History of Arizona

The first Indians reached Arizona in the Upper Paleolithic between around 16,000 BC. BC and 10,000 BC BC, while the history of Arizona in the sense of the history recorded by Europeans begins with the exploration of the area by the Franciscan Marcos de Niza in 1539. Francisco Vásquez de Coronado 's expedition reached what is now Arizona in 1540–1542 on his search for Cibola , one of the mythical "Seven Cities of Gold". Father Eusebio Francisco Kino established a chain of mission stations and spread Christianity among the Indians of Pimería Alta (now southern Arizona and northern Sonora ) in the 1690s and early 1700s. Spain founded fortified cities (Spanish presidios ) at Tubac in 1752 and Tucson in 1775.

All of today's Arizona became part of the Mexican state of Vieja California with the independence of Mexico from Spain in 1822 . The United States took possession of most of Arizona at the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848. In 1853 the land below the Gila River became American through the Gadsden purchase . Arizona was part of the Territory of New Mexico until it was organized as a separate Arizona Territory on February 24, 1863 .

Finally, on February 14, 1912, Arizona became a state of the United States .

Prehistory

Paleo-Indians and Peoples of the Archaic Period

According to the available archaeological and geological clues moved Paleolithic , mammoth -hunting family associations 16000-10000 v. To northwest America. In central Alaska, they found their way blocked by large chunks of ice until a temporary rise in temperature during the Ice Age opened an ice-free corridor through northwest Canada that allowed individual groups to spread across the rest of the continent. The earliest generally accepted reference to humans in the southwestern United States is some fluted Paleolithic spearheads . Small groups of men and women likely crossed Arizona on their way to Mexico as well.

Temperatures rose and the distribution of rainfall changed, causing changes in vegetation . In southeastern Arizona, the Clovis people hunted mammoths and other Ice Age animals at a time when many rivers were drying up and animals were forced to concentrate around rivers and waterholes. The increasing drought was accompanied by the appearance of hunters who specialized in large mammals . It is possible that climate and human influences led to the extinction of some animal species.

Arizona's climate became more desert-like towards the end of the Ice Age and the summers became more humid but also hotter, so that the rain drained away faster. The winters became significantly drier. In southern Arizona, grasslands replaced forest, and desert grasslands became desert. Around 2000 BC BC Arizona was home to today's fauna and climate.

The early archaic peoples of Arizona survived these changes by adapting to the cycles of the plants rather than by actively changing the plants. In the forest areas they picked acorns in July and August , and pine nuts and junipers in November. In the desert, they collected the fruits of plants such as chenopodium and amaranth . They roasted agave in stone-lined pits, gathered cactus fruits, and harvested mesquites in summer. Since they were dependent on scattered and seasonally fluctuating resources, the archaic peoples did not establish permanent settlements, but migrated from camp to camp in search of water and food.

Their tools reflected their economy: stone work surfaces were used to grind grains into flour, scrapers to work wood and smaller and finer spearheads than in the earlier Clovis culture were used to hunt game. The different proportions of these tools in different places suggests that people migrated between different ecological zones. They left artifacts showing that they believed in supernatural powers. Burial mounds 3 to 30 meters in length appeared on both sides of the Colorado River in southwestern California and Arizona. Many were stylized rattlesnakes , phalluses , thunderbirds, or had human shapes.

Introduction of arable farming

For most of the Archaic Period , humans were unable to fundamentally remodel their natural environment. Many archaeologists also believe that Arizona's archaic cultures represented a "dead end," believing that groups from outside the region, particularly from Mesoamerica, introduced the more significant innovations such as agriculture to the southwest. According to this model, corn first took root in the southwestern highlands of western New Mexico and eastern Arizona, in the pre-Hispanic cultural area known as the Mogollon culture . The archaic population there began as early as 3500 BC. To grow a small and primitive form of the maize plant in places like Bat Cave . From here the maize slowly spread to the more arid and lower-lying areas, such as the Sonoran Desert .

Distribution area of ​​the Anasazi, Hohokam and Mogollon cultures.

