Editing Woodrow Wilson (section)

==== Latin America ====
{{see also|United States involvement in the Mexican Revolution|Banana Wars}}
[[File:VillaUncleSamBerrymanCartoon.png|thumb|A cartoon depicting [[Uncle Sam]] entering [[Mexico]] in 1916 to punish Pancho Villa with Uncle Sam saying, "I've had about enough of this."]]
Wilson sought to move away from the foreign policy of his predecessors, which he viewed as imperialistic, and he rejected Taft's [[Dollar Diplomacy]].<ref>Berg (2013), pp. 289–290</ref> Nonetheless, he frequently intervened in [[Latin America]], saying in 1913, "I am going to teach the [[South America]]n republics to elect good men."<ref>Paul Horgan, ''Great River: the Rio Grande in North American History'' (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1984), p. 913</ref> The 1914 [[Bryan–Chamorro Treaty]] converted [[Nicaragua]] into a ''de facto'' protectorate, and the U.S. [[United States occupation of Nicaragua|stationed soldiers]] there throughout Wilson's presidency. The Wilson administration [[United States occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916–24)|sent troops to occupy]] the [[Dominican Republic]] and [[United States occupation of Haiti|intervene]] in [[Haiti]], and Wilson also authorized military interventions in [[Cuba]], [[Panama]], and [[Honduras]].<ref>Herring (2008), pp. 388–390</ref>

Wilson took office during the [[Mexican Revolution]], which had begun in 1911 after liberals overthrew the military dictatorship of [[Porfirio Díaz]]. Shortly before Wilson took office, conservatives retook power through a coup led by [[Victoriano Huerta]].<ref>Clements (1992), pp. 96–97</ref> Wilson rejected the legitimacy of Huerta's "government of butchers" and demanded Mexico hold democratic elections.<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 1007454|title = Woodrow Wilson, Victoriano Huerta, and the Recognition Issue in Mexico|journal = The Americas|volume = 41|issue = 2|pages = 151–176|last1 = Henderson|first1 = Peter V. N.|year = 1984|doi = 10.2307/1007454| s2cid=147620955 }}</ref> After Huerta arrested U.S. Navy personnel who had accidentally landed in a restricted zone near the northern port town of [[Tampico]], Wilson [[United States occupation of Veracruz|dispatched the Navy to occupy]] the Mexican city of [[Veracruz]]. A strong backlash against the American intervention among Mexicans of all political affiliations convinced Wilson to abandon his plans to expand the U.S. military intervention, but the intervention nonetheless helped convince Huerta to flee from the country.<ref>Clements (1992), pp. 98–99</ref> A group led by [[Venustiano Carranza]] established control over a significant proportion of Mexico, and Wilson recognized Carranza's government in October 1915.<ref name="Clements (1992), pp. 99–100">Clements (1992), pp. 99–100</ref>

Carranza continued to face various opponents within Mexico, including [[Pancho Villa]], whom Wilson had earlier described as "a sort of Robin Hood."<ref name="Clements (1992), pp. 99–100"/> In early 1916, Pancho Villa raided the village of [[Columbus, New Mexico]], killing or wounding dozens of Americans and causing an enormous nationwide American demand for his punishment. Wilson ordered General [[John J. Pershing]] and 4,000 troops across the border to capture Villa. By April, Pershing's forces had broken up and dispersed Villa's bands, but Villa remained on the loose and Pershing continued his pursuit deep into Mexico. Carranza then pivoted against the Americans and accused them of a punitive invasion, leading to several incidents that nearly led to war. Tensions subsided after Mexico agreed to release several American prisoners, and bilateral negotiations began under the auspices of the Mexican-American Joint High Commission. Eager to withdraw from Mexico due to tensions in Europe, Wilson ordered Pershing to withdraw, and the last American soldiers left in February 1917.<ref>Link (1964), 194–221, 280–318; Link (1965), 51–54, 328–339</ref>