Final answer:
General John 'Black Jack' Pershing's troops were sent by President Woodrow Wilson to invade Mexico in an attempt to capture the revolutionary Pancho Villa after Villa's raid on Columbus, New Mexico, in 1916.
Step-by-step explanation:
Pershing's Pursuit of Pancho Villa
The nation that President Woodrow Wilson sent General John 'Black Jack' Pershing's troops to invade in pursuit of Pancho Villa was Mexico. After Villa's 1916 raid on Columbus, New Mexico, which left seventeen Americans dead, Wilson responded with a military expedition into Mexico to capture the Mexican revolutionary. General Pershing led this pursuit, commanding thousands of U.S. troops who marched deep into Mexican territory. The mission, known as the Punitive Expedition, ultimately failed to capture Pancho Villa, but served as an important field test for the American military forces and the National Guard. Although Pershing's force did not catch Villa, their presence in Mexico led to tensions with the Mexican government.
Throughout this ordeal, factors such as the presidential change from Huerta to Carranza, Villa's continued popularity in northern Mexico, and the overarching political and military circumstances of the time, including the foreshadowing of U.S. involvement in World War I, played significant roles. Pershing's troops gained field experience, helping to develop a more professional U.S.