In the summer of 1914,the dictator resigned and fled from the capital,leaving the field to Carranza.For six years the new president,recognized by the United States,held a precarious position which he vigorously strove to strengthen against various revolutionary movements.At length in 1920,he too was deposed and murdered,and another military chieftain,Obregon,installed in power.
These events right at our door could not fail to involve the government of the United States.In the disorders many American citizens lost their lives.American property was destroyed and land owned by Americans was confiscated.A new Mexican constitution,in effect nationalizing the natural resources of the country,struck at the rights of foreign investors.Moreover the Mexican border was in constant turmoil.Even in the last days of his administration,Mr.Taft felt compelled to issue a solemn warning to the Mexican government protesting against the violation of American rights.
President Wilson,soon after his inauguration,sent a commissioner to Mexico to inquire into the situation.Although he declared a general policy of "watchful waiting,"he twice came to blows with Mexican forces.In 1914someAmerican sailors at Tampico were arrested by a Mexican officer;the Mexican government,although it immediately released the men,refused to make the required apology for the incident.As a result President Wilson ordered the landing of American forces at Vera Cruz and the occupation of the city.A clash of arms followed in which several Americans were killed.War seemed inevitable,but at this juncture the governments of Argentina,Brazil,and Chile tendered their good offices as mediators.After a few weeks of negotiation,during which Huerta was forced out of power,American forces were withdrawn from Vera Cruz and the incident closed.
In 1916a second break in amicable relations occurred.In the spring of that year a band of Villa's men raided the town of Columbus,New Mexico,killing several citizens and committing robberies.A punitive expedition under the command of General Pershing was quickly sent out to capture the offenders.Against the protests of President Carranza,American forces penetrated deeply into Mexico without effecting the object of the undertaking.This operation lasted until January,1917,when the imminence of war with Germany led to the withdrawal of the American soldiers.Friendly relations were resumed with the Mexican government and the policy of "watchful waiting"was continued.
The United States and the European War
The Outbreak of the War.-In the opening days of August,1914,the age-long jealousies of European nations,sharpened by new imperial ambitions,broke out in another general conflict such as had shaken the world in the days of Napoleon.On June 28,the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was assas-sinated at Serajevo,the capital of Bosnia,an Austrian province occupied mainly by Serbs.With a view to stopping Serbian agitation for independence,Austria-Hungary laid the blame for this incident on the government of Serbia and made humiliating demands on that country.Germany at once proposed that the issue should be regarded as "an affair which should be settled solely between Austria-Hungary and Serbia";meaning that the small nation should be left to the ten-der mercies of a great power.Russia refused to take this view.Great Britain proposed a settlement by mediation.Germany backed up Austria to the limit.To use the language of the German authorities:"We were perfectly aware that a possible warlike attitude of Austria-Hungary against Serbia might bring Rus-sia upon the field and that it might therefore involve us in a war,in accordance with our duties as allies.We could not,however,in these vital interests of Aus-tria-Hungary which were at stake,advise our ally to take a yielding attitude not compatible with his dignity nor deny him our assistance."That made the war inevitable.
Every day of the fateful August,1914,was crowded with momentous events.On the 1st,Germany declared war on Russia.On the 2d,the Germans invaded the little duchy of Luxemburg and notified the King of Belgium that they were preparing to violate the neutrality of his realm on their way to Paris.On the same day,Great Britain,anxiously besought by the French government,promised the aid of the British navy if German warships made hostile demonstrations in the Channel.August 3d,the German government declared war on France.The following day,Great Britain demanded of Germany respect for Belgian neutrality and,failing to receive the guarantee,broke off diplomatic relations.On the 5th,the British prime minister announced that war had opened between England and Germany.The storm now broke in all its pitiless fury.
The State of American Opinion.-Although President Wilson promptly proclaimed the neutrality of the United States,the sympathies of a large major-ity of the American people were without doubt on the side of Great Britain and France.To them the invasion of the little kingdom of Belgium and the horrors that accompanied German occupation were odious in the extreme.Moreover,they regarded the German imperial government as an autocratic power wielded in the interest of an ambitious military party.The Kaiser,William II,and the Crown Prince were the symbols of royal arrogance.On the other hand,many Americans of German descent,in memory of their ties with the Fatherland,openly sympathized with the Central Powers;and many Americans of Irish de-scent,recalling their long and bitter struggle for home rule in Ireland,would have regarded British defeat as a merited redress of ancient grievances.