The path to statehood A


Avondale, Buckeye, Goodyear, Litchfi eld Park or Tolleson. History buffs quickly discover that the range of Arizona lore is extensive and that it can be sometimes diffi cult to fi nd a satisfac- tory starting point. Perhaps they may start with the history from the Spanish con- quest of Mexico and the advance of priests and explorers into what would become the 48th state. On the other hand, readers may trace the history from the pio-


neer prospectors, soldiers, cattlemen, tradesmen and farmers who ventured into the Arizona territory and recorded their adventures. They also may start with the patchwork quilt of stories


involving the earliest inhabitants, including the mysterious Ho- hokams, who were both agricultural and architectural, leaving behind a system of ruins and irrigation canals. The focus on other Native Americans may include the Na-


vajo, Apache, Hopi, Pima, Moqui, Tohono O’Odham, Yavapai, Yaqui, Quechan and Hualapai. Eventually, Arizona was settled and achieved statehood on Feb. 14, 1912, thus becoming the 48th state and ending what historians describe as the end to the colonization of the contiguous states. At the time of statehood, according to historians, Arizona was the epitome of the American West and was known as the home of the Five C’s — copper, cattle, cotton, citrus and climate. What is Arizona today? Answers may vary among lifetime


residents, new arrivals or the line of immigrants from Mexico and other foreign countries.


Spring/Summer 2012


rizona has plenty of history for people who like to think of the Southwest in terms of gun fi ghts, cattle rustling, outlaws, cowboys and Indian warfare. Those are the days, of course, before there was an


“Sun-drenched land” has reached history with Mexico, Native Americans


A woman symbolizing Columbia holds an American fl ag and star as she faces three men representing New Mexico, left, Arizona, and Oklahoma, who are waiting for statehood, with the U.S. Capitol in the background. This cartoon ran in Puck Magazine July 1902.


Certainly, Arizona will continue to be known for its natural beauty. To outsiders, Arizona may be a “sun-drenched land, bounded on the north by the Grand Canyon and on the south by Mexi- co,” according to one historical writer, John Walton Caughey. It may be viewed as the home of blanket-weaving and silver-


working Native Americans plying their trade on reservations between the New Mexico and California borders, Caughey wrote in a scholarly book review in 1951. And it’s seen as a great destination for tourists, as portrayed


by Arizona Highways, or a Mecca for health seekers and winter visitors who quickly relish the state’s glorious sunsets, Caughey wrote in The American Historical Review. In the fi nal analysis, Arizonans may argue that the state be- comes a wonderful place to settle down, get a job, buy a home, raise a family, gain an education and, perhaps, eventually retire. People familiar with Arizona may discover that the state has a


wealth of rich experiences to offer for those who have an eye to the past, an anchor on the present and a focus on the future. In March 1893, 19 years before statehood, the debate already was raging whether the Arizona territory should be admitted as a full-fl edged state.


100 Vista — West Valley View, Avondale, Arizona years


See ARIZONA on V6 V5


Library of Congress photo


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