The History of Modern Mexico/Spring, 2018/Dr. Mark Saad Saka/Sul Ross State University Office: Lawrence Hall 210 Telephone 837-8304 Office Hours: T, Th 10:30-11:45; M, W, F 9:30-:10:45 Objective of the Course This course is designed to introduce you to the sweeping epic of Mexican history. We will examine the political, economic, social, and cultural forces that have shaped Mexico since Independence in 1821. Classroom Requirements: Regular attendance and punctuality is expected. No cell-phones, no texting in class. If you violate this policy you will be asked to leave class. Required Reading Richmond, Douglas W. The Mexican Nation: Historical Continuity & Modern Change, Prentice Hall, 2002. ISBN # 978-013922274 Saka, Mark Saad. For God and Revolution: Priest, Peasant, and Agrarian Socialism in the Mexican Huasteca, University of New Mexico Press, 2013, ISBN # 978-0826353382 There will be five exams in this course including a mandatory final. Each exam will consist of three essays. At the end of the course, your top four exams will be added together and divided by four and this will constitute your grade. 90-100=A; 80-89=B; 70-79=C; 60-69=D; 0-59=F. Primary Learning Objectives The graduating student in history will be able to: 1. The student will be able to develop an informed, critical, and articulate approach to the study of history. 2. The student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of historical events, movements, major turning points and personalities of the past. 3. The student will be able to demonstrate an ability to identify and relate the role that historical interpretations plays in the assessment of the past. 4. The student will be able to write effectively, logically, and persuasively about topics in history. The Primary Learning Objectives (PLO) shall be measured by the administration of four exams, consisting of multiple choice questions which shall assess objectives one and two and two essays which shall assess objectives three and four.
The Americans with Disabilities Act Sul Ross State University is committed to equal access in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1973. It is the student s responsibility to initiate a request for accessibility services. Students seeking accessibility services must contact Grace Duffy in Counseling and Accessibility Services, Ferguson Hall, Room 112. The mailing address is P.O. Box C-171, Sul Ross State University, Alpine, Texas 79832, Telephone Number 432-837-8203. Course Outline Jan. 16-first class day/review syllabus and course. The Colonial Heritage of Mexico Jan. 18-the The challenges of Independence, 1821-1836 Jan. 23- The Texas Secession and War with the United States Jan. 25- film-the Mexico War Jan. 30- The Wars of La Reforma and the French Intervention Feb. 01- The Restored Republic 1867-1876/Review for Exam # 1 Feb. 06-Exam # 1 (covers pages 126-187 in Richmond) Feb. 08-The Porfirato 1876-1910 Feb. 13-The Porfiriato 1876-1910 Feb. 15-The Porfiriato 1876-1910 Feb. 20-The Porfiriato 1876-1910 Feb. 22-Exam # 2 (covers pages 188-206 in Richmond; Book Review of For God and Revolution due) Feb. 27-the Mexican Revolution Mar. 01-The Mexican Revolution March 06-The Mexican Revolution Mar. 08-The Mexican Revolution March 13 and 15-Spring Break-no class Mar. 20-The Mexican Revolution-film Mar. 22-Review for Exam # 3 Mar. 27-Exam # 3 (covers pages 207-294 in Richmond) Mar. 29-Post Revolutionary Mexico 1940-1958 Apr. 03-Post Revolutionary Mexico 1958-1968
Apr. 05- Post-Revolutionary Mexico 1968-1976 April 6 last day to withdraw from class with a grade of W Apr. 10- Post-Revolutionary Mexico 1976-1982 Apr. 12-Exam # 4 (covers pages 295-403 in Richmond) Apr. 17--1982-1994 Apr. 19-Mexico 1994-2000 Apr. 24-Mexico-Economic Integration and Immigration Apr. 26-Modern Mexico-2000-2012: The Rise and Fall of the PAN May 2-last class day May 7-final exam (Exam # 5)
Concepts to Identify for Exam # 1 1. How did the War for Independence shape Mexico s future upon independence? How did Mexico s political and intellectual leaders face the future and what were some of the major philosophical debates about the nature of the Mexican political economy? 2. Why did Mexico fail to maintain control over its Texas province and the Borderlands? What were the forces which encouraged American expansion into Texas and the Mexican Borderlands and what were Mexico s vulnerabilities to these pressures? 3. What were the major components of Mexican Liberalism and Conservatism in the 1840s through 1860s? Who were some of the major intellectual architects of Liberalism and what were their ideas? How did these ideas become enshrined in the Constitution of 1857? How did the Wars of La Reforma tear Mexica apart? 4. Why did France attempt to conquer Mexico? What role did Mexican Conservatives, European imperialists, and the Vatican play in this process? How and why did Maximilian manage to isolate both Mexican Liberals and Mexican Conservatives? Who was Benito Juarez and how did he help lead Mexico to victory against the French armies of Napoleon III? How did the United States assist him in this process? 5. What were some of the major events during the Restored Republic 1867-1876? Who were some of the major politicians if this time? Why did General Porfirio Diaz seek to unseat President Lerdo de Tejada and how did Texas and American elites play a role in Diaz s successful Revolution of Tuxtepec of 1876? Terms to Identify Agustin Iturbide Ramos Arispe The Constitution of 1824 Centralism Federalism Lucas Aleman Jose Maria Mora Conservatism General Guadalupe Victoria General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna President Gomez Farias
