LITR 4332 American Minority Literature Model Assignments Research Project Submissions 2013 research journal

F. Kat Henderson

April 24, 2013

Let’s Have a War

Introduction

As a good granddaughter, I have always had a deep interest in everything related to the Texas War of Independence. My grandmother is a very proud member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. I remember in elementary school being able to recite the entire series of events (with great animation) and proudly explain my relation to the heroic William Barret Travis. Somehow, I never thought to question my one-sided upbringing. While reading and discussing Mexican American literature I have realized how truly ignorant I am on the history related to Mexico. Yes, I know about the Aztecs and Mayans, Cortez and conquistadors (Gold! Glory! God!), but that is where my knowledge ends until their near villainous depiction against Texas. The following small dissertation is the sum of my new knowledge. It tracks in detail the events of the Mexican War of Independence, the Mexican-American War, and the Mexican Revolution. Because these events are in no way isolated from each other, I also did some general research to see how the events connect.

Mexican War of Independence

The first thing that I learned when researching the Mexican War of Independence was that it was not the same as the Mexican Revolution.  The war began in 1810 as a movement “among oppressed, indigenous Mexicans to throw off the shackles of the tyrannical Spanish aristocracy” (Heritage History). Unlike the American Revolution, the first stirrings of rebellion did not come because of oppression from the mother country, but from its perceived weakness. Napoleon had invaded Spain in 1808 and removed the Spanish king, throwing the country into war for five years. After Ferdinand VII’s return to the throne, the government continued to struggle. The indigenous people of Mexico saw this opportunity and took it (Heritage History).

The first leader of the Patriots was a priest named Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. Hidalgo was a priest in Queretaro known because he “gambled, fornicated, had children out of wedlock and didn’t believe in Hell” (Wikipedia). As such, he was part of a group of men who decided that revolution was needed. This group of criollos was hoping “to wrest power from the peninsulars, determined to employ the Indian and mixed-blood peasantry in the effort” (de la Teja). A member of the group betrayed the conspirators, and Hidalgo turned to his parish. Early in the morning on September 16, 1810, Hidalgo stood on the steps of his church and rallied for rebellion (de la Teja).

The early stage of the revolt involved looting and the killing of many peninsulars and criollos. The rebel army captured a granary on September 28. The army also beat Spanish resistance at the Battle of Monte de las Cruces on October 30. Despite these victories, they were not able to defeat the Spanish Army in Mexico City. The rebels attempted to defend a bridge on the Calderon River, where they were defeated (Wikipedia). The Spanish forces in the Battle of the Bridge of Calderon were led by General Felix Maria Calleja. Hoping to find refuge in the northeaster provinces, Hidalgo and his rebels headed north. By the end of January, Royalist troops in both Nuevo Santander and Coahuila defected and the governor of Texas was unseated in favor of Hidalgo (de la Teja).

Again the rebels' luck would not hold. Hidalgo and his soldiers were captured on March 21, 1811, and faced trial in July (de la Teja). The result was that “Hidalgo’s body was mutilated, and his … head [was] displayed in Guanajuato as a warning to Mexican rebels” (Wikipedia). In the wake of the loss of its leaders, the rebellion fell into the control of Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon. He “employed superior organizational and political skills” (de la Teja). Under his leadership a declaration of independence, the “Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence of  North America”, and a constitution were drafted in 1813 (Wikipedia). However, he was forced to rely on mestizo support because he was not able to get the support of the criollo. In November of 1815 Morelos was captured, tried, and executed. Morelos’s execution led to the rebellion’s breakdown into “a series of local revolts and guerrilla actions that did not seriously threaten royal authority in Mexico until 1820 (de la Teja).

Of these guerrilla bands, two leaders rose to the forefront. Guadalupe Victoria and Vicente Guerrero were able “to command allegiance and respect from their followers” but the Spanish viceroy did not see them as a significant threat (Wikipedia). As a final action to squash the rebels, the Spanish viceroy sent forces led by Colonel Agustin de Iturbide to destroy Guerrero’s army. Iturbide had “gained renown for the zeal with which he persecuted Hidalgo’s and Morelos’s rebels” and was “the personification of conservative criollo values” (Wikipedia). He was also “disgruntled at his lack of promotion and wealth” (Wikipedia).

