July 26, 2021
The Banana Wars E72 Veracruz and the Rise of the Expeditionary Force
This episode covers a critical turning point for the Marine Corps and American foreign policy. After the fall of Mexico's President Madero and the rise of Huerta's regime, the U.S. launched a full-scale military response, culminating in the 1914 occupation of Veracruz. Marines led the charge, executing urban combat, securing key infrastructure, and even handling civil tasks like sanitation.
The U.S. deepened its involvement in Cuba under the Platt Amendment, using Marines to stabilize a fractured political system and protect American interests. These back-to-back interventions marked the growing use of Marines as a flexible, fast-response force for U.S. foreign policy. It was the start of a new identity for the Corps, one shaped by intervention, occupation, and increasing global reach.
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References
- Butler, S. D. (2021). War Is a Racket (1st ed.). Round Table Press.
- Ellsworth, H. A. (2014). One Hundred Eighty Landings of United States Marines, 1800–1934. Createspace Independent Pub.
- Executive Order No. 969, Defining the Duties of the United States Marine Corps, 12 November 1908.
- Executive Order No. 989, Marine Corps Officers’ Physical Fitness, 9 December 1908.
- Goldsborough, C. W. (1824). The United States Naval Chronicle. Washington: James Wilson.
- Logsheet of Historic Marine Corps Dates, Historical Branch, G-3 Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps.
- Knox, D. W. (1936). A History of the United States Navy. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
- Maclay, E. S. (2018). A History of American Privateers. Franklin Classics.
- N. (2021). THE USMC SMALL WARS MANUAL 1940. Nafziger.
- Nalty, B. C. (2013). The United States Marines In The War with Spain. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
- Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of Cuba Embodying the Provisions Defining Their Future Relations as Contained in the Act of Congress Approved March 2, 1901, signed 05/22/1903; General Records of the United States Government, 1778 - 2006, RG 11, National Archives.
- U.S. Department of State. Right to Protect Citizens in Foreign Countries by Landing Forces, Memorandum of the Solicitor, 5 October 1912, Third Revised Edition with Supplemental Appendix up to 1933. Washington, 1934.
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