The radiocarbon method found in the 1980s that corn found in Bat Cave and other highland areas dates back to around 1000 BC. BC, so it is 2500 years younger than previously believed. A series of excavations in southern Arizona showed that archaic farmers in the Tucson Basin were growing corn around the same time. In the Milagro site near Tanque Verde Creek, for example, a late-archaic population built caves and planted caves around 850 BC. Chr. Corn on. So archaic groups made the move from food gatherers to food growers 3,000 years ago. They also possessed many of the cultural techniques that come with semi-sedentary agricultural life: storage facilities, more permanent and larger settlements, and even cemeteries.

Nonetheless, wild sources of food remained an important part of their diet, even after the invention of pottery and the development of artificial irrigation. The introduction of agriculture never led to the complete abolition of hunting and food gathering, not even in the largest archaic settlements. During the 1st millennium AD, three main cultures thrived in the southwest: the Anasazi , the Hohokam , and the Mogollon cultures . All three are well known for their architecture and pottery.

European / North American colonization

The Coronado Expedition, 1540–1542.

Even if the first Europeans reached Arizona in 1528, the most influential expeditions in early Spanish Arizona were those of Marcos de Niza and Francisco Vásquez de Coronado . The reports of early Spanish explorers about mythical cities like Cíbola and large deposits of raw materials of copper and silver attracted settlers and ore prospectors. These ventures also led to the so-called Columbian Exchange in Arizona , i.e. the exchange of animals and plants between the western and eastern hemisphere , but also to the spread of diseases such as smallpox among the locals. Reports of the Indians about the first Europeans here are difficult to find, but traditional calendars such as those of the Tohono O'Odham narrated remarkable events such as drought, invasions, floods, which can be used as sources.

Franciscans and Jesuits founded mission stations in Arizona early on, such as San Xavier del Bac . The missionary Eusebio Kino set up a chain of missions around what is now known as Pimería Alta, southern Arizona and northern Sonora, exchanging gifts and proselytizing locals who then served as scouts in the border area. In 1680, the Pueblo Rebellion drove the Spaniards temporarily from northern New Mexico , but in 1694 they recaptured the area.

Spanish Arizona

Mission San José de Tumacácori

The Spaniards did not build cities of their own here, but in the late 17th century they increasingly came to what is now Arizona, attracted by the recently discovered silver deposits. Many of them left the area when Juan Bautista de Anza announced that the silver finds were only grave goods , but some settled and became farmers who lived on self-sufficiency . During the 18th century, settlers tried to expand the borders of Arizona northwards, but resistance from the Tohono O'odham and Apaches , who had begun raiding to steal cattle, prevented this.

1765 began under Charles III. the Bourbon reforms in the administration of the colonies, which also had an impact on the presidios military fortifications on the northern borders of New Spain . The Jesuits were expelled from the area and Franciscans took over the mission stations. In the 1780s and 1790s, the Spaniards attempted to relocate the Apaches to a kind of reserve, where they would be provided with food and in return should not hinder the Spanish expansion to the north.

The Spanish Arizona was mainly based on self-sufficiency, and gold and silver were mined to a lesser extent.

Mexican Arizona

The "Gadsden Purchase" depicted within today's state lines.

In 1821 Mexico gained independence from Spain after a decade of war. The Mexican War of Independence had destroyed colonial mining and the new state was bankrupt. On the northern borders the mission stations, presidios and Apache reservations had almost disappeared. As a result, the Apaches began their raids again, stealing horses and killing all Mexicans they could get hold of outside of fortifications. Mexico reacted to the disappearance of the missions by selling the "freed" land, which increasingly shrank the Apache territory. Meanwhile, American mountain men (trappers, fur traders, explorers and adventurers) began to infiltrate the region on the hunt for beaver pelts .

In 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico and claimed much of northern Mexico. When the United States annexed Texas in 1846 against the resistance of Mexico, US troops occupied these disputed areas. Although there were offers to buy the land from Mexico, these hostilities developed into the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848. The Americans captured Mexico City and, with the Treaty of Guadalupe, forced the young Mexican Republic into its northern territory, including from Hidalgo to cede about 70% of what would later become Arizona to the United States against payment of 15 million dollars .