When, in 1820, a military coup in Spain managed to successfully have the Spanish Constitution of 1812 reinstated, Iturbide saw a “threat to the status quo” and a chance for the “criollos to gain control of Mexico” (Wikipedia). Iturbide and Guerrero came to an agreement and, on February 24, 1821, put forth a plan for independence called the Plan de Iguala. The plan guaranteed three things: the “preservation of the Catholic Church’s status, the independence of Mexico as a constitutional monarchy, and equality of Spaniards and criollos” (de la Teja). On August 24, Juan O’Donoju, the newly arrived Spanish viceroy, signed the Treaty of Cordoba giving Mexico independence (de la Teja).

The Army of Three Guarantees entered Mexico City on September 27. The new Mexican government waited for the Treaty of Cordoba to be ratified by the Spanish Cortes, the Spanish Court, but it never was. Thanks to planning by Iturbide, a clause in the treaty left the Mexican congress the power to appoint a criollo monarch. On May 18, 1822, a large demonstration by a regiment of troops that Iturbide had led during the war “marched through the streets and demanded that their commander-in-chief accept the throne” (Wikipedia). Iturbide was declared emperor of Mexico the next day. Iturbide disbanded Congress on October 31 and replaced it with a junta, a military council, of his supporters (Wikipedia).

A Country in Turmoil

Over 20 years would pass between the end of the Mexican War of Independence and the beginning of the Mexican-American War. In 1822, Iturbide, newly named Emperor Agustin I, disbanded the congress. For many individuals, this “provided a pretext to revolt” (“Mexico”). General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna led rebels against Agustin, and on December 2, 1822, Santa Anna declared that Mexico should become a republic. Agustin was “forced to reconvene congress and to abdicate” (“Mexico”). At this point in time, the government of Mexico was largely unstable would face many problems.

In 1824 Guadalupe Victoria was elected to be Mexico’s first president. In 1828 a Centralist government faction replaced Victoria’s Federalist supporters. In 1829 a Federalist revolt established Vicente Guerrero as president, but he was overthrown by Centralists. The Centralists held power until 1832. In 1833 Federalists took control which lasted until 1836, when Centralists regained supreme (“Mexico”).

Throughout this fluctuating power struggle in Mexican government, Santa Anna remained a cornerstone. He “seemingly had few fixed ideological or political beliefs” (“Mexico”). Santa Anna was chosen to be president in 1833, an offer he turned down at first, and would step in and out of presidential power for the rest of his political career. It was Santa Anna who was president when altercations began with Texas in the 1830s (“Mexico”).

In retaliation to Santa Anna demolishing states’ rights, Texas declared itself an independent republic in 1836. Santa Anna rallied an army and quickly marched to smother the rebellion. While he initially had success at the Battle of the Alamo and at Goliad, his forces were defeated at the Battle of San Jacinto. He was captured and forced to sign a treaty in April 1836. Despite this, Mexico, while taking no further action against Texas, would not recognize its independence (“Mexico”).

Mexican-American War

In 1844, newly elected U.S. President Polk campaigned for the annexation of Texas, the occupation of Oregon, and “had his eyes on California, New Mexico and the rest of what is today the U.S. Southwest” (History). After Texas was annexed into the Union in 1845, Mexico severed all relations with the States. As a result, Polk sent John Slidell to Mexico City in secret to “negotiate the disputed Texas border, settle U.S. claims against Mexico, and purchase New Mexico and California for up to $30,000,000” (Encyclopedia Britannica). Mexican President Jose Joaquin Herrera refused to see Slidell. In retaliation, Polk sent troops to occupy the disputed land between the Nueces and the Rio Grande under General Zachary Taylor (Encyclopedia Britannica).

Mexican soldiers crossed the Rio Grande on April 25, 1846, and attacked Taylor’s troops. Under General Mariano Arista, the Mexican army laid siege to Fort Texas. Taylor slipped the bulk of his men past the trap to gather reinforcements before returning to Fort Texas. Arista, hearing of Taylor’s coming army, moved to intercept. The two armies met at Palo Alto on May 8. Arista retreated to a defensive position, leaving the Battle of Palo Alto a U.S. victory (“War”). Polk, hearing of this, altered his war message to Congress, which he gave on May 11. He told Congress that the “cup of forbearance has been exhausted, even before Mexico passed the boundary of the United States, invaded our territory, and shed American blood upon American soil” (History). Congress declared war on May 13.

