Name ___________________ Date ______ Per ___New World Independence Movement Leader

Person 1: What characteristics of Miguel Hidalgo made him a successful leader? In what ways did he shape the revolution?

Person 2: What characteristics of Jose Morelos made him a successful leader? In what ways did he shape the revolution?

Person 3: What characteristics of Agustin Iturbide made him a successful leader? In what ways did he shape the revolution?

Person 4: Describe 4-5 events of the Mexican War for Independence.

Person 5: Effects: What problems did Mexico face after independence? How did these create modern problems today?

TASK 2: When you are done with your individual roles, decide the order of who is presenting which

information Complete the graphic organizer as a group what is most important to represent in a 5-10 minute

presentation to the class

Three Leaders & the Division of the Mexican Revolution

Miguel Hidalgo

"Indians, mulattos or other castes ... all will be known as

Americans”

Jose Morelos

“May slavery be banished forever together with the

distinction between castes, all remaining equal, so

Americans may only be distinguished by vice or

virtue... In the new laws, may torture not be allowed.”

Agustin Iturbide

“I was shot by my own people because I was such a bad

ruler”

The Mexican Revolution was started by a 60-year-old priest. Father Miguel Hidalgo was an enlightened creole who was very sympathetic to the poorer classes. He was a fiery orator and made his famous speech, “Grito De Delores”, on his Church steps. In it, he railed against the “shameful tax, which only suits slaves, for three centuries as a sign of tyranny and servitude.” This speech was put into pamphlets and distributed throughout the countryside, where many people were introduced to the enlightenment ideas of equality and the virtues of independence. In 1810 Hidalgo led a group of indigenous and mestizo peasants armed with farm tools in a revolt against the dominant peninsulares. As he marched on Guanajuato, the army numbered around 50,000. These mobs ransacked stores and mansions and viciously killed even surrendering Spaniards. Creoles joined with the Spanish against Hidalgo and captured him on March 21, 1811. He was executed by firing squad in July. Unfortunately for the Spanish, it was too late - the fight for independence was started.

Jose Morelos picked up the torch of the revolution. He was also a priest with a great ability to organize the number of independent Native American chieftains across Mexico. Napoleon Bonaparte said this about him: “ … with three such men as Morelos, I could conquer the world.” Morelos soon showed himself to be a talented strategist, and became one of the greatest revolutionary military commanders of the war. In his first nine months, he won 22 victories, annihilating the armies of three Spanish royalist leaders and dominating almost all of what is now the state of Guerrero.

He also had his eye on the future and felt that he needed to establish a republican government immediately, even though all of Mexico was not yet free. He created a Congress that wrote a new Constitution which abolished slavery and established the equality of all social classes. Torture, monopolies and the system of tributes were also abolished Morelos was offered the title

"Generalissimo" with the style of address "Your Highness", but he refused these and asked to be called "Siervo de la Nación" (Servant of the Nation).

Once the Congress was created, he chose to escort this group of representatives to another town with better military protection. It was on this enterprise Morelos met his downfall. It was said that he noticed they were being trailed by a large Spanish force, so he lead a small diversionary force to lead the Spanish away from the Congress. His sacrifice led him to be captured and executed.

After ten years of civil war and the death of two of its founders, by early 1820 the independence movement was stalemated and looked like it was about to collapse. The rebels faced stiff Spanish military resistance and the apathy of many of the most influential creoles. The violent excesses and populist zeal of Hidalgo's and Morelos's irregular armies had reinforced many creoles fears of race and class warfare, until a new military leader calmed their fears: Agustín de Iturbide. Although Iturbide was born a mestizo, he managed to buy false credentials to give him the appearance of being a Creole. He convinced the Congress and local Creoles that under his guidance, the revolution would be successful and bring even greater wealth to the Creoles. He backed away from some of the more radical aspects of the revolution such as the end of slavery and abolishment of social classes. With this, the Creoles joined the revolution, successfully repelled the Spanish, and gained independence.

Mexican hopes that independence would bring a modernized economy and more egalitarian society were not realized in the next century. Iturbide bullied Congress into making him “emperor for life”. He tried to imposed the etiquette of a monarchy, such as making visitors kiss his hand. He gave over 80% of the tax revenues to the military. Nothing was invested in restarting the economy – even though farms and textile mills had been destroyed and the silver mines had been flooded by the retreating Spanish. When a military coup forced the emperor to abdicate his majestic office only 8 months after coronation, Mexico’s debt was as remarkable (75 million pesos!) as the disarray of its government.

After this, Mexico experimented with a variety of new governments but was unable to find one that was effective. In the first 40 years, Mexico had more than 50 governments. One of the biggest problems with the governments was that military heroes with no administrative experience were elected to – or grabbed – control of government offices. These leaders would continue to spend more money on the military than revenues could sustain, while providing inept leadership.