunt down Villa and kill him with 15,000 men. Led on a wild goose chase. Although the main objective was to stop border raids, the continued during the expedition · Also, some of Villa’s most important leaders were killed and due to this and his “retirement” the expedition was declared successful. · In 1923, Villa was assassinated on orders from Obregon[|[1]] C. Carranza · Supporter of Madero and one of the four who rebelled against Huerta after the assassination of Madero. · Chosen by the United States as the recognized leader of Mexico in 1916 which dissolved the unsteady relationships held with Villa, Zapata, and Obregon and which would ultimately lead to his demise. · While he was in office, the Constitution of 1917 was drafted. It was not as liberal as Carranza wanted but still contained many clauses that he wanted. · In 1917, he was declared the constitutional president of Mexico. After deciding not to run for re-election in 1920, he decided to endorse Bonillas as opposed to Obregon. Because of this, he was ordered assassinated and was killed. D. Constitution of 1917 · Constitutional convention of 1916-1917 at Queretaro · Product of urban middle class mentality but inspired by the land oriented mentality (Villa & Zapata). · Increased power of the executive. · Civil liberties · No presidential succession · Judges given lifelong tenure. · Very anticlerical as shown by Articles 3 & 130, however very liberal based on equality of religion, gender, and race. · Freedom of Press

Rule after the War I. 1920-1924 a. Obregon was elected in 1920 and set about to implement the 1917 Constitution b. Economic slump at the beginning of his rule i. High unemployment in vital mining industries ii. Widespread hunger c. By 1921 Mexico was world’s third largest producer of petroleum d. Obregon appointed Jose Vasconcelos as secretary of education i. Opened many rural schools ii. Wanted to educate on the Revolution iii. Focused on making primary schooling free e. Obregon redistributed 3 million acres by 1924 i. Kept the fragile economy from stalling f. Article 27 of the constitution proclaimed only Mexicans or Foreigners who declared themselves Mexicans could have sub-soil and land rights i. Angered the US to where they didn’t recognize Mexico until 1923 g. Chose Calles as his successor in 1924
 * Point 3—Construction of the post-revolutionary state (1920-38): Obregón, Calles, and the Maximato; challenges, assessment of their impact in the post-revolutilnary sate**

II. 1924-1934 a. Founded the Banco de Mexico b. President Plutarco Elias Calles reorganized Mexican politics along corporatist lines in order to contain social unrest c. Callas was not as cautious as Obregon i. Very strong will and used military to do his dirty work ii. Eventually became like a dictator d. Redistributed 8 million acres between 1924 and 1928 e. Eventually closed down church schools which caused a massive rebellion by the priests of the nation f. Obregon won the election in 1924 but was assassinated which put Callas back in office g. h. Expanded the government bureaucracy in order to dispense state funds to organize support of the “official” party i. He centralized the right and left wings of the country in order to avoid massive conflict that had been raging within the country for years j. He put the citizens first over the military in order to create a stronger Mexico which put it above other Latin American countries during this time

III. 1934-1940 a. 1936 Cardenas deported Callas deported to the US b. Cardenas revived populism in the national politics by redistributing land to landless peasants called the ejido system i. A way of spreading out community land for different poverty stricken villages ii. Created labor unions and encouraged labor strikes c. 1938, he emphasized nationalism in Mexican politics by forcing out some of the foreign oil corporations in order to make a new national oil company i. Foreign investors were angry as the US cut of silver purchases from Mexico and Great Britain broke off diplomatic relations d. His policies were aimed toward concentrating power in the president and the major parties within the country e. By early 1940s there was a strong federal government dominated by a civilian president and his loyalists within the ruling party i. This would remain constant within the country for the next 40 years as Mexico gained strength in the world f. No one party stayed in power but instead there was a rotation of power among rival factions for the next 50 years

