For thousands of years before the modern era, Arizona was home to many ancient
Native American civilizations.
Hohokam,
Mogollon, and
Ancestral Puebloan cultures were among those that flourished throughout the state. Many of their pueblos, cliffside dwellings, rock paintings and other prehistoric treasures have survived and attract thousands of tourists each year. , depicts
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado's 1540–1542 expedition.
García López de Cárdenas can be seen overlooking the
Grand Canyon. In 1539,
Marcos de Niza, a Spanish
Franciscan, became the first European to contact Native Americans. He explored parts of the present state and made contact with
native inhabitants, probably the
Sobaipuri. The expedition of Spanish explorer
Coronado entered the area in 1540–1542 during its search for
Cíbola. One of the first settlers in Arizona was
José Romo de Vivar.
Father Kino was the next European in the region under Spanish rule. A member of the
Society of Jesus ("
Jesuits"), he led the development of a chain of missions in the region. He converted many of the Indians to Christianity in the
Pimería Alta (now southern Arizona and northern
Sonora) in the 1690s and early 18th century. Spain founded
presidios ("fortified towns") at Tubac in 1752 and Tucson in 1775. When Mexico achieved its independence from the
Kingdom of Spain and its
Spanish Empire in 1821, what is now Arizona became part of its Territory of
Nueva California, ("New California"), also known as
Alta California ("Upper California"). Descendants of ethnic Spanish and
mestizo settlers from the colonial years still lived in the area at the time of the arrival of later European-American migrants from the United States. in 1824.
Alta California is the northwesternmost state. During the
Mexican–American War (1847–1848), the
U.S. Army occupied the national capital of
Mexico City and pursued its claim to much of northern Mexico, including what later became
Arizona Territory in 1863 and later the State of Arizona in 1912. The
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) specified that, in addition to language and cultural rights of the existing inhabitants of former Mexican citizens being considered as inviolable, the sum of $15million in compensation () be paid to the Republic of Mexico. In 1853, the U.S. acquired the land south below the
Gila River from Mexico in the
Gadsden Purchase along the southern border area as encompassing the best future southern route for a transcontinental railway. What is now the state of Arizona was administered by the United States government as part of the
Territory of New Mexico from 1850 until the southern part of that region seceded from the
Union to form the
Territory of Arizona. This newly established territory was formally organized by the federal government of the
Confederate States on Saturday, January 18, 1862, when President
Jefferson Davis approved and signed
An Act to Organize the Territory of Arizona, marking the first official use of the name "Territory of Arizona". The Southern territory supplied the Confederate government with men, horses, and equipment. Formed in 1862,
Arizona scout companies served with the
Confederate States Army during the
American Civil War. Arizona has the westernmost military engagement on record during the Civil War with the
Battle of Picacho Pass (1862). (far right) and his
Apache warriors fought against both Mexican and American settlers. The Federal government declared a new U.S. Arizona Territory, consisting of the western half of earlier New Mexico Territory, in Washington, D.C., on February 24, 1863. These new boundaries would later form the basis of the state. The first territorial capital, Prescott, was founded in 1864 following a gold rush to central Arizona. The capital was later
moved to Tucson, back to Prescott, and then to its final location in Phoenix in a series of controversial moves as different regions of the territory gained and lost political influence with the growth and development of the territory. Although names including "Gadsonia", "Pimeria", "Montezuma" and "Arizuma" had been considered for the territory, when 16th President
Abraham Lincoln signed the final bill, it read "Arizona", and that name was adopted. (
Montezuma was not derived from the
Aztec emperor, but was the sacred name of a divine hero to the
Akimel O'odham of the
Gila River Valley. It was probably consideredand rejectedfor its sentimental value before Congress settled on the name "Arizona".)
