Ten Tragic Days facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ten Tragic Days
Part of the Mexican Revolution
Rebel followers of Félix Díaz in the Mexico City YMCA during the coup against Madero
Date 9–19 February 1913 Location Mexico City Result Rebel victory Assassination of President Francisco I. Madero, and his Vice President, José María Pino Suárez Victoriano Huerta seizes the presidency
Belligerents
(Loyalists) Maderistas	(Rebels) Porfiristas Reyistas Felicistas Supported by: United States German Empire
Commanders and leaders
Lauro Villar Ángel Ortiz Monasterio Victoriano Huerta (9-12 February) Ángel García Peña (WIA) Felipe Ángeles	Félix Díaz Bernardo Reyes   † Manuel Mondragón Aureliano Blanquet Gregorio Ruiz   † Victoriano Huerta (12-19 February) Henry Lane Wilson
Casualties and losses
5,500 dead
Victoriano Huerta switched from Pro-Madero to Anti-Madero during the fighting

The Ten Tragic Days (Spanish: La Decena Trágica) during the Mexican Revolution is the name now given to a multi-day coup d'etat in Mexico City by opponents of Francisco I. Madero, the democratically elected president of Mexico, between 9 - 19 February 1913. It instigated a new phase of the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920).

In the ten days of violence, the aim was to "create the illusion of chaos necessary to induce Madero to step down" from the presidency. Rebels led by General Félix Díaz, nephew of ex-president, Porfirio Díaz, and General Bernardo Reyes, escaped from jail and rallied forces to overthrow President Francisco I. Madero. The coup was strongly supported by U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Henry Lane Wilson, who was implacably opposed to Madero remaining in power. Madero had retained the Mexican Federal Army after rebels had forced the resignation of President Porfirio Díaz. The head of the Mexican Federal Army, General Victoriano Huerta, ostensibly the defender of the Madero government, defected to the rebels, who sought the return of the old political order. On 18 February the sitting president and vice president were captured by rebel General Aureliano Blanquet, effectively ending the Madero regime. On 19 February, a dispute between General Díaz and General Huerta about who should head the provisional government was resolved by Ambassador Wilson mediating between the two in an in-person meeting at the U.S. embassy. They formalized an agreement known as the Pact of the Embassy.

For ordinary citizens of Mexico City, the ten days of bombardment and displacement were horrific. While most fighting occurred between opposing military factions, assaulting or defending Madero's presidency, artillery and rifle fire inflicted substantial losses among uninvolved civilians and major damage to property in the capital's downtown. The February 19 pact between the two rebel generals put an end to the violence in Mexico City, and marks the end of the 10 days. But the political drama continued. While in custody, Madero and his vice president resigned, expecting that they would be allowed to go into exile, but they were subsequently murdered on 22 February 1913. General Huerta became President of Mexico, with the support of the U.S. and German ambassadors and most Mexican state governors. A broad-based revulsion against Huerta's coup and the murders led to civil war between Huerta's government and revolutionary forces in northern and southern Mexico. Madero's martyrdom shocked a critical portion of the Mexican population, as well as the newly inaugurated U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, who refused to recognize Huerta's government.

Subsequent Events

Right after Madero's murder, his widow sought the return of his corpse. On 24 February, Madero was buried in a private grave in the French cemetery in Mexico City and members of the Madero family went into exile. Madero's body remained in that cemetery until it was moved to the Monument to the Revolution in 1938.

Both Huerta and his Minister of Foreign Relations stated that a formal inquiry would be made into the death of Madero. This was not however undertaken. Maj. Cárdenas was put under arrest, but was soon released, and promoted to lieutenant colonel. He was then placed in command of rurales in Michoacán. Later Cárdenas fled to Guatemala when the Huerta government was overthrown. In 1920 the post-revolutionary Mexican government requested the extradition of Cárdenas for the murder of Madero. Cárdenas died by his own hand before this could be undertaken.

Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson never made any demand for an investigation. Instead, the ambassador criticized Madero and his family. He boasted that he had consistently predicted Madero's overthrow. In reply to questions as to whether it had been proper for a foreign diplomat to preside at a conference of two rebel generals and to help arrange the details of a new presidency, when the constitutional president, to whom he was accredited, was held prisoner, the Ambassador replied that it was necessary for the good of Mexico that Madero be eliminated. To the question as to the responsibility for the deaths of Madero and Pino Suárez, Ambassador Wilson said they were private citizens when they died, and that it would be impolite for a foreign power to demand an investigation into a purely domestic matter. He claimed that Madero had killed hundreds illegally, and it was no concern of his as to how the man died. “In fact, the person really responsible for Madero’s death was his wife. She was the one to blame. Madero had to be eliminated. By her telegram to the commander at Veracruz, she made it impossible to allow him to leave the capital.”

Photographic record

Because the events unfolded in the capital where there were many photographers and photo journalists, there is a large number of photos of the period. These should be considered a particular kind of documentary source, not merely illustrative of events described in written texts. These include images of the combatants, but also ones of the civilian population. In photographic collections and publications on the Revolution, the events in the capital are almost always included or the sole focus. Civilian casualties play an important role in complicating the understanding of the Revolution, since most published photographs focus on the combatants, or show civilians at train stations seeing off their loved ones as they went to war. A digital collection at Southern Methodist University of 43 photos found in a privately owned album donated to the library are a rich visual source. A commemorative publication by Mexican historian Enrique Krauze focuses on the Ten Tragic Days in particular.

Legacy

The Ten Tragic Days is the formal designation of a specific set of events in the historiography of Mexico, indicating its importance in the Mexican Revolution and the shaping of historical memory. Madero's assassination during the 10-day coup immediately turned him into a martyr. "Madero the martyr meant more to the soul of Mexico than Madero the apostle [of democracy].

Huerta was recognized by most Mexican state governors, but Venustiano Carranza, governor of Coahuila refused and rose in rebellion against Huerta, bringing together a northern coalition to overthrow the regime brought to power by usurpation. The coup in Mexico City touched off uprisings that coalesced into the Constitutionalist Army, the ultimate winner in the Mexican Revolution. The Ten Tragic Days was the last successful coup to overthrow a Mexican president.

See also

In Spanish: Decena Trágica para niños