The United States sent two armies against Mexico. The first army, under the command of Taylor, was sent to invade Mexico. The second army was to occupy New Mexico and California under Colonel Stephen Kearny (Encyclopedia Britannica). Only 75,000 Mexican citizens lived north of the Rio Grande at this point, which allowed Kearny to “conquer those lands with minimal resistance” (History). Taylor advanced toward Monterrey in September 1846. Mexican General Pedro Ampudia, realizing the futility of continuing to fight, requested a parlay. On September 25 the Battle of Monterrey ended and Taylor allowed the remaining Mexican forces to leave. President Polk “grew furious over these terms, and subsequently plotted the end of Taylor’s career” (History).

Polk ordered General Winfield Scott to take an army to Veracruz by sea with the intent to march on Mexico City. Taylor was to send the bulk of his men to help Scott. Having no other options, the Mexican government turned to an exiled Santa Anna to help them. Santa Anna convinced Polk that he would return to Mexico and end the war in favor of the U.S. However, he double crossed Polk, seized the army, and headed toward Taylor (History). Taylor, hearing of this, “deployed his outnumbered command in a mountain pass near the Hacienda Buena Vista, where his small numbers might do the most good” (“War”). While initially the Mexican forces broke the U.S. line, Taylor threw his only reserves in to help. Led by Colonel Jefferson Davis, the 1^st Mississippi Rifles were able to save the U.S. line. The Battle of Buena Vista ended on February 23, 1847. Santa Anna’s army fled (“War”).

On March 9, Scott’s forces landed south of Veracruz at Collado beach. U.S. troops forced Mexican troops under General Juan Morales to hide in the city while simultaneously isolating the troops inside nearby Fort San Juan de Ulua. Scott “requested that non-combatants be allowed to leave the city” but Morales refused (“War”). While the following bombardments did little to the fort, the city began to fall under the attack. Morales, “unwilling to take credit for the disaster”, stepped down and relinquished command to General Juan Landero (“War”). Landero surrendered the army, city, and fort on March 28. Having secured the port as a strong base for supplies, Scott began his march to Mexico City (“War”).

As Scott moved towards Mexico City, Santa Anna maneuvered to block him at Cerro Gordo. The Mexican army chose a strategic location, leaving Scott to “[conclude] that a costly frontal assault was the only option” (“War”). Reconnaissance by Captain Robert E. Lee “revealed that Santa Anna had trusted the terrain on his left to be impassible, and therefore had only lightly defended that approach” (“War”). Splitting his forces, Scott sent men around to use the path Lee had discovered on April 18. Santa Anna learned of this plan, but he was unable to stop the U.S. forces. The Mexican army suffered massive losses (“War”).

On August 20, 1847, two assaults were simultaneously launched against Santa Anna’s army. U.S. forces attacked a group of Mexican soldiers at Contreras, isolating them from reinforcements. The Mexican army quickly disintegrated under the attack from multiple sides. U.S. troops followed toward the Rio Churubusco, where they joined with the rest of Scott’s army. Realizing he was about to be surrounded, the Mexican leader retreated across the river. The two battles cost 1,000 American soldiers, but eliminated 10,000 Mexican troops (“War”).

On September 8, U.S. forces under General William J. Worth attacked Casa Mata and Molino del Rey. The ensuing battle would become “one of the bloodiest days for American forces in the U.S.-Mexican War” (“War”). Despite being butchered by hidden cannons, U.S. troops were able to penetrate the Mexican line. The Mexican troops retreated (“War”).

Scott again used a split attack to defeat more of the defenses of Mexico City. Troops attacked Chapultepec Castle against a determined but undermanned Mexican force. On September 13, the castle fell to U.S. troops, forcing Mexican forces to retreat inside the gates of Mexico City. By the end of the day, both the Garita San Cosme and the Garita de Belen were in U.S. control. Santa Anna pulled out of the city. On September 14, Scott met a “delegation of Mexican politicians who surrendered the city unconditionally” (“War”).

President Polk assigned Nicholas Trist to negotiate a peace treaty. When the Mexican government delayed in forming a body capable of negotiations, Polk impatiently pulled Trist off the discussions. Trist ignored his removal and signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2, 1848. The treaty required that “Mexico ceded to the United States all the territory now included in the states of New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, California, Texas, and western Colorado for $15,000,000 and U.S. assumption of its citizens’ claims against Mexico” (Encyclopedia Britannica).

Moving Toward Revolution

Despite having lost the Mexican-American War, Santa Anna was invited to become dictator in 1853 when conservatives seized power. He sold the land south of the Gila River to the United States for $10,000,000 to fund an expanded army. This area included parts of what is now New Mexico and Arizona and was the last “significant boundary change of the Mexican Republic” (“Mexico”).

