In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

25 Gen. Victoriano Huerta overthrew President Francisco Madero, who was then subsequently assassinated, a mere two weeks before Woodrow Wilson became president of the United States. Although President Wilson had paid little attention to Mexico before he took office, he considered Madero an idealist who had deserved American support. Madero was precisely the type of leader Wilson would have appreciated—a moderate reformer who supported a constitutional democratic republic. Instead, Wilson found himself facing a general who had taken power by alternately ignoring and manipulating his country’s constitution and had then apparently ordered his predecessor’s murder. For the next two and a half years, guided by the influence of covenant theology, Wilson tried first to free Mexico from Huerta’s grip on power and then to direct Mexico toward a government built on a respect for constitutional law.1 Wilson first heard of Huerta’s coup d’etat from a reporter while in Princeton preparing his inaugural address. The reporter, David Lawrence, later noted that Wilson told the press accompanying him that “he did not believe any harm would befall either Madero or [Vice President Pino] Suárez.” When he learned of their deaths, the president-elect “was deeply shocked.” According to Helen Bones, a visiting cousin, Wilson and his family worried that the new U.S. president would be under pressure to intervene militarily to restore order in Mexico. Wilson was especially concerned because he feared that a war begun before his administration took shape would squelch any chance of passing reform measures, since Congress would be more concerned with winning the war than with improving domestic conditions. “CousinW.says,”reportedMrs.Bones,“thatthere’snochanceofprogressandreform in an administration in which war plays the principle [sic] part.”2 3 Debating What to Do, March–October 1913 26 Leading them to the Promised Land To Wilson, the Mexican coup was a blatant threat to Mexico’s governing covenant . An elected administration had been overthrown by force, with the murders of Madero and his vice president only adding insult to the offense. Moreover, the apparent involvement of the American ambassador in the coup made the United States at least partially responsible. When Wilson took office in March 1913, he did his best to immediately distance himselffromthenewMexicanregime.UponWilson’sinauguration,Huertasenthim a polite, somewhat fawning, congratulatory note. Carefully feeling their way in new roles, Wilson and his secretary of state, William Jennings Bryan, discussed replies to Huerta’s message. After a few days’ delay, Wilson sent a somewhat curt telegram statingsimply,“Ithankyouforyourcordialcongratulations.”Toavoidgrantingeven the smallest semblance of official recognition to Huerta’s regime, Wilson addressed his reply to “General V. Huerta, Mexico City” without making reference to Huerta’s claim to be Mexico’s president. The U.S. Navy ships sent by Taft to Mexican waters to protect American citizens in Mexico were still in place when Wilson took office. After a short discussion with his cabinet, Wilson ordered them to remain, judging that Huerta might mistakenly view their withdrawal as a sign of U.S. support and confidence that Mexico’s new strongman would restore order there.3 A few days after his reply to Huerta, Wilson issued his first official statements on Washington’s relations with Latin America, statements that set the tone of his policies toward the rest of the hemisphere. Wilson’s cabinet was concerned by a rumor that several Latin American rebel groups and ambitious generals saw Wilson’s election as an opportunity to overthrow unpopular governments without fear of U.S. intervention. According to the rumor, some Latin American countries interpreted Wilson’s denunciation, during the presidential campaign, of President Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy as an announcement of a new laissez-faire foreign policy. In discussions with his cabinet on a message to end such speculation, Wilson favored “severely criticizing” several countries by name. The final message, however, was worded more vaguely. Wilson declared that the United States supported “the orderly processes of just government based upon law, not upon . . . irregular force.” Wilson also aimed his message at Huerta, while not naming the dictator, stating, “We can have no sympathy with those who seek to seize the power of government to advance their own personal interests or ambition.”4 Wilson’s message struck several themes from his covenantal view of government. Besides condemning leaders who governed to enrich themselves, he reiterated that the United States would cooperate only with “orderly, just government[s] based upon law, not upon arbitrary or irregular force.” Just government, he noted, “rests...

Share