Carranza was born in 1859 as one of fifteen children of a wealthy landowner. He entered politics under the Porfirio Diaz regime as a municipal president and also served as a state legislator, federal deputy and state governor. Carranza joined with Francisco Madero’s revolutionary movement in 1909 to oust the aging dictator Diaz. Madero succeeded in ousting Diaz and won election as President in a fair election in 1910. Carranza served as Minister of war in Madero's provisional government and was later interim governor of Coahuila. He was elected governor of Coahuila in December 1911.

In February 1913, a few weeks before Wilson took office, Madero was ousted in a coup planned by General Victoriano Huerta with the assistance of the American Ambassador. Carranza was one of three Mexican governors to refuse to recognize the new government and soon assumed leadership of the rebellion and was named First Chief of the Constitutionalists. The Constitutionalists lead by Carranza and Pancho Villa soon controlled most of northern Mexico, and by 1914 had won the support of the Wilson administration against Huerta. On July 14, 1914, Huerta resigned the Presidency of Mexico and fled the country. Soon after Huerta fled Mexico, however, the differing factions among the Constitutionalists fell into war amongst themselves, the so-called “War of the Winners.” Wilson eventually supported Carranza against Villa and Emiliano Zapata because he believed that Carranza had the greatest chance of establishing a stable elected reform government. In April 1915 Villa was defeated in two battles at Celaya by Carranza’s General Alvaro Obregon and on May 1, 1915, Carranza was made President of Mexico.

Wilson recognized the Carranza government as the de facto rulers of Mexico in October 1915 despite poor relations with the new government over issues such as foreign mining rights. However, the growing crisis between the US and Germany in late 1915 pushed Wilson towards compromise with Carranza. Carranza was elected president for a full term in 1917. However, when he attempted to install a candidate favorable to him in the 1920 presidential election, his former general, Obregon, rebelled. Carranza tried to flee to Veracruz. On May 20, 1920 Carranza was killed as he slept in a small wooden hut in San Antonio Tlaxcalantongo.