The growing intimacy of relations during the long presidency of Diaz, indicated by many international agreements, culminated in a gen eral treaty of arbitration and the meeting of Taft and Diaz in 1910.
Relations again became strained after 1911 in connection with the collapse of the Diaz government and by conditions of the Maderista revolution, both in Mexico and along the bor der, which were a source of much concern to the United States.
The American government under President Taft, although it mobilized troops on the fron tier, declined to intervene and with difficulty maintained neutrality — both before and after it recognized the new government of Madero, which was finally overthrown in February 1913 by Felix Diaz and General Huerta. In 1912 the rumor of Japanese plans to secure a har bor at Magdalena Bay caused the Senate to pass an opposing resolution which, however, was not accepted by President Taft.
Under President Wilson's new policy of using non-recognition as a means of discour aging the establishment of governments based on force and violence, the American govern ment refused to recognize Huerta, unsuccess fully urged an early free election in Mexico, warned Americans to leave that country and vigorously demanded both the de facto govern ment of Huerta and insurrectionists to respect lives and property of Americans.
In April 1914, after a series of irritations and insults it sought reparation by a naval and military force which occupied Vera Cruz; but, with certain restrictions, it promptly ac cepted friendly mediation of the A B C powers of South America (Argentine, Brazil and Chile) which in May 1914 considered plans for settlement of the internal and external diffi culties of Mexico.
Finally, after the failure of an appeal (by a Latin-American conference at Washington) to the rival factions to settle their differences, the American government, on 19 Oct. 1915, recognized the Carranza government as t.e de facto government of Mexico.
In March 1916 a new trouble arose from an attack of Villistas on the American town of Columbus, N. Mex., instigating the Ameri can government to send a punitive American force under General Pershing into Mexico in hot pursuit. Carranza protested and insisted upon withdrawal while the United States, re fusing to recede from a settled determination to maintain its national right and its duty to remove the peril, called 150,000 militia to the border. The situation during a period of nego tiations was complicated by a new raid of Mexican bandits into Texas. An encounter with Mexican troops, resulting in casualties on both sides and capture of 17 Americans as prisoners, threatened to produce a final crisis which was averted only by Mexican acquies cence in the American demand for immediate release of the prisoners. The strain of the
situation continued until complications were solved by agreement upon a joint commission of six members, who, however, could not reach an acceptable plan of action. Early in 1917, the American government, after gradually with drawing American troops, sent an ambassador to the Mexican government of Carranza under whose auspices preparations for better condi tions were begun by the adoption of a new national Constitution.
Later relations were affected by conditions relating to the World War. In February 1917 when the American government was becoming more determined in its resistance to Germany's piratical acts against American rights upon the seas, Mexico proposed to neutrals to invite the European belligerents to terminate the conflict, or, in case of failure, to reduce the conflagra tion by refusing any kind of implements and by suspending commercial relations. In reply the American government, declining the pro posal, exposed a recently discovered plot of the German government to induce Mexico . to negotiate an alliance with Japan for liar agues the United States by offering Mexico as the price of her co-operation with Germane recovery of territory ceded to the United Stitt. in 1848. Although the Mexican goverment denied any participation in the plot, Gerran influence in Mexico continued immicar to the United States.
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