1. Background info a. Who was Lázaro Cárdenas? i. Lázaro Cárdenas was of humble origins. His father died when he was young, making him the father figure and bread winner of his family even while he was still no more than a child. To make money, he worked as a guard in a jail at one point; however, after becoming passionate about the Mexican Revolution and giving himself in full support to one political leader, Obregón, he let all of the prisoners out and they joined the ranks of Calles, who was fighting for Obregón at the time. Eventually, he reached the rank of general at the early age of 25, and when the dust settled at the end of the revolution, Obregón was president, Calles was second in command, and Cárdenas was third in line. ii. The Great Depression in the US wasn’t just an American issue—the entire world experienced devastating economic decline. During this time in Mexico, the economy suffered extensively as foreign trade declined and unemployment rose. Naturally, the people began to point their finger at the government, and they demanded reform. As someone who promoted peasant and labor mobilizations, a unified state, and agrarian reform movements, Cárdenas seemed to be the answer to the people’s cries. After PNR (the National Revolution Party) elected him as persistent in the early 30’s, he initiated many reforms, such as establishing a national labor confederation and even encouraging labor strikes 2. Aims, methods, and achievements) a. What were some of his most influential policies/ideas? i. Land Reforms/socialist endeavors 1. When you hear the name, Cárdenas, the first thing that should come to mind is his extensive Just a short time after he became president, Cárdenas seized 45 million acres of privately owned land and redistributed it to peasant communities called ejidos. Though this may sound like a negative thing, redistributing the land to the peasants in ejidos actually gave way to high levels of cultivation as numerous people were constantly working the land (through collective farming) and living on it at all times rather than a select few. 2. Cárdenas also tried to install a socialist education that soon came to an end after his presidency because of the opposition it faced from the Catholic Church ii. Nationalization 1. Cárdenas’s name will also always be remembered because of his risky undertaking of the nationalization of petroleum. Petroleum is one of Mexico’s bountiful natural resources, and petroleum companies owned by foreign nations (like the US and UK) were able to generate quite a lot of revenue. However, when Cárdenas nationalized these companies and established a state oil company called PEMEX, he brought the power and wealth of the companies back into the hands of Mexico. Although this decision initially hurt Mexico’s economy (since the US and UK boycotted Mexican petroleum), WWII brought many foreign nations including America and Britain back to Mexico begging for petroleum. Although Cárdenas went on to national railroads and bring them completely under governmental control, it was his nationalization of petroleum that would later be described as “Mexico’s declaration of economic independence” iii. Other important info 1. The name Cárdenas gave to his reform plan was the ‘new Six Year Plan’ 2. He spent much of his term on the road listening to the complaints and suggestions of the Mexican citizens and is remembered as one who worked fought corruption and for the good of his people. 3. After his 6-year term as president had ended, he continued to be a significance influence in Mexican government. Unlike Calles, who had tried to remain part of the government after his presidential term so that he could establish puppet regimes and keep the power he had acquired, Cárdenas left office and moved on to others governmental positions, such as serving as Minister of War before returning to his home and working on irrigation and education projects. 4. Historians often compare him to Franklin Delano Roosevelt because he was so influential in the stabilization of his country when it was in great need of a strong leader with a sterling reputation. However, some do criticize him for his later support of Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro.
 * Point 4—Lázaro Cárdenas and the renewal of the revolution (1939-40): aims, methods, and achievements**

I. Religious and women’s groups had interest in the revolution a. Could not watch the Mexican people suffer from hunger and poverty b. Red Cross sent aid for people
 * Point 5—The role of foreign powers (especially the US) in the outbreak and development of the Mexican Revolution; motivations, methods of intervention and contributions**

II. Economic Interests a. Economic policies during the revolution were unsympathetic, hostile, and even interventionist b. Americans investing in Mexico through capital investments, direct and indirect investments c. Biggest economic investment was the exportation of oil