In 1854, newcomer to the Mexican political scene Benito Juarez saw a chance for change. Juan Alvarez and Ignacio Comonfort “proclaimed a liberal rebellion against Santa Anna and forced him out of the presidency” (“Mexico”). Alvarez and Comonfort would both follow as president while Juarez, as minister of justice, carried out La Reforma. Eventually, a new constitution was drafted and used. This constitution, the constitution of 1857, would remain in use until 1917 and increased the power of the president. Civil war broke out in 1859 and ended on New Year’s Day, 1861. Juarez was still in power and the government was reestablished under the constitution of 1857.

Mexican conservatives, now exiled, sought foreign support for their cause from Napoleon III. Seeing an opportunity to seize control of Latin America, Napoleon invaded Mexico with plans to install Maximilian of the house of Habsburg on the throne. Napoleon chased Juarez out of the capital and waged bloody warfare on the Mexican people until financial and political pressure forced him to disengage. He agreed to pull the French troops out of Mexico by November 1867. Refusing to aid Maximilian, the troops quickly left. With Juarez back in power as president, Maximilian was court-martialed with his two leading generals. In memory of the 50,000 Mexicans who had lost their lives, Juarez showed Maximilian no mercy and executed him and the generals on June 19, 1867 (“Mexico”).

Juarez was reelected as president until his sudden death on July 18, 1872. Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada became acting president until he was officially elected in November. In 1875 as Lerdo ran for reelection, Porfirio Diaz successfully led a revolt and claimed the presidency in November 1876. He would remain in power until his overthrow in 1911.

Mexican Revolution

According to historian Jim Tuck, “Mexico in September 1910 could be compared to a shiny apple whose glossy skin conceals a putrefying interior”.  Porfirio Diaz had enjoyed running the country since 1876, and was known to the world outside of Mexico as a great leader. Despite this outward appearance, the reality of Mexico was this:

Major industries were controlled by foreign interests, the illiteracy rate was 80 percent, infant mortality averaged 439 per thousand, life expectancy was 30 years, 50 percent of all houses were classified as unfit for human habitation and in Mexico City 16 percent of the population was homeless. Yes, Diaz had brought about social peace—mainly through recruiting bandits into his dreaded rural police—but he had done so at a terrible cost. (Tuck)

As Diaz waited for his seventh reelection, Anti-reeleccionista leader Francisco Madero announced his candidacy. In retaliation Diaz “had him arrested and declared himself the winner after a mock election in June” (“Mexican Revolution”). Once released, Madero fled across the border to San Antonio, where he published Plan de San Luis Potosi. In this publication, he called for a revolt on November 20. While the revolt was a failure, northern leaders Pascual Orozco and Francisco (Pancho) Villa “mobilized their ragged armies and began raiding government garrisons” and to the south Emiliano Zapata “waged a bloody campaign against the local caciques” (“Mexican Revolution”). After taking Ciudad Juarez in the spring of 1911, these armies coerced Diaz to resign and made Madero president (“Mexican Revolution”). Diaz’s parting words were, “Madero has unleashed the tiger; let’s see if he can tame it” (“Mexican Revolution (1910-1920)”).

These words proved prophetic. Despite a “near unanimous margin” in the election, Madero quickly faced crippling threats to his presidency (Tuck). South of Mexico City, in Morelos, Zapata gave land to peasants taken by force from the estate holders. Villa insisted on drastic social and political change from his position in the north. In response to the interests of his elite class supporters, Madero “opposed radical reforms and encouraged his rural supporters to regain their lands through legal and institutional means” (“Mexican Revolution (1910-1920)”). Zapata retaliated with his Plan of Ayala. The Plan called for agrarian reform, denounced Madero, and coined the revolution’s main slogan: Land and Liberty (“Mexican Revolution (1910-1920)”). Even Orozco moved against Madero, leading a “band of counterrevolutionary white guards defending big ranchers, and their vast land holdings” (Tuck).

To help combat the opposition, Madero recruited the services of Victoriano Huerta. Huerta “could be considered Madero’s Grant—if Grant had staged a coup and overthrown Lincoln” (Tuck). Huerta destroyed Orozco’s forces and sentenced Pancho Villa to death. At the last minute Huerta received a reprimand from Madero and Villa was imprisoned in Mexico City instead. He escaped on Christmas Eve 1912, and fled to El Paso (Tuck).