The California gold rush of 1849 led around 50,000 prospectors through Arizona and triggered a strong population increase. In 1850 the above-mentioned 70% of Arizona together with most of what is now New Mexico were "organized" as the New Mexico Territory , which means that it received a representative body and a recognized status below a US state. In 1853, President Franklin Pierce sent James Gadsden to Mexico City to negotiate with the Mexican head of state Santa Anna . As a result, the US bought the remaining areas of Arizona and New Mexico in the so-called Gadsden Purchase .

American Arizona

The Confederate Arizona Territory

Arizona Territory 1866

From 1853 all of today's Arizona was part of the New Mexico Territory . During the American Civil War , on March 16, 1861, the southern part of the territory around Mesilla (now in New Mexico) and Tucson declared themselves independent from the United States and joined the Confederate States of America under the name Confederate Territory of Arizona . The area was seen as an important gateway to the Pacific Ocean , especially against the backdrop of efforts to join the Confederate in sparsely populated southern California, a stronghold of Confederate sympathizers.

In March 1862, however, Union forces occupied the Confederate Territory of Arizona and rejoined the New Mexico Territory.

During the civil war, several battles between Confederates, Union troops and Apaches were fought on the soil of Arizona. In 1863, the United States divided the New Mexico Territory along a north-south line, creating the Arizona Territory that would later become the State of Arizona.

During the civil war, the US relocated several presidios to New Mexico, leaving Arizona vulnerable to Indian attacks. Hostile clashes between American settlers and Indians began here in 1861 and lasted until 1886. They resulted in most of the Indian tribes being resettled on Indian reservations.

Steamboats, mining, ranching, and railroads became important parts of Arizona's economy, creating boomtowns when gold miners hit them and ghost towns when prospectors left. Most of the miners were Mexicans, who made up the majority of Arizona's population in the period shortly after the American-Mexican War.

The Desert Land Act of 1877, which gave settlers 640 acres of land, caused large numbers of people to flock to the area.

State of Arizona

At the beginning of the 20th century there were efforts to make Arizona a US state as part of a larger state, New Mexico. Behind this was a plan by the Republican Party to take over a majority in the United States Senate . While the plan was largely approved in New Mexico, the majority of Arizonans rejected it. The progressive forces in Arizona favored their own state constitution with the possibility of referendums , the direct election of senators , the possibility of recall (the removal of an elected official during the term of office), the right to vote for women and other reforms. Most of these proposals were then included in the constitution presented to Congress in 1912.

However, President William Howard Taft made his approval contingent on removing the recall option, as it would have allowed judges to be dismissed. After its deletion, Taft signed the law on the status of Arizona as a state on February 14, 1912 - whereupon the representatives of the new state of Arizona directly reinserted the passage. In the same year women gained the right to vote in Arizona.

The Great Depression and the World Wars

The entry of the United States into World War I in 1917 triggered an economic boom in Arizona. The economic collapse of the Great Depression followed in the 1920s / 1930s and the New Deal boom in the 1930s.

During World War II , many people moved to Arizona, safe from feared air strikes due to its inland location, and years of boom followed the war. In 1946, Arizona enacted right-to-work laws that gave workers the right to choose whether or not to join a union , to sponsor it or not. The "dual wage system", through which Mexicans earned US $ 1.15 less than Americans per shift, was abolished. In 1948, the era of high-tech industry began in Arizona, and Motorola set up one of the first factories in Phoenix. In 1948 the American Indians were also given the right to vote for the first time after they had been denied it for 20 years on the grounds that they were " ward of the state".

After the boom, depression and boom again, the economy developed more stable from the 1960s onwards. Cotton cultivation and other agricultural enterprises flourished, as did copper mining and other mining. The military began using Phoenix and Tucson as military bases and academies, making the army the main economic factor in these communities. Barry Goldwater and Sandra Day O'Connor of Arizona had political and legal careers, respectively.

Recent events

The Central Arizona Project Canal from the air

More recently, Arizona has become a fair-weather tourist destination similar to Florida . A major factor in tourism here is the Grand Canyon .

