African Americans in the Territory

1. According to the information on the graph, is the following statement true or false? "The black population in Arizona grew from 21 people in 1860 to 2,009 people in 1910."

2. How much did the black population increase between 1880 and 1890?
---see pictures

"Arizona Joe" was the hero of a story in an 1887 western magazine. Many black cowboys worked on the frontier.

"Buffalo soldiers" served with honor on the Arizona frontier. (Stamp design ©1994 U.S. Postal Service. Reproduced with permission. ALL rights reserved.)

Buffalo Soldiers

After the Civil War, the U. S. Army was reorganized to include black regiments. The 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry were all black with white officers. The black troops were assigned to the western frontier. The Indians called them "buffalo soldiers" because of their short curly hair.

In 1885, the 10th Cavalry was transferred from Texas to Arizona. Nearly 700 enlisted men and 38 white officers followed the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks to Bowie Station. There the regiment was split and went to other forts (see the map on page 136). The buffalo soldiers soon joined other cavalry units in search of Geronimo, whose band was off the reservation raiding. The black soldiers also guarded waterholes along the border and fought skirmishes with Apaches. After Geronimo's surrender, the buffalo soldiers got the unwelcome job of rounding up 400 peaceful Chiricahuas at Fort Apache and putting them on a Florida-bound train at Holbrook.

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Frederic Remington, the great artist of the frontier West, accompanied a unit of the 10th Cavalry on patrol in Arizona. Remington said that the buffalo soldiers were not only

Booker T. Washington, the famous African American educator and ex-slave, visited Phoenix in 1911. He was happy to see that blacks there were moving into a variety of jobs. One man owned the Home Kitchen Restaurant. Another was one of three fruit merchants in the city. Black people owned most of the barbershops.

Of the Chinese people Washington said, "They run all but two of the restaurants and control most of the truck gardens in the suburbs. The Chinese farmers deliver vegetables in horse-drawn wagons. . . . There are many Chinese merchants too."

Washington could not help but note the sad plight of the Indians. "I saw hundreds of them standing about on street corners in their picturesque Indian costumes. They idly watch the strange spectacle of a new civilization pouring into this new country, sweeping away their primitive life," he said.

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By 1900 rustling near the Mexican border was forcing some cattlemen out of business. Train robberies were another problem. A Southern Pacific train was held up at Cochise Station and a train between Nogales and Benson was robbed. These crimes frightened the railroad companies. They joined cattlemen and miners in asking the legislature to create a ranger force. In 1901 the territorial legislature established the Arizona Rangers.

Burt Mossman had experience in dealing with cattle rustlers when he was in charge of the Hashknife ranch near Holbrook. "I selected Rangers who were good ropers, riders, shooters, and trackers," said Mossman.

Their first headquarters was at Bisbee, near the Mexican border. The rangers cooperated with the Rurales, a Mexican soldier-police force, to rid the country of bandits and smugglers. Mossman, a fearless leader, personally handled the toughest case. The target was Augustino ChacOn, a ruthless killer who once confessed to having murdered fifteen Americans and thirty-seven Mexicans. ChacOn dug his way out of an adobe jail ten days before his scheduled hanging. Mossman, posing as an escapee from a Tucson jail, tracked down the killer in Mexico, got acquainted, and then arrested him. He forced ChacOn to ride handcuffed, with a rope around his neck, into Arizona. This time Chacon was hanged in Solomonville. Just before the trap door was dropped, he looked the sheriff in the eye and said, "Adios, amigo."
---see pictures

The Arizona Rangers worked to establish law and order in the territory. There was no uniform, though the rangers tended to dress alike. After the first year they wore a five-pointed star that was sometimes hidden under a vest or jacket.

Burton C. Mossman was the first captain of the Arizona Rangers.

"In reference to your application ... Have you been in the cattle business for the last eight years, and have you a working knowledge of the Spanish language?

"We have made it a practice to enlist only single men, as the men have to abandon their homes and their families for as much as six months.

"Each man must [bring] a horse, saddle, and complete pack outfit, a Colt 45 six-shooter. . . ."

Thomas H. Rynning

Captain, Arizona Rangers

"I had been a bust as a Romeo with that school teacher, so was still single. I had been raised with the other qualifications all my life. I rode down to Douglas [to join the Rangers]."

