Mexican Revolutions of 1857 and 1910
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Mexico's Struggle Towards Democracy The 6 Mexican Revolutions of 1857 and 1910 - . .- Sg cent6 8 tvp o eopt- for 1MI copiw for *I6 Order from mr *rat Ihtpman, L,mm. TABLE OF GONTZNTd Introdaction ......................... .......,.. I Verican Revolntlon of 1867. The Aptla Revolntbn: 1. Brrslc Cam of the Reyolntton .............. 7 2. Immed'ste CBuaea ......................... 8 8. Umnm Taking Part in the IlePolution ...... 9 4 . Phaees of the- Revolntiog .................. 1% 6. Reaalts of the Revplutlooa .................19 6. Baaeow for Bucws and Falllve ........... 88 Maxieaa. Revolution of 1910: I. TJm Four Revolutionarp Centers ............ 26 d. Bash? Causes of the Revohtlon. ........... 89 8.. Immediate Cames ........................ 85 4 . Groups Taking Part in the Revolutton ...... 87 6. Phaser of the Iievolution .................. 41 . 6. Wuerts-The munte~'fiew01utian ........... 43 *I. Struggle Between Rewlutiona?r Facttons ... 46 8. Role oC Organioed Labor .................. 48 9. Camama'~Regime ........................ 10 10. Obregon's Addnhtration ................. 64 11. Results ot the Revoluth ................. 67 12. Factors Mak:ng for Sucwna atla Fallnra .... 63 summary ........................................ 6s Blblfography ..................................... 67 Index ........................................... I1 INTRODUCTION IXTY-PIVa YEARS ago Civil War, of which the basic mse was the institution known a6 chattel slavery, began in the United States. At W same time, a stiIl more bitter intend cun0ict was waged in Mexico. Bmito Juarez led the d proper@owners and oppressed masses against the great feudal land+wmrs, chief of which was the Catholic church, established in Mdco by the Span- Civil war in Mexico lasted ten years, during half of which French inden assisted the fmdalists. Throughout this mnflict the United Statea supported the muse of fuare. President Buchanan and k- d Grant urged military intervention in his behalf. Abraham Lincoln assisted him by 05cial magni- tion and shipments of arms and finaUy demanded withdrawal of the French troops. The Church lost its great estates, but during the period of mtim, 1876 to rgyo, it regained some of them. The balance of power, however, fell into the hands of foreign investors ; hose of the United States, in 1910, owned nearly half the wealth of . Mexico. Today the Mexican government k again in con- troversy with the Catholic church. The press and the politicians of the United States profesa horror at the religious intolerance of h Mexiean govern- 5 twrt. The Unitad States Gomnment maintains a &katdngattitude regarding protection of Amer- ican interests wbich may at any time break into ophostitities, Wtrat has c8used this frat on the pan of the United States tom%:! ico? Tgat following accounts of the Mexican Revo- lutions of 1857 and 1910 discuss the economic fac- tors involved, and their relatiom to the United S-. The Aywih Rmd* ! I. BASIC GAUSE OF THE REVOLUTION. HE basic cause of the Mexican Revolution of ' T 1857 was the struggle between an oppressive .and dcdeut feudal aristmmq and a rising middle class. Ecmomic. antagonisms wmrendered more bitter by racial division between the classes. C' The Mexican ruling dass was uclusively of Span- ish descent. The followers of Cortez had imposed upon the people of Mexico a drastic system of ex- ploitation. The masses beme peons of the land and slaves of the mines. From intercourse behwm eon- querors and natives, there arose the halfaes or mestizos, most of whom dudin the status of the mtim. Some became wage workers, artisans, traders, professionals, and d property owners, but were dud& from governmental and higher economic positions.' It was mainly this mestizo &, lead by some of the lower clergy, that Mtfae revohdm for inde- pendcnee in 1810, amusing the apathetic peons to fight for their land. They wtre finally put down by tht upper clergy and dw creole propertp owners. Thereafter, the efforts of this donary ruling class to suppress the rising ambition of the middle class and the land hunger of the peons was the tm- derlying muse of Mexico's internal struggles which cu4ninakd in the revolution of 1857: 2. IMMEDIATE CAUSES. The immediate causes of the revolution mybe summed up as the aftermath of the tiefaat suffered in the war againat the United States (3846-48). This defeat was followed by economic distfcss, political agitation and disorder on the one han'tl, and by die tatorship and oppression on the other. The pmr1y equipped Mexdvolunteers and nm- cambahnts sufiered mueh in ttyhg to repef the in- vaders from the United States. The terns of peace, by which Mexico surrendered more tban ane-half of her territory, were humiliating. For the three years fallowing the war, the expenditures of the govern- ment were more than twice its receipts. Taxes and levies upindustry becam exorbitant. The masI and the middle dasr suffered while thc upper &SMS. clergy and military, flaunted their luxury, CrW I and Mtryincreased. Yucatan mcl the stah on tbe northern border were in revolt. To quell the rising brder, the army was cnhrgd, A law, pd in I&.