Amendment. This amendment allowed the United States to intervene in Cuba’s internal affairs when U.S. interests were threatened. As a result of the war, the United States also acquired the island of Puerto Rico from Spain. Beginning 1900, U.S. companies also worked to increase their trade with, and investment in, Latin America. These companies introduced new work methods to Latin America and provided products that many local people wanted to buy. At the same time, they challenged established ways of life and created resentment among farmers, landowners, and workers who felt that U.S. companies benefited at their expense. During the 1920’s and 1930’s, the United States routinely dispatched naval forces to Central America in an effort to protect its business interests there. This practice became known as gunboat diplomacy. The presence of foreign companies, along with such policies as gunboat diplomacy, contributed to a deepening sense of nationalism within Latin America. Political circumstances in the early to mid-1900’s. As the second century of Latin American independence dawned, much had changed in the region. Leaders had established national governments, and economies had expanded. Such cities as Buenos Aires, Lima, Mexico City, and Rio de Janeiro had grown dramatically. These developments contributed to rising social tensions among Latin Americans. Workers in mines and factories and on haciendas wanted higher wages and better working conditions. Urban, middle-class professionals demanded public education and government services. Peasants in the countryside were losing land to railroads and large landowners. And new domestic industries wanted economic protections from foreign competition. In Mexico, such tensions came to a head in 1910, when a liberal politician named Francisco Madero declared himself in rebellion against the government of President Porfirio Díaz. In the interest of modernization, Díaz had built foreign-owned railroads, expanded the size of the government, divided Amerindian lands, and invited U.S. companies to operate in Mexico. Although these policies improved the economy, they hurt the interests of many Mexicans. Madero’s rebellion set off what came to be known as the Mexican Revolution. Two prominent revolutionaries were Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa. Zapata led Amerindians in southern Mexico who wanted to hold communal lands and govern their own communities. Villa led agricultural workers and miners who sought better working conditions, higher wages, and fair treatment from employers, many of which were U.S. companies.
Amendment. This amendment allowed the United States to intervene in Cuba’s internal affairs when U.S. interests were threatened. As a result of the war, the United States also acquired the island of Puerto Rico from Spain. Beginning 1900, U.S. companies also worked to increase their trade with, and investment in, Latin America. These companies introduced new work methods to Latin America and provided products that many local people wanted to buy. At the same time, they challenged established ways of life and created resentment among farmers, landowners, and workers who felt that U.S. companies benefited at their expense. During the 1920’s and 1930’s, the United States routinely dispatched naval forces to Central America in an effort to protect its business interests there. This practice became known as gunboat diplomacy. The presence of foreign companies, along with such policies as gunboat diplomacy, contributed to a deepening sense of nationalism within Latin America. Political circumstances in the early to mid-1900’s. As the second century of Latin American independence dawned, much had changed in the region. Leaders had established national governments, and economies had expanded. Such cities as Buenos Aires, Lima, Mexico City, and Rio de Janeiro had grown dramatically. These developments contributed to rising social tensions among Latin Americans. Workers in mines and factories and on haciendas wanted higher wages and better working conditions. Urban, middle-class professionals demanded public education and government services. Peasants in the countryside were losing land to railroads and large landowners. And new domestic industries wanted economic protections from foreign competition. In Mexico, such tensions came to a head in 1910, when a liberal politician named Francisco Madero declared himself in rebellion against the government of President Porfirio Díaz. In the interest of modernization, Díaz had built foreign-owned railroads, expanded the size of the government, divided Amerindian lands, and invited U.S. companies to operate in Mexico. Although these policies improved the economy, they hurt the interests of many Mexicans. Madero’s rebellion set off what came to be known as the Mexican Revolution. Two prominent revolutionaries were Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa. Zapata led Amerindians in southern Mexico who wanted to hold communal lands and govern their own communities. Villa led agricultural workers and miners who sought better working conditions, higher wages, and fair treatment from employers, many of which were U.S. companies.
Secondary%20Hispanic%20Heritage%20Month%20Resource%20Guide%202015.docx