--Joe Pearce, 1902

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"The captain shall select as his base the most unprotected and exposed settlement of the frontier." So read the law. When Thomas Rynning, a former Rough Rider, took over the rangers in 1902, he moved the headquarters to Douglas. This town, then one of the toughest places in the West, attracted cattle thieves and known killers to its saloons, dance halls, and gambling joints. The Cowboy Saloon and others were run by men who boasted of notches on their six-shooters. But the rangers slowly cleaned out Douglas and turned their attention elsewhere.

The rangers learned that cattle thieves who posed as honest ranchers were not easily caught. The neighbors of a man named Taylor in Cochise County, for example, had been unable to convict him of branding their calves. So the rangers thought of a clever way of detecting him. They roped thirteen unbranded calves belonging to the neighbors, made a slit in the gullet (the skin around the throat) of each, and pushed in a Mexican coin. After driving the animals toward Taylor's land, the rangers left.

They returned several months later to check things out. Finding the calves with Taylor's brand, the rangers hauled them to Tombstone and arrested Taylor. They gave a dramatic demonstration of cutting the coin out of the gullet of one of the calves. When the evidence was shown, Taylor promised to leave the country if he could sell his ranch and cattle. He did sell them, but at a fraction of their real value. The neighbors happily accepted this bargain. "Taylor's ranch will no longer have miracle cows that produce a dozen calves a year," said one rancher.

The rangers worked hard, making more than 1,000 arrests in one year. In 1905 Rynning reported to the governor that "cattle stealing was practically wiped out in Arizona."

Harry Wheeler

Harry Wheeler was another fearless ranger leader. During his exciting career he was forced several times to shoot it out with desperate men. On one occasion, Wheeler shot a robber in the Palace Saloon in Tucson. The robber had the saloon customers lined up against the wall at gunpoint when Wheeler pushed open the swinging doors. The two men exchanged fire, but the sure-shooting Wheeler hit his target as the robber's bullet whistled harmlessly by.

Bold and daring, Wheeler liked his job. No one was more disappointed when the territorial legislature abolished the rangers in 1909. The colorful rangers had performed a great service in helping to bring law and order to the territory.
---see pictures

Thomas H. Rynning was the second captain of the Arizona Rangers.

Harry Wheeler was the fast captain of the Arizona Rangers and later the sheriff
of Cochise County.

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1. What would you add to this list of territorial items that are no longer used today?

2. List five things you currently use that you think will no longer be used a hundred years from now.

activity

Chart Arizona Towns

On a separate piece of paper, make an "Origin of Arizona Towns" chart. Use the column headings shown in the example below. (Hint: some helpful aids would be an Arizona highway map and the book Arizona Place Names.)

The Prescott High School football team in 1908. Football players wore canvas suits. At first they had no headgear and no protective pads. Special hand grips were attached to the trousers of linemen. Backfield men could grab these grips and be pulled for extra yardage. There was tots of slugging, kicking, and biting in the pileups. A play was not dead until the runner could no longer move, or until he said "down."

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Chapter 9 Review

1. 
   How was life on the frontier difficult for women?
   
2. 
   List three types of places where towns got started during territorial days.
   
3. 
   How did Tombstone solve its water problem?
   
4. 
   What did Arizona families use to preserve food that might spoil?
   
5. 
   Why is Hutchlon Ohnick important in Arizona history?
   
6. 
   When and where was the first telephone switchboard installed in Arizona? What was a major problem for early phone users?
   
7. 
   Name five Arizona towns that had electric trolleys.
   
8. 
   List five popular fun activities in territorial towns.
   
9. 
   What were the two favorite Mexican holidays? Is that true today?
   
10. 
    List two popular places of entertainment in Tombstone.
    
11. 
    For what accomplishments are the following leaders remembered? Bishop Salpointe, Endicott Peabody, George H. Adams, R. A. Windes, Winfield Scott, and Samuel Drachman.
    
12. 
    Who was William Neal? List some of his business activities.
    
13. 
    Why were black soldiers called "buffalo soldiers?"
    
14. 
    Why were the Arizona Rangers organized?
    

Phoenix residents in the 1900s were proud of their modern trolley cars.