&, whicb limited pvemmmt qsto ram, was evaded by incrcasmg state dtias aud bringing them under central control. .,: Santa Am, upw his re-election in &3, eonfro1 of dl state properties and menuts and dis- solved state lcgi&tuteri. In 1847, Cqms had passed a law authorizing sale or mortgage of c~rtain ~properQtomaetwar~.'T~~s~ow prqmed that the unused property of the hrch be pfedrrsd to secure a loan. The oppositim of the i chupcb was w bitter that neither of time measma was carried out. F~omof the presa had bteD h rirtually abolished. The secret police became oppm- sive. A conspiracy law was pawed, according to which anyone suspected of opinions adverse to the gwcrnment or the church was t&d lxfore military court and pdshed by imprisorrmtnt or death. Sank Anna proclaimed himself dictator but he was, 4n reality, the tool of his msmwtie cabinet, the chief of whom was Lua Ataman, mouthpiece of the church and an outspoken monarchist.' 3. GROUPS TAKING PART IN THE REVOLUTION. The creole ruling class, tepresented by the con- tiemati= party, and standii for a strongly central- ized government, oppmed the middle ch,repre- sented by the liberal party, and standing for autonomy of the states. The working class, thougb divided in its allegiance, fought dywith the liberals. As the le progremd, impdbtic France, Ehgland andT pin, aad the Pope of RwrPe assisted the commhwhile the influence of the United States and the Iitreral elements of Europe aided the fevoluri~. The conservatives, forming lews than onefifth of the population, wm mmpmed of the desiashl, military and cid tlristocrades, and were dominated by the CathoIic church. The church is eathated to have owned in 1856 from onehalf to wethird of the most valuable land, and -third of Mexb's reataadptrsonaIpmper@'Tt&thed~~I~, *hmmft, OP. CL Vd Y, pp. W6-m. (Intlem de Lnm. .&-a*, *:%&clo%6 *:%&clo%6 PP-aim, IBII, ~ce. taEachdbgehadadaique,nativEchief,wfio ~~d~a~urt~f~fmthe~of estate, aMter hta the and frequently exploited those , for hbdf as wdas for his master* most of the scanty clothing, omamats, and imple- ments which they possessed.' The free workjng&s, mostly mestizo, waa an economic as well as mid mixture, Mi at the bottom into peamge from which some of the more enterprising individuals escaped tempom'ly or manmtly; and at the top into the middle class. main part of the wage works, however, were farm hands during the busy swan, domestic servants in the cities, and miners. The last mentioned wefi the most highly paid and independent, but were not numerous. as the mines at this time were in the hands of dlnative owners who were not abIe to work them extensively. It was from this nonddpt class and the 4 property-owdqg =of the rnmlutinuy army na. drawn: Op UL VoL Vf p 809-18. :Ez%& aei,tlb~leof@h pp. SBd I1 4 PHASES OF THE lU3VOLUTION. Tbw were hedistinct stages of the Revolutian of 1857-(A) initial uprising, 1854; (B)period of prkmnwy atrategg, 1855-57; (C) sccand mili- tary stage, the war of revolution, r8sUr; (ID) European intervention, the EOUnGr redubon, 186x47 ; (E)Constitutional rule, 1867-1876. Mtesteps &odd be dent, omtion of political machinery in each state rrad election of Congress, that oppmive laws in regard to individual taxation, the army, and the interurban tatiff should be annufled. The response was enthusiastic and wide-spread. Repbye meas- ures failed to quell molts, Santa Anna fled and the conservaLives resorted to strategy: General Vqp, a conservative, calied a convenGn and declared for the Plan de Aptla. The army now numbered go,-. Its influence vied with that of the church and had been greatly hcdunder Santa Anna, who, as a mas of ctmsoIidating the power of his dictatorship, had filled nmst of the minor poiitid offices from the mil2tary &XI. Gen- wal Vega's subterfugewas successfu1 in quieting the pple but not in ining control of the revolution. In 185%General Iklvarez was elected president and Benito Juarez was made minister of 'ustice. Taxes were lightened and organization oI siak militias authorized. Most important of aU, the fum, CY- t~.bWdin Mexico her since the days of the ' un- dE hra, Op. a+,pp. 17- 12 Spnifh yest,were abolished. The heros were , desmshd and military courts in which all clerical and military law breakers, and ahmy offaden against church and state, were tried. Half the crhm in Mexico were committed by men thus exempt from the civil courts.' The aboIition of the heros caused such a storm of prow from the comma- tives, that Alvare?: was forced out of dice and Cornonfort, a prominent literal, but a compr~, tdhis place. Jw,however, remained in the admmmtdofl, and the revolutionary program was continued.