long, eulogistic article in the United States." Scholars have debated why Díaz chose to grant the interview to an American journalist. "It is not clear why Díaz made verbal commitments he did not seriously mean, but their consequences were very definite." One theory is that Díaz gave it assuming it was aimed at a foreign readership; another is that it was for Mexican readers as a distraction from bad news of poor harvests and the financial effects of the panic of 1907. The interview could have also been aimed at drawing out Díaz's opponents so that they could be targeted by the regime. Yet another theory was to draw out Díaz's supporters to persuade him to run again, although in 1910 he would be 80. The Creelman interview remains a key factor in the events that led to the Mexican Revolution. Personal life Creelman married Alice Leffingwell Buell of Marietta, Ohio on December 10, 1891. The couple had four children: Edward Dunwoodie, James Ashmore, Constance Alice, and Eileen Buell. Son James went on to become a professional Hollywood screenwriter. Daughter Eileen married Frederick Morgan Davenport Jr., son of New York Republican congressman Frederick Morgan Davenport. Creelman's father was born to an Ulster-Scottish family who migrated to Montreal from Limavady, Ireland. His mother was of Scottish descent. Notes References External links The James Creelman Papers The Ohio State University Libraries Rare Books and Manuscripts Collection The famous interview with Mexican dictator Porfirio Díaz 1859 births 1915 deaths American male journalists Anglophone Quebec people Canadian male journalists Canadian expatriate journalists in the United States Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent Deaths from nephritis Journalists from Montreal Journalists from New York City