Carranza As President Of Mexico Villa example essay topic

925 words
Many people have tried to analyze why a man by the name of Fransisco (Pancho) Villa crossed the border into a town called Columbus, New Mexico which he later attacked upon arrival. There have been different explanations on why he entered U.S. territory. Two such explanations that I have come across with are that Villa was angry because he did not receive ammunition that he paid for there and had a desire to revenge himself on US arms speculators who had cheated him and that Villa crossed division lines to go to California and settle there or perhaps to Havana, Cuba and rejoin his legal wife, whom he had already sent there. Another explanation that I read about was that Villa had hope of obtaining German arms and support in return for his attack against the United States. The real reason that I believe motivated Pancho Villa to attack the UnitedStates was revenge. In one of the books that I acquired, it told about one of Villa soldier and what he said in an interview.

He said, My master, Don Pancho Villa, was continually telling us that since the gringos had given him the double-cross he meant not only to get back at them, but to try and waken our country to the danger that was very close to it (F. Katz, 553). This statement given by Villa's soldier provides motives for his attack on the United States. In order to understand why Villa wanted revenge from the United States you would have to go back to when President Woodrow Wilson did not like the President of Mexico, which was Victoria no Huerta. Huerta was turning Mexico into dictatorship and Wilson did not like that. So in this situation the United States was paying really good attention to what was going on in Mexico and who were the ones that were on top. They had learned of Villa's accomplishments and thought it would be best if they would support him.

Wilson thought Villa could one day become the president of Mexico so he ordered General Pershing to meet wit Villa. When they met for the first time in Texas, Villa was very cooperative with the United States thinking that they viewed him as a leader of Mexico. Villa felt that with the United States support he was surely going to become the president of Mexico. Villa and his army joined Venustiano Carranza to fight in the revolution.

Both men wanted to take Huerta out of office. The United States were also looking in on Carranza as an option besides Villa. These two men became powerful leaders by the end of the rebellion, but they ended up hating each other. So Villa led a rebellion on Carranza which ended up in failure.

Villa had lost a lot of his Division of the North. Wilson looking at the outcome of this rebellion recognized Carranza as the president of Mexico. In recognizing Carranza as president of Mexico Villa felt betrayed and that the United States Government was his enemy. The United States no longer allowed Villa to purchase guns on any of the lands near the border of Mexico and on their side of the border. Villa felt that the only way for him to get food and weapons to his people was to take over AguaPrieta. Villa's previous successes in night attacks caused him to have great faith inthe m, but at Agua Prieto the night was turned into day by powerful searchlights, the beams of which not only revealed the oncoming attack, but blinded the attackers (C. Clendenen, 331-332).

Once again Villa felt betrayed by the UnitedStates because they helped Carranza by allowing him to use their railroad to transport his troops and weapons. Also, by allowing Carranza access to the U.S. machine guns and flood lights. After this tragedy Villa and his people felt that if the United States had not intervene and helped Carranza out they would have been victorious. With this thought in mind Villa wanted revenge on the United States and its people. While going in to more familiar territory Villa stopped a train in Chihuahua that contained sixteen American engineers.

He took them captive and they were later executed by his men. Another act of Villa's revenge on the United States came on March of 1916 when he attacked Columbus, New Mexico. Out of revenge and the need of supplies they attacked this town. Only eighteen American lives were lost, but the town was made a total mess. Villa's soldiers raided local store which we repacked with clothing and food supplies, as well as medical supplies. Some of the other things that they took were 80 fine-bred horses, 30 mules, an assortment of military equipment, 300 ma users.

Pancho Villa had high hopes of becoming the president of Mexico and when it was only a hand reach away from him the United States came and spoiled it for him. He was their friend, so he thought. They hit him when he least expected it an dit is only logical that a man in his nature would want revenge. With this revenge Villa also accomplished something that he did not even know, which was that he was cited as the only foreign military personage ever to have successfully invaded continental US territory.