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ix I wish to acknowledge many of those who gave me support and help in writing this book. Any mistakes that crept into my writing are, of course, my fault and not theirs. Kent State University Press was wonderfully supportive. Joyce Harrison and my editor, Dr. Mary Ann Heiss, gave a nervous first-time author lots of support (and many suggestions), as did Mary Young, the Press’s managing editor. Thank you to Dr. John Mulder, both for his book Woodrow Wilson: The Years of Preparation, which inspired me to study Wilson’s religious background, and for his kind words regarding my dissertation, from which this book evolved. Dr. Mulder put me in contact with Dr. Malcolm Magee, who, like me and Dr. John Rinehart, wrote his dissertation on Wilson’s covenant theology; the fact that these fellow historians regarded my dissertation as a useful source gave me the push I needed to develop my research into this book. Several scholars of Mexican history were kind enough to help me during my initial research. Dr. Douglas Richmond answered my questions about Carranza’s nationalism. Dr. Louis Sadler generously responded to my letter with a lengthy phone call to review sources with me. Dr. Friedrich Katz not only spent valuable phone time answering my questions but also sat with me at an AHA conference to discuss my research. Dr. Barbara Tenenbaum at the Library of Congress’s Hispanic Reading Room answered questions, discussed my ideas, and otherwise proved invaluable. Her colleagues in the Manuscript Division, the Newspaper Reading Room, the Prints and Photographs Division, the Jefferson Reading Room, and the Motion Picture Collection likewise gave me invaluable help in tracking down and recommending material. I used several translators for the Mexican newspapers I found among the State Department papers in the archives. Maryanne Kasper in particular spent a lot of time on the many articles I gave her, and even found one in a 1910 Spanish magazine for me. The staff at the National Archives were helpful in tracking down material in both the commonly used and rarely seen collections. I am grateful for the patience of the staff members in the microfilm reading room in keeping my overworked microfilm copying machine up and running above and beyond the load it was normally asked to handle. Acknowledgments x acknowledgments I have been fortunate to study under a number of exceptional professors. Dr. Robert Bowers at Hanover College taught me a lot about being a history teacher. I regret that he passed away before I completed my graduate studies and that I was the last of many history Ph.D. candidates he inspired. Dr. John Trout at Hanover taught me how much fun it is to be a historian, a lesson that has proved continually helpful in both teaching and researching. Drs. Allen Spetter and Richard Swann at Wright State gave me the confidence to go for the Ph.D. and prepared me for a demanding doctoral program. My parents helped me through years of school and never asked, “Aren’t you finished yet?” They also scooped up every piece of Wilsonia in the antique stores of two states for me to furnish my office with and to give me inspiration. Of all the professors I studied under, I owe the most by far to Ohio University’s Dr. Alonzo Hamby. His encouragement, patience, and faith were invaluable to me in finishing this book, and I owe him a debt I simply can never, ever repay. Thank you, sir. My biggest debt is to my wife, Annette. Her love, support, and faith gave me all the strength I could ever want, and she spent more hours than either of us want to repeat copying books, articles, newspapers, and documents for me over the years. She also spent uncounted hours editing and reviewing my drafts. Our vacations centered on what library I could visit, and she was always there, always helping. It is to these last two, Alonzo Hamby and my wife, Annette, that I dedicate this book. ...

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