The Seven Laws The Imperial Colonization Law od 1823 Empresario Grants The Colonization Law of 1830 The Treaty of Velasco President James Polk Manifest destiny President Jose Joaquin Herrera Ambassador John Slidell General Zachary Taylor General Winfield Scott Colonel Stephen Kearny The Battle for Monterrey The Battle of Buena Vista The Occupation of Veracruz The Revolt of Los Polkos The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Messila Treaty (The Gadsden Purchase) The Revolution of Ayutla Melchor Ocampo Ignacio Comonfort Benito Juarez Miguel Lerdo de Tejada The Constitution of 1857 El Ley Juarez E Ley Lerdo El Ley Iglesia
The Wars de la Reforma Pope Pius IX Archbishop Pelagio Antonio Labastida Emperor Napoleon III Ferdinand Maximilian and Empress Carlotta General Ignacio Zaragoza General Porfirio Diaz The Battle of Puebla (Cinco de Mayo) The Restored Republic 1867-1876 The Veracruz-Mexico city Railroad The Revolt of La Noria 1872 Presdient Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada Charles Stillman Juan Cortina The Revolution of Tuxtepec 1876
Concepts to identify for Exam # 2 1. What role did railroads and the economic integration (agriculture, mining, and finance) with the United States and the world economy play in the Porfirian modernization model? What was the ideology of positivism and how did this world-view shape Mexico s elites on the need for order and progress? What was the goal of the Porfirian development model? 2. How did the Porfirian modernization affect various social classes in Mexico such as the peasantry, the working class, and regional and national elites? How did the peasantry and the working classes resist such a brutal state and economic structure? How did the Porfirian state react to militant social movements? 3. Why did the Mexican state and economy fall into a decade of sustained crisis; 1900-1910? How did this affect various social classes? How did anarchism and nationalism emerge as ideologies of protest against the Porfirian regime? Why did regional elites turn on Porfirio Diaz? 4. Who was Francisco Madero and how did he overthrow Porfirio Diaz? What were his ideas and how did ideas appeal to broader sectors of Mexican society? What role did American petroleum elites play in supporting Madero? Terms to Identify Porfirio Diaz The Porfiriato 1876-1910 Positivism Jose Limantour Order and Progress Beans or Bullets The Rurales Jose Guadalupe Posada Luis Terrazas Padre Mauricio Zavala Juan Santiago The Huastecan Peasant Rebellion 1876-1884 The Yaqui Wars Santa Teresa de Cabora Tomochic Boomers
Anarchism El Gran Circulo de Obreros Libres The Industrial Workers of the World Ricardo and Enrique Flores Magon La Regeneracion Cananea, Sonora Rio Blanco, Veracruz The Mexican Liberal Party (PLM) Francisco Madero The Plan of San Luis Potosi
Concepts to Identify for Exam # 3 1. Why did the Madero administration fail to understand the social forces unleashed by the Revolution against Porfirio Diaz? Why did the Zaptatista armies of southern Mexico continue their revolution? What other social forces that arrayed themselves against Madero; on both the left and the right side of Mexico s political spectrum, including the military? Finally, what role did the United States play in the downfall of Francisco Madero? 2. What social forces comprised the four major armies that turned in General Huerta? Who were the dominant leaders that led the armies and how did they come together to overthrow General Huerta? Following Huerta s downfall, why did these armies turn on each other and what role did the United States play in shaping the outcome of the revolution? Why did the labor unions associated with La Casa del Obrero Mundial side with the conservative forces and turn on Villa s Division del Norte? How did the American involvement in shaping the outcome of the new revolution battles impact Villa s decision to attack Columbus, New Mexico and how did the failed Punitive Expedition influence the Constitution of 1917? 3. How did the Constitution of 1917 represent a synthesis of the various social and political factions that struggled during the revolution? How did organized labor, the peasantry, the Mexican bourgeoisie shape the re-synthesis of Mexico s social classes? How did the administrations of Venestiano Carranza and Alvaro Obregon represent the political triumph of Mexico s conservative classes? What happened to Emiliano Zapata and Francisco Villa? How did the Church react to the anticlericalism of the revolution and how did this set the stage for the Cristero Rebellion of 1926-1929? 