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The 48th State

A Constitution, World War I, an Expanding Economy, and the Roaring Twenties

chapter 10

THE TIME

1900-1930
PEOPLE TO KNOW
President William McKinley

President William H. Taft

Governor George W. P. Hunt

Carl Hayden

Henry F. Ashurst

Marcus A. Smith

Rachel Allen Berry

Frances Willard Munds

Governor Thomas E. Campbell

Governor John C. Phillips

Pancho Villa

General John J. Pershing

Lieutenant Frank Luke, Jr.

Mathew Juan

Paul W. Litchfield

Katherine Stinson

Harold Bell Wright

Zane Grey

Tom Mix
PLACES TO LOCATE
Phoenix

Salt River Valley

Bisbee

Tucson

Globe

Apache County

Yavapai County

Colorado River

Nogales

Fort Huachuca

Winslow
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joint statehood

progressive

recall

thrift

organized labor

humanitarian

armistice

liberty bond

aviation

quarantine

boll

treason

President McKinley visits Arizona.

Arizonans vote against joint statehood with New Mexico.

Charles Charles K. Hamilton makes the first flight in Arizona.

Congress passes the Enabling Act, making it possible for Arizona to become a state.

Civil war it Mexico

Constitution convention meets in Phoenix.

On February 14 Arizona becomes a state.

World War I is fought in Europe.

A copper strike shakes up Bisbee.

Thomas Campbell is elected the first Republican governor of Arizona.

Mexicans and Americans are killed in a battle at Nogales.

The "Roaring Twenties"

KFAD (later KTAR) receives Arizona's first commercial radio license.

The Colorado River Compact is signed by six of the seven basin states.

Congress creates the U.S. Border Patrol.

The first "talkie" movie is made.

The Swing-Johnson Bill authorizes a dam (Hoover Dam) on the Colorado River.

KTAR in Phoenix hooks up with the NBC network.

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Preparing for Statehood

PRESIDENT WILLIAM MCKINLEY rolled into Phoenix on a Southern Pacific train to take a look at the territory. He toured the brand new capitol building and visited the Indian School. On a side trip to the Congress Mine, the president's party was shown how gold is mined. The First Lady was presented with a small gold bar as a souvenir. McKinley was accompanied by reporters from every major news service. For a brief moment in 1901, the eyes of the nation were focused on Arizona.

As the twentieth century began, the territory was making rapid progress. Arizona led the nation in copper production. The Roosevelt Dam would soon give the Salt River Valley a dependable water supply. The people could boast of sixty newspapers published here. There was a good school system with three schools of higher learning.

By 1912 the population grew to 204,000. The three largest cities were Tucson, Bisbee and its suburbs, and Phoenix. By any standard, Arizona was ready for statehood. But the U.S. Senate and Easterners were slow to accept the idea of Arizona as an equal in the family of states.

Opponents of separate statehood for Arizona and New Mexico tried to combine the territories into one huge Texas-size state. This strategy would cut the number of new senators from four to two. The name of the super state would be "Arizona" but the capital would be in Santa Fe.

Arizonans, both Democrats and Republicans, did not want joint statehood. They signed petitions against it. Almost every club, church, and organization in the territory worked to defeat it. Arizona got support from Senator Joseph B. Foraker of Ohio. He introduced an amendment to the joint statehood bill that permitted voters in both territories to vote yes or no on joint statehood. Either territory could stop Arizona and New Mexico from being combined. As the election turned out, Arizonans voted against joint statehood 16,265 to 3,141. New Mexico, on the other hand, favored it by a big margin.
---see picture

This cartoon was titled "A Flag Day Dream." Just what are the men dreaming of? Did they get joint statehood or separate statehood? How can you tell?

Congress finally passed the Enabling Act, a law that made it possible for Arizona to become a state. Soon Arizonans were busy electing delegates to represent them at a convention. There the state constitution would be written and approved. Most of the delegates were progressives who wanted to give ordinary people a bigger voice in government.

The delegates began their work at the capitol in Phoenix. They elected George W. P. Hunt, a progressive Democrat from Globe, to preside over the convention. They also hired clerks at five dollars per day, a dollar more than the delegates received. Morris Goldwater jokingly

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George W. P. Hunt presided over the constitutional convention.

