Miller: Arizona and NM are NOT Sister States

Jay Miller

Inside the Capitol - SANTA FE – At first glance, New Mexico and Arizona appear to be sister states. Both were claimed and explored by Spain in the 1500s. Both had equal periods of Spanish, Mexican and American rule. And both were granted U.S. statehood a month apart. But otherwise, the differences were great. For nearly a millennium, New Mexico was peopled by peaceful Pueblo farmers. Arizona was controlled by marauding, nomadic Apaches. New Mexico was colonized in 1598. But Spain had little interest in the land that now is Arizona. It was hard to traverse because of that huge canyon blocking northern exploration and travel. It was left to the Apaches.
When Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, it began allowing non-Spanish settlers and traders. That began the Santa Fe Trail, bringing people of many cultures and ethnicities from the East and Midwest. Most of them didn't keep moving west to Arizona where there was no protection from Apaches. Arizona's early migration came from the Southern states looking for farm land. But the farther west they got, the more arid the land became. Read full column here: News New Mexico

Miller: Arizona and NM are NOT Sister States