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The Defeat of the Spanish by the Mexicans
When the Mexicans defeated the Spanish when they were fighting for their independence, a man named Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna played a leading role in it. He largely helped fight for the independence of Mexico and helped when later Spanish wanted to regain control of it. Then, he became president of Mexico. -
The Rise of Santa Anna's Rule
After Santa Anna showed his courage in the defeat of the Spanish, he became president. He was a powerful caudillo and was a clever politician. However, he lost the Mexican territory of Texas after the Texans defeated the Mexicans for their independence. He was sent to exile but returned and fought the U.S. who annexed Texas because he wanted Texas back. He lost again and was sent into exile. He came back again and then went into exile in 1855 for almost 20 years. -
The U.S. Annexes Texas; The Mexican American War
After Mexico lost Texas at the Battle of San Jacinto, the U.S. annexed Texas. The Mexicans were mad and had disputes over the border. Then, the U.S. went to war with Mexico over Texas. The U.S. won after 2 years and they signed the Treaty of Guadalpe Hidalgo. This gave the U.S. California and the American Soutwest from Mexico. This was also the 2nd downfall of Santa Anna. -
Benito Juarez Elected President
After the fall of Santa Anna, a man by the name of Benito Juarez took over. He was a liberal and wanted reform. He had a movement called La Reforma that had goals to redistribute the land and the money. He became president and were not liked by wealthy landowners. They didn't like him because he was taking away a lot of their power and so they rebelled. They lost and Juarez became president. -
French Occupation of Mexico
While Juarez was president, exiled conservatives allied with Europeans including the French to overthrow Juarez. The French sent a man by the name of Archduke Maximillian to rule Mexico as emperor. Juarez and others fought against him and the French realized in the end it was too costly. So, they retreated from Mexico and Juarez became president again. -
Porfirio Diaz Comes to Power
After Juarez died, another man named Porfirio Diaz came to power. He took over Mexico City and beat the other president of Mexico at the time. He had the support of the military and landholders. Even though he was harsh, people saw progress in Mexico.However, later on people would want him to step down because they wanted reform. -
Venustiano Carranza Comes to Power; Carranza Kills Zapata
After Madero resigned from power, a man named Victoriano Huerta came to power. People didn't like him so Pancho Villa and Zapata fought against him with the help of Venustiano Carranza. After Huerta was overthrown, Carranza turned on Villa and Zapata and killed Zapata. Pancho Villa, now with no allies, couldn't defeat Carranza. Carranza came to power and made reforms to the Mexican Constitution. Then he was overthrown by Alvaro Obregon. -
Obregon Comes to Power
After overthrowing Carranza, general Alvaro Obregon came to power. Even though he seized power violently, Obregon wanted land reforms and wanted better health and education. He supported reform in the Mexican Constitution. However, he was assassinated later.