Morris Goldwater from Prescott was a delegate to the constitutional convention.

This was the headline in The Arizona Republican on December 5, 1910.

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Popular Progressive Reforms

Committees worked on different parts of the constitution. When the delegates got around to voting, they approved the initiative, referendum, recall, and direct primary. Labor unions, which had a strong influence with progressive delegates, insisted on the people's right to recall (remove from office) judges who gave court orders to stop strikes.

The delegates, however, defeated two popular reforms of the day: prohibition of liquor and women's suffrage (the right to vote). A majority of them ignored a prohibition petition signed by thousands of women asking that the sale of intoxicating beverages be forbidden.

A special postcard pleading for women's suffrage also failed to influence enough delegates. The card had a picture of a drunk opposite a young mother. The caption said, "This man can vote. This woman cannot." Later, at the first state election, Arizona's male voters approved an amendment giving women the right to vote and to hold office. Eight years later, the U.S. Constitution was amended to give women these rights nationwide.

The nation was in the mood for change when Arizona became a state. People who favored reforms such as women's suffrage, conservation of forests, pure food laws, better working conditions in factories and mines, and regulation of the railroads were called progressives.

In this cartoon, the "big question" is whether or not the delegates will give up statehood (the bone) for a constitution with all the various reforms that were popular (the image in the water). The cartoonist suggests that Arizona can't have both. How was this "big question" answered?

—from The Arizona Republican, October 9, 1910

Here is a cartoon version of President Taft opposing the recall provision in the Arizona constitution. How is the Arizonan portrayed?

—the Washington Evening Star, April 11, 1911

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The convention put together a constitution, which the voters approved. After a long delay in Washington, D.C., President Taft signed a document making Arizona a state on one condition. The recall-of-judges provision had to be stricken from the state constitution by a vote of the people.

Tired of waiting for statehood, Arizonans reluctantly voted to remove the section at a special election. The voters also chose their official state officers. George W. P. Hunt would be the first governor. The two U.S. Senate seats went to Marcus Smith and Henry Ashurst. Sheriff Carl Hayden easily won Arizona's only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Hayden would serve in Congress longer than any person in American history—seven terms each in the House and Senate between 1912 and 1969.

After Arizona became a state, the people voted to put the recall back into the constitution. The whole controversy turned out to be a big deal over nothing. Only one judge has been recalled.

—President Taft, in Arizona for a visit

and surrender our recall

Till safe within the statehood

stall,

With the ring of our

horse-laugh

Billy Taft, Billy Taft.

By the vote of one and all,

That ever-glorious recall,

Billy Taft, Billy Taft.

ON VALENTINE'S DAY, February 14, 1912, at 10:02 A.M., President Taft picked up a gold pen and scratched his signature on an imposing-looking paper. He signed the proclamation admitting Arizona into the Union as the forty-eighth state.

The good news reached Phoenix by telegraph. Steam whistles blasted away. People took to the streets to celebrate and share their joy with others. Soon the whole state knew. In Globe, a cannon sounded the people's approval forty-eight times. Bisbee residents exploded a stack of dynamite on Copper Queen Mountain. Prescott's pistol-firing celebrants slowed down just long enough to watch schoolchildren plant a native white oak on the courthouse plaza.

People in Phoenix were still shouting when Governor Hunt appeared in the lobby of the Ford Hotel. He walked to the capitol. His purpose was to set an example of thrift for everyone. Dressed in a brown suit with a carnation in the lapel, Hunt smiled and doffed his woolly hat as drivers in touring cars stopped to offer him a ride. As soon as the governor reached the capitol, his walking days were over. Thereafter he was chauffeured in a $3,000 automobile that cost the taxpayers $300 a month.

Following Hunt's inauguration and speech, there was a parade in downtown Phoenix. William Jennings Bryan, the well known "silver-tongued orator" from Nebraska, spoke for two hours to a crowd at the city plaza. The crowning event of the day was the inaugural ball held on

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Arizona's First Congressional Delegation

Senator Henry Fountain Ashurst, Prescott

Senator Marcus Smith, Tombstone

Representative Carl Hayden, Maricopa County