Research Paper on:
Critical Analysis of Jessie L. Thompson’s Article, “A Visit from Pancho”

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
New Mexico, it is every bit as infamous as the attack on Pearl Harbor and the 911 terrorist attacks. This was when the infamous Mexican Pancho Villa and his  bandits wreaked havoc on the small town of Columbus, New Mexico, which is located about 75 miles from El Paso. Historian and author Jessie L. Thompson chronicled the raid  as it affected her family in her article, "A Visit from Pancho," which appeared in the December 1996 issue of American Heritage. This article will be analyzed from the  perspective of U.S. history, and consider three points to determine the validity of the authors historical points - international political situation at the time of the raid, the reasons for  the raid, and the emergence of organized U.S. army forces as a result of the attack. The article does provide some historical background, which demonstrates that the author is not  writing simply from a personal perspective but presents the subject matter within the context of U.S. history. Once upon a time, Pancho Villa had been revered in Mexico and  the U.S. as a colorful heroic figure. However, all that changed in 1915, when Mexican de facto President Venustiano Carranza "declared Villa an outlaw" (Thompson, 1996, p. 28).  In response, President Woodrow Wilson officially recognized the new regime in October of 1915 (Glynn, 2000). He promptly ordered an arms embargo against anyone except Carranza in an attempt  to disarm the bandit (Thompson, 1996). However, while the article acknowledged troubled relations between the U.S. and Mexico, there was no mention that there may have been another key  player involved in igniting the tensions that led to the raid. Germanys Kaiser Wilhelm II had been covertly funneling arms and money into Mexico in an effort to heighten