the hacienda system.^129 This social organization endured until the summer of 1810,
when Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, acriollo(creole/Spaniard born in Mexico) parish
priest, rallied a group of followers and started the fight forMexican independence.
Although Hidalgo was executed in 1811, he is known as the“Father of Mexican
Independence.”Actual independence, however, was not achieved until 1821, when
Spain and Mexico negotiated a treaty, called the Plan of Iguala,^130 sometimes
referred to as the Plan of the Three Guarantees. Final freedom came in 1824,
when Mexico became a federal republic under its own constitution. During this
period, Mexico abolished titles of nobility and attempted to introduce measures
that would produce a more democratic society. However, as Johns points out,
“Neither independence from Spain nor the Mexican Revolution changed the basic
structure of social relations in which a small, largely Hispanic elite presided over the
exploitation of the impoverished populace.”^131 The historical legacy of class separation
remains evident in contemporary Mexico’s hierarchical social structure.
The next twenty years brought great upheaval to Mexico as the people struggled to
adapt to a new form of government. It was during this period that the territory of
Texas declared its independence from Mexico. Coupled with the U.S. doctrine of
Manifest Destiny, this act proved to be a principal cause of theMexican-American
War, which began on May 13, 1846. In addition to Texas, President Polk, with the
backing of the American people, sought to acquire what amounted to half of
Mexico’s territory. The two countries fought over the land for two years (1846–
1848) in a war that is seldom remembered in the United States but that Mexico con-
siders“its greatest disaster.”^132 According to Krauze,“one still sees traces of the war in
the defensive and distrustful character of Mexican nationalism.”^133
On February 2, 1848, the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo. Its provisions called for Mexico to cede 55 percent of its territory (present-
day Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas, and parts of Colorado, Nevada,
and Utah) in exchange for 15 million dollars in compensation for war-related dam-
age to Mexican property.^134 For Mexicans, the war was a bitter defeat. But for the
United States, it was an example of Manifest Destiny—“to spread the benefits of
democracy to the lesser peoples of the continent.”^135 The war had an impact that
is still felt today. Samora and Simon write,“The Mexican-American War created
unparalleled bitterness and hostility toward the United States, not only in Mexico
but throughout Latin America....Even today, Latin American relationships with
the United States are often marred by suspicion and distrust.”^136 This is reaffirmed
by Krauze’s assertion that Mexicans continue to harbor a deep suspicion of the
United States.^137
The next period of Mexico’shistorycentersontheRevolution of 1910. After over
thirty years of a near continuous, repressive dictatorship under President Porfirio
Díaz, the Mexican people revolted. During Díaz’sruleMexico’s elite saw their
wealth grow, while the living standards of the poor continually declined. At the
time of the Revolution,“90 percent of Mexico’s mestizos and Indians were still des-
perately poor on the ranches and haciendas of a handful of wealthy land owners.”^138
The Revolution ushered in widespread social change because it“rejected Europe as
a model, asserted an Indian identity for Mexico, and committed the government to
providing security for peasants and workers by redistributing land and income.”^139
One of the revolt’s leading figures, Emiliano Zapata, remains a national hero
among the Mexican general populace.Contemporary Social Issues 187Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).