Causes
What was the Porfiriato?
Time period in Mexican history (1876-1910) denoting when Porfirio Diaz led Mexico.
Give an example of an economic/administrative target from the Mexican Revolution AND the Russian Revolution (50pts each)
Many different answers.
Economic: Banks, oilfields, land
Administrative: Key cities, communication networks, transportation networks
And more
What was the most enduring legacy of the Mexican Revolution, politically/socially speaking?
The Constitution of 1917
Define the term Tsar and House Romanov (50 pts each)
Tsar: Emperor, derived from Caesar. Name for the leader of Russia.
House Romanov: Name of the ruling house of Russia, historic leaders of the country for over 300 years prior to the revolution.
Who was Francisco Madero, and what was his goal for Mexico (50 pts each)
Who: Middle-Class Intellectual, early leader of the Mexican Revolution. First leader of Mexico after the exile of Porfirio Diaz.
Goal: A truly democratic Mexico, on a model similar to the US or the UK.
Why were many peasants upset prior to the Mexican Revolution? List 2 reasons.
100 pts each
Economic: Land taken away from many peasants (over 70% of Mexicans lived in farmlands) in favor of large landowners
Political: Political repression, rigged voting
Social: Lack of social mobility (Porfirio favored his friends for governmental positions and before the court of law)
What are the 4 factors of success necessary for a revolution to succeed? (50 points per correct answer)
1. Buy in from leaders of society
2. Military control/military loyalty
3. Control of key administrative/economic targets.
4. Establishing legitimacy
What were the economic effects of both the Mexican and Russian Revolution in regards to food availability?
Food prices soared, as food became more scarce. Many agricultural fields were disrupted (workers busy fighting) or destroyed (warfare is destructive), making less food available for citizens.
Who were the "Bolsheviks?"
Describe their role in the Russian Revolution (100 points each)
Political party in Russia who advocated for Communism and led in the overthrow of the Russian Provisional Government.
A ballad in the traditional Mexican style
Contextualize Russia's economic situation prior to the Russian Revolution.
Poor. Russia was experiencing major financial troubles due to war debts from numerous recent defeats (Crimean, Russo-Japanese) and ongoing conflicts (WWI)
How did the Bolsheviks establish military control/loyalty over Russia?
How did the Constitutionalists establish military control/loyalty over Mexico?
150 points for each correct answer
Bolshevik's Red Army defeated the White Army in the Russian Civil War.
Constitutionalist Army (led by Obregon) defeated the Conventionalist Army (led by Villa and Zapata) in the Mexican Civil War.
Explain 1 environmental effect of the Russian Revolution, and provide its cause.
Massive pollution. The Soviet Government prioritized heavy industry, resulting in large amounts of pollution and other environmental issues associated with heavy industry (water scarcity, health concerns, etc.)
Contextualize Vladimir Lenin's importance to the Russian Revolution
A political radical who supported ideas of communism. Important to the Russian revolution, charismatic leader who many could rally around to overthrow the Tsar initially and the provincial government eventually, as leader of the Bolshevik party.
Finish the quote from Pancho Villa:
"I'm a fighter, not a _______"
Statesmen
Who was Porifirio Diaz? Explain why some liked him, and why some disliked him. (200 pts for each)
President/Most Important Leader of Mexico from 1876-1910
Why Disliked: Seen as a dictator, undemocratic rule that focused on funneling wealth to elites in Mexican society. Political repression, rigged elections, and taking land from peasants to give to large landowners all made him unpopular.
Why Liked: Brought 30+ years of stability to a then unstable Mexico (reeling from a French invasion, which he helped save Mexico from). Boosted economic growth of Mexico more dramatically than any other leader in Mexican history.
Why were Obregon and Carranza's political ideology more favorable to leaders in Mexican society than the political ideologies of Villa and Zapata?
AKA, why did the Constitutionalists have more success in winning support from leaders in Mexican society than the Conventionalists?
Conservative landowners made up the majority of the leaders of Mexican society during the revolutionary period. These groups were more willing to side with the moderate reforms of Obregon and Carranza (himself a landowner) than the radicals (Villa and Zapata) who championed land reform, which could result in the loss of land for the landowners.
Contextualize 1 similarity in regards to social effects of the Mexican and Russian Revolution
Both achieved greater levels of equality for their citizens than in the past.
In Mexico's case, the Porfiriato was ended, the dominant landowning class lost a lot of their powers, peasants received land and voting rights, and workers gained bargaining rights. All from the Constitution of 1917.
In Russia's case, the Tsar was overthrown, social mobility no longer relied on blood, and an attempt at a classless society occurred.
Define the term communism, and explain its appeal to Russian citizens during the Russian revolution (200pts each)
Communism: A political ideology that advocates for the overthrow of the bourgeoise (ruling class) by the proletariat (working class). End goal is ownership of capital (the factors that produce wealth) by regular people, so a classless society can be possible.
This idea appealed to the Russian people b/c they lived in a society where class meant everything (royal blood meant more than merit). Due to the situation in Russia, many wanted change, a change that wouldn't have classes play such an important role.
Provide historical context to the event "The Convention of Aguascalientes"
Meeting with leaders in Mexico after the fall of the Huerta government where a new government was decided. The Conventionalist (Zapata and Villa) were given the powers to govern Mexico, whereas those who disagreed with the decision, The Constitutionalists (Carranza and Obregon) broke away from the convention and started a Civil War.
Why is WWI so consequential to understanding the causes of the Russian Revolution? List the political, social, and economic reasons.
(100 pts for each correct one, if all 3, 500pts instead)
Political: The dire military situation showed many average Russian people that the Tsar was an incapable leader, especially when he took charge of the failing army. This caused people to want change, even radical change.
Social: The mass conscription (being forced to fight in the army) and the loss of life caused many to resent the current situation, wanting change, even radical change.
Economic: Higher demand for food (war is exhausting for troops) and the seizure of much of Russia's best agricultural lands caused massive food scarcities and skyrocketing food prices. Causing many to want change, even radical change.
List at list 1 similarity and one difference between how both revolutions succeeded (250pts each)
Many different answers, but:
Difference: Radical faction won in Russia, moderate faction won in Mexico.
Similarity: Both required a military show of dominance through victory in a Civil War.
To what extent was land reform achieved during the Mexican Revolution? Explain.
Varying answers, but somewhere in the middle has to be the answer. Land reform did occur, and land was redistributed, but the first president (Carranza) was hesitant to distribute land (he was a landowner himself, only distributed 13.2 thousand hectares), whereas successive presidents distributed largely unproductive land to peasants. (8% useful land redistributed at best)
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AXv4VUkFKJhYH7uy6xIya83abxPb2RXGz57YgsAwuV4/edit?usp=sharing
Who was the Provincial government, and provide historical context to their importance in the Russian Revolution.
Government that took charge of Russia after the Tsar.
Ineffective government that was seen as unpopular due to continued fight in WWI.
"Land, bread, peace!"
Stole from the rich and gave to the poor, robinhood esque mystique.
Invaded the US and got away with it. Showed that he fought against foreign influence, an issue that plagued Mexico for its entire history.
Successful as a governor of Chihuahua, creating a stable currency and many schools