Brigham Young, leader of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in
Salt Lake City, Utah, sent
Mormons to Arizona in the mid- to late 19th century. They founded
Mesa,
Snowflake,
Heber,
Safford, and other towns. They also settled in the
Phoenix Valley (or "Valley of the Sun"),
Tempe,
Prescott, and other areas. The Mormons settled what became
northern Arizona and northern New Mexico. At the time these areas were in a part of the former
New Mexico Territory. During the nineteenth century, a series of gold and silver rushes occurred in the territory, the best known being the 1870s stampede to the silver bonanzas of
Tombstone, Arizona, in southeast Arizona, also known for its legendary outlaws and lawmen. By the late 1880s, copper production eclipsed the precious metals with the rise of copper camps like
Bisbee, Arizona, and
Jerome, Arizona. The boom and bust economy of mining also left hundreds of
ghost towns across the territory, but copper mining continued to prosper with the territory producing more copper than any other state by 1907, which earned Arizona the nickname "the Copper State" at the time of statehood. During the first years of statehood the industry experienced growing pains and labor disputes with the
Bisbee Deportation of 1917 the result of a copper miners' strike. -era migrant workers, Pinal County, 1937
20th century to present During the
Mexican Revolution from 1910 to 1920, several battles were fought in the Mexican towns just across the border from Arizona settlements. Throughout the revolution, many Arizonans enlisted in one of the several armies fighting in Mexico. Only two significant engagements took place on U.S. soil between U.S. and Mexican forces:
Pancho Villa's 1916
Columbus Raid in New Mexico and the
Battle of Ambos Nogales in 1918 in Arizona. After Mexican federal troops fired on U.S. soldiers, the American garrison launched an assault into
Nogales, Mexico. The Mexicans eventually surrendered after both sides sustained heavy casualties. A few months earlier, just west of Nogales, an Indian War battle had occurred, considered the last engagement in the
American Indian Wars, which lasted from 1775 to 1918. U.S. soldiers stationed on the border confronted
Yaqui Indians who were using Arizona as a base to raid the nearby Mexican settlements, as part of their wars against Mexico. Arizona became a U.S. state on February 14, 1912, coinciding with
Valentine's Day. Arizona was the
48th state admitted to the U.S. and the last of the
contiguous states to be admitted. at the Gila River relocation center, April 23, 1943 Cotton farming and copper mining, two of Arizona's most important statewide industries, suffered heavily during the
Great Depression. But during the 1920s and even the 1930s, tourism began to develop as the important Arizonan industry it is today. Dude ranches, such as the K L Bar and Remuda in Wickenburg, along with the Flying V and Tanque Verde in Tucson, gave tourists the chance to take part in the flavor and activities of the "Old West". Several upscale hotels and resorts opened during this period, some of which are still top tourist draws. They include the
Arizona Biltmore Hotel in central Phoenix (opened 1929) and the Wigwam Resort on the west side of the Phoenix area (opened 1936). Arizona was the site of German prisoner of war camps during World WarII and
Japanese American internment camps. Because of wartime fears of a Japanese invasion of the
U.S. West Coast (which in fact materialized in the
Aleutian Islands Campaign in June 1942), from 1942 to 1945, persons of Japanese descent were forced to reside in internment camps built in the interior of the country. Many lost their homes and businesses. The camps were abolished after World WarII. The Phoenix-area
POW camp site for Germans was purchased after the war by the
Maytag family (of major
home appliance fame). It was developed as the site of the
Phoenix Zoo. A Japanese-American internment camp was on
Mount Lemmon, just outside the state's southeastern city of Tucson. Another
POW camp was near the
Gila River in eastern
Yuma County. Arizona was also home to the
Phoenix Indian School, one of several federal
Indian boarding schools designed to assimilate Native American children into mainstream European-American culture. Children were often enrolled in these schools against the wishes of their parents and families. Attempts to suppress native identities included forcing the children to cut their hair, to take and use English names, to speak only English, and to practice Christianity rather than their native religions. Numerous Native Americans from Arizona fought for the United States during World WarII. Their experiences resulted in a rising activism in the postwar years to achieve better treatment and civil rights after their return to the state. After Maricopa County did not allow them to register to vote, in 1948 veteran Frank Harrison and Harry Austin, of the
Mojave-Apache Tribe at
Fort McDowell Indian Reservation, brought a legal suit,
Harrison and Austin v. Laveen, to challenge this exclusion. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled in their favor. Arizona's population grew tremendously with residential and business development after World WarII, aided by the widespread use of
air conditioning, which made the intensely hot summers more comfortable. According to the
Arizona Blue Book (published by the
Arizona Secretary of State's office each year), the state population in 1910 was 294,353. By 1970, it was 1,752,122. The percentage growth each decade averaged about 20% in the earlier decades, and about 60% each decade thereafter. In the 1960s,
retirement communities were developed. These age-restricted subdivisions catered exclusively to the needs of senior citizens and attracted many retirees who wanted to escape the harsh winters of the
Midwest and the
Northeast.
Sun City, established by developer
Del Webb and opened in 1960, was one of the first such communities.
Green Valley, south of Tucson, was another such community, designed as a retirement subdivision for Arizona's teachers. Many senior citizens from across the United States and Canada come to Arizona each winter and stay only during the winter months; they are referred to as
snowbirds. In March 2000, Arizona was the site of the first legally binding election ever held over the internet to nominate a candidate for public office. In the 2000 Arizona Democratic Primary, under worldwide attention,
Al Gore defeated
Bill Bradley. Voter turnout in this state primary increased more than 500% over the 1996 primary. In the 21st century, Arizona has frequently garnered national attention for its efforts to quell illegal immigration into the state. In 2004, voters passed
Proposition 200, requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. The
Supreme Court of the United States struck this restriction down in 2013. In 2010, Arizona enacted
SB 1070 which required all immigrants to carry immigration papers at all times, but the Supreme Court also invalidated parts of this law in
Arizona v. United States in 2012. On January 8, 2011, a
gunman shot congresswoman
Gabby Giffords and 18 others at a gathering in Tucson. Giffords was critically wounded. The incident sparked national attention regarding incendiary political rhetoric. Three ships named
USS Arizona have been christened in honor of the state, although only
USS Arizona (BB-39) was so named after statehood was achieved. ==Geography==