In 1963 the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of Arizona versus neighboring California in a dispute over Arizona's share of the Colorado River . Five years after this decision, the starting shot was given for the construction of the Central Arizona Project , a canal project that was not completed until 1991.

Arizona-born Republican Senator Barry Goldwater ran for President of the United States in the 1964 presidential election . After the assassination of incumbent President John F. Kennedy , Goldwater found himself in the difficult position of running against the successor of an assassinated president and was clearly beaten by Lyndon B. Johnson .

In 1988, Evan Mecham was deposed during his tenure . Mecham has been charged with embezzlement and other acts. Rose Mofford succeeded him as governor of Arizona, becoming the first woman in that office.

Mecham was previously very unpopular as it abolished a paid holiday in honor of Martin Luther King for state employees, thereby depriving Arizona of the opportunity to host the Super Bowl . In 1989, Rose Mofford passed a law reintroducing the holiday in honor of Martin Luther King. The chairman of the Americans for Traditional American Values , however, filed a petition against Dr. King "accused" of being a socialist and accused him of promiscuity . In 1990 there were two votes: for a Martin Luther King holiday and a Columbus day free, as well as for exchanging Columbus day for King day. Both were lost.

In 1992, the year the United States Senate was elected , in the face of a tourism boycott and the chance of not bringing the Super Bowl to Arizona again, 61% of Arizona voters voted for a paid holiday in honor of Martin Luther King. Arizona became the 49th (of 50) state in the United States to introduce this holiday and the first state where voters decided to pay for this holiday. In 1996 and 2005, the Super Bowl was then played in Arizona.

Mofford's successor as governor, Fife Symington resigned in 1997 after being charged with bank fraud. In 1999, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth District overturned Symington's conviction and two years later President Bill Clinton pardoned him .

On August 17, 2005, the governors of Arizona and New Mexico declared a state of emergency in counties bordering Mexico on account of violence, illegal immigration, drug smuggling, and the passivity of the Mexican and American governments towards these states . Governor Janet Napolitano provided $ 1.5 million in disaster funds to aid the border counties.

In 2020, as in almost every country worldwide, a Covid 19 pandemic began in the USA. At the beginning of June around 500 new Covid-19 cases were registered every day; At the beginning of July there were about seven times as many. As of July 6, there were 3,844 new cases known, 101,441 total cases and 1,810 deaths. Arizona, like other southern states in the United States, has become a hotspot of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States .

See also

• United States history
• List of Arizona governors
• Navajo Nation Reservation # History of Navajo Self-Government under the control of the United States of America
• National Register of Historic Places in Arizona
• List of National Historic Landmarks in Arizona

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1. ^ People of the Colorado Plateau-Paleoindian and Archaic Peoples . Archived from the original on August 30, 2005. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 27, 2005. 
2. ↑ http://www.shgresources.com/az/history/ | accessdate = September 27, 2005
3. ↑ Sheridan, Thomas E. (1995). Arizona: A History . Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona Press. ISBN 0-8165-1515-8
4. ↑ Cindy Hayostek, "Douglas Delegates to the 1910 Constitutional Convention and Arizona's Progressive Heritage," Journal of Arizona History 2006 47 (4): 347-366
5. ↑ http://www.cap-az.com/about/index.cfm?action=history&subSection=5 ( Memento from April 22, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) accessdate = 27. September 2005
6. ↑ Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, holiday . Retrieved September 27, 2005.
7. ^ Napolitano taps disaster funds for border counties . Retrieved on September 27, 2005.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ↑ For evidence and other figures, see en: COVID-19 pandemic in Arizona

• Cheek, Lawrence W. (1995). Arizona . Oakland, CA: Compass American Guides. ISBN 1-878867-72-5
• Sheridan, Thomas E. (1995). Arizona, A History ; University of Arizona Press. ISBN 0-8165-1515-8

Web links

• The Arizona State Archives has government and private collections relating to Arizona History
• Arizona history Governor's website
• A chronology of historical events in Arizona from the state's library
• Arizona's Ordinance of Secession, March 16, 1861