1916年1月墨西哥反政府武装比利亚的部队袭击了美国边境。同年3月15日,美军侵入墨西哥围剿比利亚,激起了墨西哥民众强烈的民族主义情绪。1917年2月在美军长期驻扎墨西哥也无法解决美墨之间问题的情况下,威尔逊总统被迫撤回了美国军队。尽管威尔逊本人是一位理想主义者,但是他在处理墨西哥问题时运用老师训斥学生的方式暴露了美国外交在理想与行动上的差距。 January 1916 Mexican rebel forces in Villaia attacked the U.S. border. On March 15 that same year, U.S. troops invaded and encircled Villa in Mexico, provoking a strong nationalistic sentiment among the Mexican people. In February 1917, when the U.S. troops stationed in Mexico for too long could not solve the problem between the United States and Mexico, President Wilson was forced to withdraw the U.S. troops. Although Wilson himself was an idealist, his use of a teacher to scold students in dealing with the Mexican issue exposed the gap in ideals and actions of U.S. diplomacy.