4. How did Plutarcho Calles create one-party state that ruled Mexico for seventy years? How did Lazaro Cardenas shift the Mexican Revolution to incorporate the progressive forces of the peasantry, the middle classes, workers, and harness revolutionary nationalism to confront the United States over the control of the oil resources of Mexico? Finally, how did the 1940 election of Avila Camacho represent an end to the Mexican Revolution? Terms to Identify Francisco Madero Emiliano Zapata, El Plan de Ayala, Otilio Montano, Pascual Orozco, Francisco Pancho Villa, Felix Diaz, Bernardo Reyes, The Tragic Ten Days, General Victoriano Huerta, Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson, Venestiano Carranza, Alvaro Obregon, El Division del Norte, President Woodrow Wilson, The Intervention at Veracruz, The Convention of Aguascalientes, Eulalio Gutierrez, La Casa del Obrero Mundial, The Battle of Celaya, Villa s raid on Columbus, New Mexico, General John Pershing and the Punitive Expedition, The Constitution of 1917, Article 3, Article 27, Article 123, Colonel Jesus Guajardo, President Venustiano Carranza, 1916-1920, President Alvaro Obregon, 1920-1924, the Bucarrelli Accords, President Plutarcho Calles, 1924-1928, Luis Morones, CROM, Viva Cristo Rey!, the Cristero Rebellion, Jose de Leon Toral and Madre Conchita, Ambassador Dwight Morrow, The Maximato, 1928-1934, El Partido Nacional Revolucionario (PNR), Presdent Lazaro Cardenas, 1934-1940, the ejido, El Banco de Credito de Trabajadores, Socialist Education, Vicente Lombardo Toledano, Confederacion de Trabajadores de Mexico (CGT), PEMEX, Sinarquismo, Partido de Acion Nacional (PAN), Indianismo, the 1940 election, Francisco Mugica, Availa Camacho, Diego Rivera, David Siquieros, Jose Vascelonos, La Raza Cosmica, Jose Clement Orozco, Frida Khalo, Gregorio Lopez, El Indio
Concepts to Identify for Exam # 4 1. How did the Mexican Revolutionary government evolve into a one-party state and ruling class during the decades from the 1940s through the 1970s? How did a succession of presidents shift the revolution away from its revolutionary principles associated with Lazaro Cardenas, the emphasis on the peasantry and agriculture and towards heavy industry and urbanization? 2. What were some of the achievements and successes of post-revolutionary Mexico? What do we mean by the Mexican Miracle? How did Mexico achieve tremendous success in a number of social and health indicators such as women s rights, literacy, infrastructure, the eradication of major scourges such as polio etc? How did the PRI operate as a political party and what were the strengths and weaknesses of the political system? 3. What happened to the Mexican Miracle? How did financial mismanagement and ensuing political corruption destroy the achievements of the successes? How did achievement sin the urban and industrial sector fail to generate balanced economic growth and how did the rural population explosion undercut the regime s land redistribution policies pursued during the revolution? 4. How does 1968 represent a turning point in modern Mexican history? How did the growing problems of the late 1960 and the presidency of Gustavo Ordaz lead to greater problems under the regime of Luis Echevarria and the 1970s? How did increasing balance of payment problems, recurring currency crises, and lack of sustained job growth send Mexico into an economic tailspin in the 1970s? 5. How did the presidential administration of Jose Lopez Portillo send Mexico into complete bankruptcy between 1976 and 1982? Terms to Identify Manuel Avila Camacho; 1940-1946 Miguel Aleman Valdes; 1946-1952 The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) Adolfo Ruiz Cortines; 1952-1958 Adolfo Lopez Mateos; 1958-1964 Gustavo Diaz Ordaz 1964-1970 Luis Echavaria; 1970-1976 Jose Lopez Portillo; 1976-1982 The Bracero Program 2942-1964 The Dance of the Billionaires The 1958 Railroad Worker s Strike The Cuban Revolution/Cuban Missile Crisis
The 1968 Olympics in Mexico City Tlateloco 1968 Los Tecos The 1976 Peso Devaluation The 1982 Peso Collapse Bankruptcy Concepts to Identify for Exam # 5 1. Between 1982 and 200, Mexican elites dismantled the Mexican Revolution in favor of neo-liberalism and economic integration with the United states through the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as well as abandoning anti-clericalism, the ejido program, labor rights, etc. Why? How did this process take place, who were the major architects, and what impact did regional and international events shape this process? 2. Between 1982 and 2000, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) increasingly lost power, regionally, and finally in the pivotal 2000 election, the loss of the presidency to the National Action Party (PAN)? Please place into context, the `1988 election, the 1994 election, repeated currency crises, etc. Why? How? What role did economic liberalization play in this process? What role did mass media, urbanization, a younger and more educated population play in this historical process? 3. What are major challenges facing Mexico in the twenty-first century? Terms to Identify for Exam # 5 Miguel de la Madrid; 1982-1988 Carlos Salinas de Gotari; 1988-1994 Ernesto Zedillo; 19940-2000 Vicente Fox; 2000-2006 Felipe Calderon; 2006-2012 Enrique Pena Nieto; 2012-2018 Cuahtemoc Cardenahwos The 1985 earthquake The 1988 election The PRI The National Action Party (PAN)
The Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) Technocrats The Border Industrialization Initiative (BIP) Maquiladores The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Luis Donaldo Colossio The 1994 election Chiapas Revolt The 1994 peso collapse The 2000 election