Revolution of 1910.—Political discontent finally culminated in armed rebellion, and this, in turn, was the occasion for a gen eral upheaval. Diaz's announcement in 1908 that he would wel come opposition in the next campaign was the inspiration of Fran cisco I. Madero to initiate a political crusade in which he con demned presidential succession and demanded effective suffrage. Madero was nominated by the anti-re-electionists, but was arrested for sedition in June 1910. Escaping to Texas he issued a plan which, in addition to his original proposals for political reforms, included a demand for agrarian reforms. The incorporation of this plank caught the ear of the downtrodden masses who promptly gave Madero their support upon his return to Mexico. Hence forth the aims of the revolution were chiefly socio-economic and not political in character. Diaz attempted to suppress the revo lution by force, but failing resorted to promises and belated re forms. These likewise were futile, and he resigned on May 25, 1911, and soon left Mexico forever.
After a short provisional presidency, Madero was inaugurated as constitutional president on Nov. 6, 1911. His administration was characterized by weakness and blunders. When he made con cessions to the old Diaz party he lost the support of those who had rebelled to secure political reforms; when he did nothing to achieve agrarian reforms, he aroused the active antagonism of the masses. Rebellions flared up, resulting in chaotic conditions by 1912. President Taft prohibited the shipment of arms to Madero's opponents and advised Americans to leave Mexico.
A Conservative counter-revolution, headed by Victoriano Hu erta, met with success in Feb. 1913. The forced resignations of President Madero and Vice President Suarez on Feb. 19, enabled Huerta to seize executive power through constitutional forms. Three days later Madero and Suarez were executed. Huerta, how ever, faced insuperable obstacles. President Wilson refused to recognize him because of his usurpation of authority and because of holding him responsible for the political executions. From within he was opposed by the disappointed masses, led by Car ranza, Villa and Zapata, who had joined the revolution to obtain social and agrarian reforms. They were aided indirectly by the troubles of Huerta with the United States. At Tampico an af front to an American naval officer prompted an official demand that the United States flag be saluted. Huerta's refusal was fol lowed by the American seizure of Veracruz (April 21, 1914). Huerta had already been embarrassed by the mission of John Lind, who had been sent to Mexico by President Wilson to induce him to assent to his own elimination, and the seizure of Vera cruz led to the severance of diplomatic relations with the United States. Argentina, Brazil and Chile proffered their good offices,
which were accepted, but the Niagara Falls Conference that fol lowed failed to agree on a provisional president. Huerta was fi nally forced to resign on July 14, Carranza President.—Between the revolutionary leaders who co-operated to overthrow Huerta, a dreary and sanguinary civil war developed which produced a flock of presidential pretenders and further delayed much-needed agrarian reforms. These came finally in a provisional decree issued by Carranza on Jan 6, 1915. It provided, where practicable, for the restitution to villages of ejidos illegally alienated in the past and for the expropriation of lands necessary to endow with ejidos other villages in need of them. The effect of this, the first constructive act of the revolu tion, was the crystallization of revolutionary sentiment in support of Carranza which, in turn, won for him the recognition of the United States and eight associated Latin-American republics as de facto president of Mexico. This success piqued Villa, who, in a deliberate attempt to involve Carranza in international dif ficulties, perpetrated the massacre of 18 American miners at Santa Isabel (Jan. 1o, 1916) and the raid on Columbus, New Mexico (March 9), in which 17 Americans were killed. The Pershing punitive expedition of 12,000 troops immediately but ineffectually pursued Villa far into northern Mexico, much to the embarrass ment of Carranza. The American expedition was finally with drawn (Feb. 5, 1917) but not before it had been attacked by Car ranza's forces, at which time several Americans were killed and a score captured (June 21, 1916). Meanwhile, the success of Car ranza made possible the crystallization of other revolutionary aims less urgent than those relating to agrarian reforms. Accord ingly, when a constituent assembly at Queretaro drafted a new Constitution early in 1917, it not only incorporated substantially the Carranza provisional decree of 1915, but made provision for the realization of the less urgent revolutionary aims, namely, the return to the national ownership of subsoil deposits, the limita tion of the acquisition of agricultural property by foreigners, and the effecting of reforms similar in principle to the reform laws of Juarez and Lerdo de Tejada.