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Revolution Begins
The Mexican Revolution was one of the greatest revolutionary upheavals of the 20th century. It had begun with the efforts to oust president Porfirio Díaz. He had stated that Mexico was ready for democracy and that the president to follow him should be elected democratically. People did not like the dictatorship like ruling of Porfiro Díaz for over 30 years. They found too much disparity between the rich and the poor and exploitation of workers. -
First Battle of Cuidad Juarez
This battle was between the federal army of President Porfirio Díaz and the rebel forces of Francisco Madero. Pascual Orozco and Pancho Villa led Madero's army, whose goal was to take the city of Cuidad Juarez to control trade between Mexico and the U.S. The rebels cut off the water supply and took control of the surrounding bridges in order to isolate the city and the federal army within.This marked the first time they did not use guerilla tactics. This federal defeat led to Díaz's resignation. -
Porfirio Díaz Flees Country
In exile, Porfiro Díaz fleed Mexico. He had known that his presidency was ending and knew that the people would highly dislike him for his political decisions. Díaz had allocated land to wealthy non-nationals. No Mexicans were able to own their own land without formal legal title. This has been Díaz's attempt to tighten the ties with the United States and any other influential foreign interests. All of the Mexican small farmers had become hopeless. -
Madero Wins Presidential Election
Starting with Madero, Huerta and then Carranza replace Díaz's presidnecy. Madero was elected president after Díaz fleed. Huerta then had Madero killed. While Madero was being taken to prison he was assasinated by the escort. Later on after Huerta's presidency, Carranza declared himself as president. -
Emiliano Zapak Drafts the Plan de Ayala
The Plan de Ayala was approved by Zapatal supporters. Zapak started recruitimg thousands of peasents to fight for land if they suppoted the Plan de Ayala. Under this plan they redistributed the land. The land went back to the peasents it had belonged too. It was taken back from the powerful land owners. -
Plan Orozquista
The plan was created after Orozco and his strong army made of 6000 people called for the removal of Madero. Plan Orozquista called for limited work days, wage increases and child labor reforms. Also, it called for major land reform with all government lands being distributed to the people. Lastly, the nationalization of the Mexican railroads. This concept would later on be brought into practice. -
10 Tragic Days in Mexico City
The most violent period had been set by the tone of these 10 tragic days. It had led up to Madero's assasination and his vice president's. 5,500 people lost their lives in this unfortunte event. It had begun when Huerta switched from pro-Madero to anti-Madero. These awful 10 tragic days ended with a rebel victory. -
United States Troops Occupied Varacruz, Mexico
The United States goverment warned the Mexican military that if the U.S. citizens became endangered that the U.S. Military would become involved. The United States sent troopss to the U.S- Mexican border. The United States President did not allow them to interfere in the conflict. Conflic continued so the U.S. beame more involved. They bombed and occupied the city of Veracruz. -
Carranza's Fall From Power
After a convention calling for the resignation of Carranza, he agreed on three conditions. First that a pre-constitutional regime would make social and political reforms before the re-establishment of constitutional government; the resignation and exile of Villa; and the resignation and exile of Zapata. Corranza withdrew and moved his government to Cordoba, Veracruz. However he refused to officially resign when his demands were not met. So, he continued to negotiate the withdrawl of U.S troops. -
Pershing's Punitive Expedition
On March 9th, 1916, “Pancho” Villa crossed the Mexican border with the United States and attacked Columbus, New Mexico. General John J. Pershing was immediately sent into Mexico after him. The punitive expedition against Villa began in the immediate aftermath of the attack and would last until August of 1916. Several columns of infantry and cavalry plunged deep into northern Mexico pursuing Villa. However, Pershimg was unable to locate or capture Villa in the mountains where he resided. -
Drafting of the Constitution of Mexico
With the fall of Huerta, the revolutionaries were fighting internally to see who would be the next president. Carranza had his forces in Veracruz, while Obregon was in Mexico City, after a dispute, Carranza emerged as the leader of the revolutionary forces. In an attempt to institutionalize the Revolution, he called for a meeting. The revolutionaries put together a new supreme law for Mexico. This came to be the “Constitucion Politica de los Estados Unidos de Mexicanos." -
Assassination of Emiliano Zapata
Gen. Pablo González ordered his subordinate Col. Jesús Guajardo to commence operations against the Zapatistas. Zapata made an attempt to invite Guajardo to swith sides. But Gonzáles intercepted the letter and used a response to bait Zapata into a trap. He then accusing Guajardo of being a traitor and a drunk, González won him back over. When Zapata arrived for an arranged meeting, he was shot multiple times by Gonzáles and Guajardo's men. His body was photographed to confirm his death. -
Alvaro Obregón's Rise to Presidency
Obregón supported Carranza against Villa and Zapata for years. After serving for a short time in Carranza’s cabinet, Obregón retired. Then, in April 1920, in response to Carranza’s increasingly reactionary policies and his attempt to impose a puppet successor, Obregón took a leading role in an uprising. He was quickly able to overthrow Carranza. On Dec.1,1920, Obregón was elected as Mexico’s new president. He managed to impose relative peace and prosperity on his nation. -
Diego Rivera: Triumph of the Revolution
Diego Rivera painted this famous piece of art. This piece reflects Diego's view on how the family life was after the end of the revolution. Before and during the revolution, life was very hard and in some cases dangerous. So when it ended, the people of Mexico could live in peace and return to their simple day to day lives. It also depicts a sense of community and togetherness, which was not always the case during the revolution. -
Diego Rivera: El Arsenal
Almost all of Rivera's art told a story, many of which depicted Mexican society. It is based on a Corrido, a popular type of song in Mexico written by Rivera and called "So willbe the proletarian revolution". The words of the Corrido can be seen in the redband on the top. The central figure is Frida Kahlo, who became Rivera's wife. Frida hands out weapons to revolutionary soldiers. The figures in this painting are an illustration of Rivera's transferring his political beliefs onto canvas.
