Christi Bickford
POS 301 – Arizona and Federal Government
November 11, 2012
Arizona Statehood This was the oldest time in Arizona history. There were various types of people living at this time. One of which is the Paelo people. The Hohokam people settled in the southern parts of Arizona in the early 300’s. The Hohokams introduced highly extensive canals and watering systems.. The Hohokam and Anasazi people began the process of finding new ways to be successful in producing agricultural crops. As time when on, the Hohokam people became very advanced in irrigation. They contributed to the creation and establishment of more advanced irrigation networks. Around 500BC the Pueblo people came to Arizona. These people built many elaborate residences, for those times, in the region. They were a people that developed the use of cotton fiber and underground chambers to build their homes. It is a very amazing history of the beginnings of Arizona. The people of the time were very much advanced for the time and began to master crops and homes that would flourish in the Arizona territory. During this time the Spanish colonist began to steadily populate Arizona. They were in search of the silver and other hidden treasure of the territory. Many Spanish colonists including Fray Marcos and other colonist came looking for the sliver deposits they had trouble making the territory bigger. The Apache and Tohono O’odham Indian tribes would not allow the colonist to travel north. The tribes acted violently against the colonist to keep their area free from them. This was a period of growth in economy but a violent time as well. Mexico gained independence from the Spanish rule in 1821. The result of this independence came the stop of economic growth, especially in the silver mining. This in turn made it impossible for the people of Arizona to keep the Apaches Indians satisfied. They in turn began violent attacks again the people. Texas announced its independence from Mexican rule in 1836 this made it very difficult for Mexico to keep its power over the currently occupied areas. In 1846 US occupied Texas and the Mexican Republic as forced to surrender the northern half to the United States including Arizona. A treaty was signed to surrender Texas, California and Arizona to the United States. The US controlled period began with the signing of the treaty from Mexico. During the civil war of 1861, the seashore of the Pacific Ocean became a valuable piece of land. The United States split up the territory of New Mexico and created the Arizona Territory. Although this helped with the dispute of the Confederate Territory of Arizona it did not help the unrest between the American settlers and the Native Americans. Arizona became organized as a separate state. During this time the first capital of Arizona was Fort Whipple. After many cities were declared the capital, in 1889 Phoenix was declared the capital of Arizona. In 1912, Arizona was accepted as a state in the United States of America. Its constitution was formed and with it were several items including judicial recall and referendums. The Arizona constitution was a very progressive movement sighting the recall of judges and its direct participation of the citizens in government affairs. It is still today one that the people have much more participation in than other states. It takes into consideration the views and recommendations of it’s citizens. There are three branches of the Arizona Government. The Executive, Legislature, and Judicial branches, each of these has a specific role. The Legislative branch has the job of regulating law-making process. They are in charge of the formation of laws within the states and those that would be discussed in congress. The Executive branch approves laws, carries them out, appointment and expulsion of government members, and negotiates plans and treaties. The Judicial branch oversees the matters of dispute and consideration. They are the keepers of the constitution. In the 21st Article of the Arizona Constitution it allows for three methods of amendments to be made. They are Commenced Constitution Revisions, Revisions Referred by the Legislature, and the Constitutional Convention. The Commenced Constitution Revisions is a procedure that must be done by balloting. If any petition makes it through, is finally signed and equals to 15% of the votes that have been cast. The Revisions Referred by the Legislatures is any chamber of the legislature of Arizona is allowed to move amendments forward. It does however need a majority from both chambers to approve it. When and if it is approved then it can be voted by ballot where the people get to approve or reject it. The Constitutional Convention is when the same procedures are involved to make an amendment it can also call on statewide conventions to approve. Arizona Constitution is one that is fair and gives the people of Arizona a good voice in government. The Progressive framers would have been pleased with this Constitution because it gave the voice of the people a part in the government just as they had planned with the recall of judges portion originally written in the Arizona Constitution. References: Websites: www.azgovernor.gov www.e-referencedest.com/resources/state-early-history/arizona www.wikipedia.org