III. Political Intervention a. President Wilson’s policy toward revolution seen as narrow-minded, patronizing and hypocritical b. Wilson’s motivation for intervention was peer desire i. Tried to get constitutionals, including the once Mexican leader Carranza, into power ii. When he succeeded he attempted to control the party iii. Wilson declared himself the self appointed tutor of Mexico c. Wilson’s initial intervention in Mexico was not wrong but his reasons for the intervention were wrong i. Thus his policies all failed d. He dreamed of a constitutional government in Mexico i. Wanted to restore order, protect American lives and property and to avert European interference ii. Policies toward US individualism with short term morality and long term self interest e. Wilson simply wanted to restore order in Mexico by convincing Mexican dictators of short term stability and profit f. Policies eventually all failed because they all compromised sincerely held Mexican values

IV. Military Intervention a. At beginning of Revolution, US commanders warned Mexican military that America would only intervene if American lives were endangered b. March 1911, President Taft created the “Maneuver Division” in San Antonio, Texas. i. A division of American men designed to provide field training and assume the official role of enforcing neutrality laws ii. Considered the force that would eventually intervene in Mexico c. Always worried about the deterioration of the Diaz administration d. First of 2 troop interventions: 1914, US agents discovered that the German merchant ship Ypiranga was carrying illegal arms to Huerta. i. President Wilson ordered troops to stop the shit at the port of Veracruz ii. The ship simply docked at another port which infuriated Wilson and increased US-Mexican tensions iii. US did not declare war and had to leave Mexican soil e. Second of two troop interventions: 1916, a retaliation for Pancho Villa’s raid on Columbus, New Mexico, and the death of 16 American citizens i. Wilson sent Brigadier General John J. Pershing into Mexico to capture Villa ii. He had to abandon the search because Villa knew the land too well iii. Caused anti-American sentiment to grow in Mexico

V. Foreign Countries a. In 1910, over 27 percent of the Mexican land was owned by foreigners b. Foreign countries simply desired to get a piece of the countries resources such as railroad use, land or oil c. Besides the US, other countries only wished for economic intervention

