SOURCE: “The Mexican Journeys of William Jennings Bryan, A Good Neighbor,” in Nebraska History and Record of Pioneer Days, Vol. 59, No. 4, Winter, 1978, pp. 485-500.

In the following essay, Worthen traces Bryan's trips to Mexico with his wife, which he believes illuminate Bryan's stance on U.S.-Mexico relations during his time as Secretary of State.

In 1897 William Jennings Bryan toured Mexico. In 1904 the by-then twice-chosen presidential standard bearer of the Democratic Party and future secretary of state again ventured south of the border. He visited Mexico for the third and last time in 1922. Bryan's biographers are silent concerning these excursions or at best dismiss them in a few words. This oversight of an aspect of Bryan's career is unfortunate. Examining Bryan in the light of his response to strong Mexican influences illuminates his reactions in Mexican-American diplomacy during his tenure as secretary of state in the Wilson Administration...