War of the Words: Propaganda, Public Opinion, and Revolutionary Mexico during the Great War

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Needham, M. (2017). War of the Words: Propaganda, Public Opinion, and Revolutionary Mexico during the Great War. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

In August 1914, Mexico was between war and revolution. The defeat of Victoriano Huerta marked a turning point in the Mexican Revolution as Venustiano Carranza came to power. At the same time, Britain severed German telegraph cables to the Americas. From that point forward, Mexico – as a neutral power – was caught in the middle of a propaganda war between the Allies and Germany. This thesis examines how the First World War was portrayed in Mexican papers from 1914 to 1919. I argue that the portrayal of the war was strongly influenced by forces outside of the control of the press. Through examining both pro-Ally (aliadófilo) and pro-German (germanófilo) papers, as well as other primary documentation such as State Department records, it is clear that foreign propaganda as well as censorship from the Carranza regime altered how the war was presented. In turn, foreign involvement and government censorship added to the growth of pro-German sentiments in the press as solidarity with the Allies dwindled. This work also challenges other notions such unified Constitutionalist support for the German cause, periodization, and the role of the U.S. blacklists in the press.

Details
Author

Needham, Matthew

Title

War of the Words: Propaganda, Public Opinion, and Revolutionary Mexico during the Great War

Physical Description

1 online resource (80 pages) : PDF

Date

2017

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

In August 1914, Mexico was between war and revolution. The defeat of Victoriano Huerta marked a turning point in the Mexican Revolution as Venustiano Carranza came to power. At the same time, Britain severed German telegraph cables to the Americas. From that point forward, Mexico – as a neutral power – was caught in the middle of a propaganda war between the Allies and Germany. This thesis examines how the First World War was portrayed in Mexican papers from 1914 to 1919. I argue that the portrayal of the war was strongly influenced by forces outside of the control of the press. Through examining both pro-Ally (aliadófilo) and pro-German (germanófilo) papers, as well as other primary documentation such as State Department records, it is clear that foreign propaganda as well as censorship from the Carranza regime altered how the war was presented. In turn, foreign involvement and government censorship added to the growth of pro-German sentiments in the press as solidarity with the Allies dwindled. This work also challenges other notions such unified Constitutionalist support for the German cause, periodization, and the role of the U.S. blacklists in the press.

Genre

masters theses

Subjects--Topics

History

Subjects--Places

America
Latin America
Europe

Degree

M.A.

Keywords

Aliadófilo
Germanófilo
Mexican Revolution
Propaganda
Venustiano Carranza
World War One

Subject Area

History

Advisor(s)

Buchenau, Jürgen

Committee Members

de la Torre, Oscar
Wilson, Mark

Degree Note

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2017.

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Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Needham_uncc_0694N_11585

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:1329