In 1850 New Mexico, recently acquired by the United States from Mexico, was granted territorial status by Congress. Almost at once, prominent New Mexicans began petitioning the federal government for admission as a state.

Incredibly, 62 years would pass before the prize was finally won. Only Alaska took longer to achieve the blessing of statehood.

During New Mexico’s long wait, its citizens sent more than 50 bills and memorials to Washington pleading for admission. All were rejected for one reason or another.

A prominent cause for the failure lay with certain Congressmen who did not believe that New Mexicans were capable of participating in a democratic society, since most spoke only Spanish and were uneducated. No public schools existed in the territory, only scattered parochial schools. (Editor’s note: Spanish families with financial resources sent their children to schools in St. Louis and other parts of the United States during this period thus developing an educated bi-lingual population.)

Even installing and maintaining a functioning territorial government on the upper Rio Grande, with the main officials including the governor appointed in Washington, proved to be a daunting task.

Isolated and benighted New Mexico was habitually regarded by Americans on the East Coast as a dependent and unimportant part of the nation. That too contributed to our delay in winning statehood.

Actually, in 1906 Congress managed to pass a bill admitting Arizona and New Mexico together as a single state. But it had to be ratified by voters in both territories; otherwise the bill failed.

New Mexicans, desperate for statehood after so long a time, approved it. They did so even though, then Governor Miguel A. Otero opposed the legislation.

The final say, however, came from Arizonans who voted against Congress’ measure. Being much smaller in population, they were unwilling to be dominated by the more numerous and politically active (and educated Hispano) New Mexicans.

Thereafter, Arizona and New Mexico each went their separate ways in conducting campaigns to become a state.

On June 20, 1910, President William Howard Taft signed a Congressional Enabling Act that allowed the people of New Mexico and Arizona to form their own state constitutions and elect government officials.

In New Mexico, the Act set in motion the calling of a constitutional convention. On Oct. 3, 1910, some 100 New Mexican delegates met in Santa Fe to hammer out the necessary document that would govern the new state in the years to come.

To complete the work required more than a year of bickering and compromise. But finally voters approved the constitution and a set of new state officials won office in a November 1911 election.

With all conditions laid down by Congress having been met, Pres. Taft granted New Mexico its long-held wish for statehood, admitting it into the Federal Union as the 47th state. A month later, he signed a similar bill for Arizona, which gained admission as the 48th state. So the long struggle by the two territories was finally over.

For some additional reading on New Mexico Statehood, visit:

NEWMEXICO.ORG and,

A QUEST for STATEHOOD