Mexican Revolution - United States Involvement

United States Involvement

In the ten-year span that the United States was involved in the Mexican Revolution, groups such as the Red Cross were able to help the Mexican people. The interests among United States citizens in Mexico during the revolution, on the other hand, were mostly representative of the United States politicians. Economic interests in Mexico from 1910-1920 had decided what United States policy toward Mexico during that period would be.

At the turn of the 20th century, United States citizens and corporations held about 27% of Mexican land. By 1910 United States investment in the country—such as land, railroads, mines, factories, etc.--had increased even more, pushing President Woodrow Wilson to intervene in Mexican affairs because the revolution was negatively impacting the Mexican economy, thereby endangering United States business interests. Twice during the Revolution the United States sent troops into Mexico.

The first time was in 1914, during the Ypiranga incident. When United States intelligence agents discovered that the German merchant ship Ypiranga was carrying illegal arms to Huerta, President Wilson ordered troops to the port of Veracruz to stop the ship from docking. He did not declare war on Mexico. The United States forces then skirmished with Huerta's troops in Veracruz. The Ypiranga managed to dock at another port, which infuriated Wilson. The ABC Powers arbitrated and U.S. troops left Mexican soil, but the incident added to already tense United States–Mexico relations.

In 1916, in retaliation for Pancho Villa's raid on Columbus, New Mexico, and the death of 16 United States citizens, President Wilson sent forces commanded by Brig. Gen. John J. Pershing into Mexico to capture Villa. Villa was deeply entrenched in the mountains of northern Mexico, and knew the terrain too well to be captured. Pershing was forced to abandon the mission and return to the United States. This event, however, further damaged the already strained United States–Mexico relationship and caused Mexico's anti-United States sentiment to grow stronger. Some historians believed the United States government invested too much in the Mexican issue and violated its own avowed neutrality.