Huerta began to plot to overthrow Madero. With the support of U.S. Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson and Mexican conservatives, Huerta commenced his coup in February 1913 (“Mexican Revolution (1910-1920)”). Huerta’s forces met that of Felix Diaz outside of Mexico in the battle of La Decena Tragica, or “The Ten Tragic Days”. At the end of the melee, Huerta and Diaz met in Wilson’s office and signed the “Pact of the Embassy”. In it, they “agreed to conspire against Madero and to install Huerta as president” (“Mexican Revolution”). The following day Huerta took power, arrested Madero, and assassinated him a few days later (“Mexican Revolution”).

Huerta was not an impressive leader. His “time in office ushered in a period of chaotic and extreme political violence, with the conflict assuming aspects of a civil war rather than an ideologically driven revolutionary struggle” (“Mexican Revolution (1910-1920)”). Because of this, Pancho Villa, Alvaro Obregon, and Venustiano Carranza formed a shaky alliance and put forth the Plan de Guadalupe. This called for Huerta’s resignation from the presidency. These rebel forces came together in Mexico City in the spring and summer of 1914, forcing Huerta out. Against Villa’s objections, Carranza decided to name himself president on August 20. “Anarchy and bloodshed ensued” until it was determined by Villa, Obregon, and Zapata that Villa’s rivalry with Carranza made stability impossible (“Mexican Revolution (1910-1920)”). Eulalio Gutierrez was elected interim president. Villa and Zapata backed Gutierrez while Obregon aligned himself with Carranza. In April 1915, Carranza and Villa fought at Celaya. Villa lost ground politically and blamed his defeat on President Woodrow Wilson for supposedly supporting Carranza. His ensuing vendetta against Americans resulted in the execution of “about 17 U.S. citizens at Santa Isabel in January 1916, and his raid on Columbus, N.M., two months later…claim[ing] the lives of some 17 Americans” (“Mexican Revolution”).

Carranza again became president. He formed a constitutional convention that drafted the constitution of 1917. The new constitution “embod[ied] the aspirations of more radical revolutionaries that attacked large landholders, the church, and foreign capitalist” (“Mexican Revolution (1910-1920)”). Under this new constitution, Carranza became the first constitutionally elected president since Madero. To protect his power, Carranza killed Zapata in 1919. Despite this, confrontations arose, and in 1920 he was killed while trying to flee the capital. Obregon was elected President in November of 1920 as his replacement. Once in office, Obregon made considerable concessions to end the revolution and was mostly successful (“Mexican Revolution”).

Conclusion

As I said, a small dissertation! What do I see when I look over this? I see a country’s sad violent, bloody, and chaotic past. No wonder the Marez and Luna families are so different in Bless Me, Ultima. Conflict between the natives and the Spanish lasted until after their separation from Spain. Then, on top of struggling with the ramifications of their new nationality, Texas declared itself a separate country. Then in the Mexican-American war practically half of Mexico because part of the U.S. Where does that leave them? Not American enough to be accepted as Americans, but not in the right location to be Mexicans. Ever an optimist, I like to think that we have progressed as a society towards greater understanding of differences. I admittedly know practically nothing about politics in modern Mexico (big surprise, I know) but I plan on looking into it. If nothing else, I know have more respect for a country that has constantly fought for the rights of its people.

Works Cited

de la Teja, Jesus. “Mexican War of Independence.” Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Web. 20 Apr 2013. < http://www.tshaonline.org>.

“Mexican-American War.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. 2013. Web. 20 Apr 2013. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/379134/Mexican-American-War>.

“Mexican-American War.” History. A&E Television Networks, LLC. Web. 20 Apr 2013. <http://www.history.com/topics/mexican-american-war>.

“Mexican Revolution.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. 2013. Web. 20 Apr 2013. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/379097/Mexican-Revolution>.

“Mexican Revolution (1910-1920).” International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. 2008. Web. 20 Apr. 2013. <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

“Mexican War of Independence.” Heritage History. Heritage-History, n.d. Web. 20 Apr 2013. <http://www.heritage-history.com>.

“Mexican War of Independence.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 13 Mar 2013. Web. 20 Apr 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_War_of_Independence>.

“Mexico.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. 2013. Web. 20 Apr 2013. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/379167/Mexico>.

Tuck, Jim. “The Mexican Revolution: A Nation in Flux.” Mexconnect. 9 Oct 2008. Web. 20 Apr. 2013. <http://www.mexconnect.com>.

“War (1846-1848).” U.S.-Mexican War. KERA, 14 Mar 2006. Web. 20 Apr 2013. <http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar>.