Overview
In early 1914, Clemente Vergara discovered several of his horses missing and reported the theft to local authorities. The Webb County sheriff arranged for the South Texas rancher to meet with Mexican soldiers near Hidalgo to discuss compensation for his loss. Vergara crossed the Rio Grande, soon succumbed to a vicious physical assault, and was jailed. Shortly after incarceration in Hidalgo, Vergara’s captors moved him to Piedras Negras. Days later his body was found hanging from a tree. The murder of Clemente Vergara contributed to events that put the United States and Mexico on the brink of war and opened the door for expanded American involvement in Mexico. Texas governor Oscar B. Colquitt seized upon the incident to challenge President Woodrow Wilson—a fellow Democrat—to intervene and even threatened retaliation by the Texas Rangers. Meanwhile, the White House played a larger strategic game with competing factions in the midst of the Mexican Revolution. Wilson’s apparent inaction heightened Colquitt’s demands to guarantee the safety of Americans and their property in the Texas borderlands, and the Vergara affair’s extensive media coverage convinced many Americans that intervention in Mexico was necessary. Author John A. Adams Jr. shows how an otherwise commonplace horse theft and murder revealed a tangled web of international relations, powerful business interests, and intrigue on both sides of the border. Readers will be captivated by Murder and Intrigue on the Mexican Border and the continuing legacy that border events leave on Texas history.
Full Product Details
Author: John A. Adams
Publisher: Texas A & M University Press
Imprint: Texas A & M University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 16.50cm
, Height: 1.70cm
, Length: 23.60cm
Weight: 0.500kg
ISBN: 9781623495848
ISBN 10: 1623495849
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 30 April 2018
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
Murder and Intrigue on the Mexican Border: Governor Colquitt, President Wilson, and the Vergara Affair tells a great story. The Vergara episode remains largely forgotten in the annals of the Mexican Revolution in the borderlands, and Adams fills a valuable gap by providing an important lesson in how one small incident was manipulated to serve larger interests. --The Journal of Southern History--The Journal of Southern History
Author Information
John A. Adams Jr is the author of numerous books, including Mexican Banking and Investment in Transition and Conflict and Commerce on the Rio Grande: Laredo, 1775-1955. He resides in College Station, Texas.
