Arizona Territory
This article is about the predecessor territory of the state of Arizona. For the territory that existed on the Confederate States side from 1861 to 1865, see Arizona Territory (Confederate States).
The Arizona Territory was a territory in the United States administered by the United States Congress that existed from February 24, 1863. Under the name Arizona, it then joined the Union as the 48th state on February 14, 1912, becoming the last state to expand the heartland of the 48 territorially contiguous states of the Union (known as the Lower 48).
After the Mexican-American War in 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded an area roughly encompassing the present states of New Mexico and Arizona, as the New Mexico Territory, from Mexico to the United States.
Around 1860 there were for the first time concrete considerations to divide the New Mexico Territory and to split off an Arizona Territory. However, these proposals assumed a division into a northern and a southern territory rather than a western and an eastern half, as was the case with the later states. Shortly before the American Civil War in 1861, the territory divided into a northern portion that belonged to the Northern States and a southern portion that joined the Confederate States of America.
In 1863 Abraham Lincoln declared this territory independent. Prescott was chosen as the capital. After the end of the Civil War, the territory was divided into a western half (Arizona Territory) and an eastern half (New Mexico Territory). The Arizona Territory now bordered New Mexico to the east, Utah to the north, the Mexican state of Sonora to the south, and Nevada and California to the west, from which it was separated by the lower course of the Colorado River.
See also
- Historical territories on the soil of the United States
- List of the states of the United States (with date of foundation, sortable by columns)
Questions and Answers
Q: What was the Arizona Territory, and how long did it exist?
A: The Arizona Territory was a region of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 to February 14, 1912.
Q: What was the Mexican Cession?
A: The Mexican Cession was a transfer of territory from Mexico to the United States, which took place in 1863.
Q: Which states were cartographers called in to create borders for?
A: Cartographers were called in to draw up borders for the Arizona Territory, Colorado, and California (later shortened to California).
Q: When was the Gadsden Purchase, and what did it add to the Arizona Territory?
A: The Gadsden Purchase happened in 1853, and it added onto the previously created Arizona Territory.
Q: When was the Arizona Territory first added onto?
A: The Arizona Territory was not added onto until 1853 when the Gadsden Purchase occurred.
Q: When was the Arizona Territory divided, and what was it divided into?
A: The Arizona Territory was cut in half on January 6, 1912, when the State of New Mexico was formed.
Q: When was Arizona created, and what states is it now part of?
A: Arizona was created from the remains of the Arizona Territory on February 14, 1912, one month after New Mexico became a state. Now, Arizona is part of New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada.