1. Art a. Los Tres Grandes: Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros, and José Orozco i. Diego Rivera 1. Like the other two artists, Rivera studied at the San Carlos Academy in his youth. Then he was sent to Pairs on a scholarship from the government to study art. It was there that he gained his first insight into fresco painting, which he would often incorporate in his works when he returned to Mexico in 1921 ii. David Siqueiros 1. He was youngest of the three painters. Unlike Rivera, Siqueiros left his studies at the academy early to fight in the revolution before he, too, was sent to Europe to study art on a scholarship. He and Rivera met in Paris, and Rivera encouraged the young artist to immerse himself in Mexico’s history. iii. Jose Orozco 1. After drawing unflattering portraits of some of the teachers at the academy, Orozco was told he couldn’t draw, and was therefore never sent abroad to study. Instead, he found work as a political cartoonist before he headed off to fight in the revolution. However, because of a missing left hand, he was never put on the front lines, but was asked instead to draw for the “Vangaurdia,” a regimental sheet. The experience marked him forever. He would be the only one of Los Tres Grandes who did not glorify the revolution. b. The Impact of the Revolution i. In 1920, Obregón was the incoming Mexican president. He wanted to be able to efficiently communicate with the people, but he knew most were illiterate. When he asked the Secretary of Education Jose Vasconcelos (see next section for more info on him) how to accomplish this task, Vasconcelos suggested that mural art be used to reach the masses. ii. The Big Three already believed that art is a form of communication and furthermore a means of education, rather than simply an abstract splattering of paint on canvas. Thus, when they were commissioned to paint murals throughout the country, they did so more or less willingly, eager to become storytellers of Mexico’s history to their fellow man. iii. Siquerios 1. His war experiences in the revolution convinced him that all art, and particularly his own, should be politically centered, and thus he based his subject matter on socialist ideals and modernist forms. iv. Rivera 1. He hoped to facilitate the people’s discovery of their past and the roots of their culture. He tended to glorify the people, to make them the heroes of his works. Many people today see Mexico through his eyes, as his art significantly influenced the way Mexicans perceived themselves and their country. v. Orozco 1. Under Porfirio Diaz, two-thirds of the people lived in abject poverty and slavery. Foreign domination had been replaced by tyranny. The revolution, though it may have been greatly needed for the many who suffered under Diaz, was nonetheless bloody and destructive. This destruction, which Orozco experienced first-hand as he drew the scenes from the battle fronts, caused him to create works that emphasize human suffering and in some cases, the cruelty of the Mexican revolution. He showed the horrors of the war—the executions by firing squads, pillaging, and rape. Because of his blunt, honest depictions of the revolution, he was often criticized, and in some places his works were defaced or whitewashed over. However, from the pieces that remain, it is obvious that he was a talented communicator whose work was very influential. 2. Vasconcelos’ educational reforms a. Who was Vasconcelos? i. When Francisco Madero was democratically elected president of Mexico, Vasconcelos, who had been a big supporter of Madero, led an educational reform movement where he changed, among other things, the scholar programs at the National Preparatory School. ii. As different leaders ruled over Mexico, Vasconcelos was off-and-on the go-to guy for education depending on who was in power. He was elected as Minister of Education during the presidential period of Eulalio Gutiérrez, but he was sent into exile later when he had a disagreement with Carranza. One of his most well known roles was when he was Secretary of Public Education during the presidency of Álvaro Obregón. Though he would later resign when Calles came to power as president, he was and continued to be a proponent of the movement for secular, Pan-American lines. He against indigenismo (where the indigenous races get special privileges), and he was most influential as someone who worked for educational reforms. b. What were the effects of some of his reforms? i. Although Vasconcelos left the political world forever after his complete failure in running for president, he was very influential during his time as Rector of the university. In his inaugural speech, he said, “At this time, I do not come to work for the university, but to ask the university to work for the people.” Vasconcelos believed education was a form of emancipation, and thus he began a national education project that, though it was not always lucid, had an almost religious fervor as Vasconcelos passionately tried to educate the people. He mobilized intellectuals to offer free-of-charge adult education through lectures and a various cultural events. ii. Porifio’s regime had abandoned all social issues. It was no surprise then that there was an 80% illiteracy rate, coupled with a shortage of teachers and schools. Not only that, but just the privileged elite were able to afford either private education or education abroad, when in fact the rural citizens, without a good means of communication, were the ones in the most dire need of education yet were only afforded what little the state could provide iii. Vasconcelos’s first step was reforming the Constitution so that he could establish a d Ministry of Education. As secretary of Public Education he was able to acquire the most amount of money that had ever been allotted to the education system. iv. Vasconcelos also initiated a nationalistic movement that was integrated into the educational system. Thus, the role of education in this context was to facilitate the people’s discovery of themselves, their past, and the identity of their own country. v. One final component of Vasconcelos’s reforms was the role of aesthetics. He said, “Beyond the mastering of science, into the marvelous unfolding of the mind […] So, the educated mind enriches everyday reality precisely because it can modify and outwit certain aspects of necessity thus developing a free mind, through knowledge.” In other words, Vasconcelos aimed to go beyond the simple instruction of the man’s brain—he wanted to develop the entire individual, in mind, body, and soul. Thus, there was an emphasis on academics, aesthetics, and ethics in the curriculum. 3. The development of popular music/literary works because of the revolution a. Although the styles of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo may have been greatly affected by the revolution, the literary and musical developments also were influenced by the revolution. Even today, more modern writers like Carlos Fuentes have made the Mexican revolution the setting of many of their stories. While some musicians and writers romanticize the revolution by encasing it in words and melodies of glory, others have used it as a means to search for the Mexican identity in the works.
 * Point 6—Impact of the revolution on the arts, education, and music (suitable examples could be Siqueiros, Rivera, Orozco); the impact of Vasconcelos’ educational reforms; the development of popular music; literary works on the revolution**