T
he first half of the 20th century
was a time of tumultuous change
for peoples throughout the
world. The most cataclysmic events of
the period—World War I, the Great
Depression, World War II—were world-
wide in scope and affected all Americans,
including Hispanic Americans. In addi-
tion, certain events of more restricted
scope were of particular importance to
Hispanic Americans, including the
Mexican Revolution, the Spanish Civil
War, and the crafting of the Good
Neighbor Policy between the United
States and Latin America. These events
contributed in various ways to the grow-
ing tide of Hispanic migration to the
United States. Civil turmoil in Latin
countries drove waves of refugees, while
the policies of the United States regard-
ing Latin America shaped the conditions
under which immigration took place.
A REVOLUTION IN MEXICO
The Mexican Revolution (1910–1940)
created modern Mexico. At the cost of
decades of civil war and political turmoil,
with more than 1 million people killed
from 1910 to 1920, the Mexican people
won some of the long-sought political
benefits that had eluded them since inde-
pendence from Spain: an enduring con-
stitution (the Constitution of 1917), a
democratic system of government fea-
turing an orderly transfer of power, sepa-
ration of church and state, greater
freedom from foreign control of their
domestic economy, and improvements in
the rights and material conditions of
workers and Native American peoples.
The personalities of the revolution were
larger than life, from the cruel Mexican
dictator it overthrew, Porfirio Díaz, to
revolutionary leaders like Francisco
“Pancho” Villa and Emiliano Zapata. The
revolution’s chaos and violence prompted
more than one episode of U.S. interven-
tion and drove hundreds of thousands of
Mexican refugees across the border into
the United States. It also marked the
beginning of a century of rapid growth in
the Mexican-American population.Díaz’s Dictatorship
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz (1830–1915)
first earned fame as a soldier, fighting the
United States in the U.S.-Mexican War
and the French at the Battle of Puebla on
Cinco de Mayo. After failing to win the
presidency in the elections of 1867 and
1871, General Díaz led an unsuccessful
revolution (1871–1872). He revolted
again in 1876, this time successfully over-
throwing the government of President
Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, and had him-
self installed as president in 1877.
Complying with a constitutional provision
that prohibited immediate reelection, he
stepped down in 1880, allowing a surro-
gate to take power in his stead. In 1884
Díaz was reelected and had the constitu-
tion amended so that he could remain in
office indefinitely. By 1911 he had been
president for 27 consecutive years and
had held sway over Mexico for 35 years.
Díaz ruled as a dictator, repressing
dissent vigorously. Opposition politicians
were assassinated, and journalists critical
of his regime were jailed or forced into
exile. Díaz’s repressive methods yielded a
rough orderliness, as his rural police, the
rurales, cracked down violently on ban-
dits and rebels. To some Mexicans this
Pax Porfiriana, or “Porfirian Peace,” was
a welcome change from the frequent rev-
olutions of previous years. Further, the
peace enabled Díaz to concentrate on
modernizing and developing Mexico as
no previous leader had done.
Devoted to positivism, a contempo-
rary philosophy that emphasized rational
policies and social order, Díaz and his
ministers reorganized the nation’s
finances, balancing the budget and restor-
ing foreign trust in the Mexican govern-
ment’s credit. Díaz encouraged foreign
investment on a vast scale, attracting for-
eign capital with tax and legal breaks and
welcoming immigration from Europe.The Age of World Wars
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