How Arizona got its shape:

  Borders. The very thing that makes us what we are today; the literal lines on the map that divide us and set us apart. Here in Arizona is no different, we have borders. On the east side of our state, we share a border with New Mexico. On the north side we share a border with Utah. We share the Colorado River with Nevada and California on the west side. Finally, we share an international border on the south with Mexico. But how did we get these borders? In this article find out this answer and discover how Arizona could have had all the land surrounding Las Vegas and even have had beachfront property.

The history of how Arizona got its shape goes back to 1848. With the Mexican-American War just ending, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed on May 30, 1848, giving the United States majority of what now makes up Arizona and New Mexico. On September 9th, 1850, the Organic Act was signed creating the New Mexico Territory. The New Mexico Territory included most of present day New Mexico, Arizona, and a part of Nevada (the northern border of Arizona continued west across present day Nevada to California).

Shortly after the creation of the New Mexico Territory, a transcontinental railroad had been proposed. This was a great idea until surveyors came to Arizona. At the time, the border with Mexico was along the Gila River just south of present day Phoenix. The land north of the Gila River was way too rough and mountainous. However, the land south of the Gila River was for the most part flat and easy; the only problem was that this land belonged to Mexico. Enter James Gadsden, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. His job was to go to Mexico to try to buy the land needed for the Transcontinental Railroad. Mexico at the time was still at a draw for money after losing the recent Mexican-American War. This allowed James Gadsden to buy 29,670 square miles for $10 million on December 30, 1853. This land was added mostly to southern Arizona and part of New Mexico. The southern boundary was now set at what it is today. This was the last major “land purchase” of the United States and it was ratified by the Senate and Congress early in 1854.

While James Gadsden was in Mexico, he tried to convince Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna to include land that reached down to the Pacific Ocean. However, an attempted stealing of this land by William Walker and 50 other armed men was still on Santa Anna’s mind. He declined this request of Gadsden because he wanted Mexico to have land access to Baja California. Debate over the railroad was interrupted by the debate of slavery. The Civil War, changed the plans of the Transcontinental Railroad and resulted in it later being routed more north, through Flagstaff and Kingman, which was completed in the early 1880’s.

Meanwhile, as the Civil War began, Arizona fell to the Confederate States of America, who first declared Arizona its own territory. The Union eventually intervened and forced out most of the Confederacy (after a few small battles). On February 24, 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Arizona Organic Act which separated Arizona from New Mexico, making it its own territory. This state line was along the current Arizona-New Mexico Border. Slavery was abolished in the new territory and within two years, the Civil War was over.

The last little bit of history that shaped Arizona borders happens with Nevada around the time of the Civil War. At the time, Nevada didn’t have any land that connected with the Colorado River, the northern Arizona border continued west until it hit California. At the time when California drew its own lines, they included access to the Colorado River and the Sierra Nevada Mountains which were rich with gold. Nevada wanted some more land so they asked California if they’d be willing to budge a little bit. They replied that there wasn’t a chance. The eastern Nevada border was then shifted over into Utah a bit, but this wasn’t enough. They petitioned to Congress for access to the Colorado River because without it, they’d be landlocked and would suffer economically. “The Arizona Territorial Government really raised hell,” said state historian Marshall Trimble. However, because Arizona was not a state, they did not have any say in what Congress could do, thus they didn’t really have a say. In addition to that, Arizona had been a Confederate Territory during part of the Civil War, and this didn’t sit well with Congress. Because of these two facts, Nevada was given land. Their eastern border was now extended south to the Colorado River (present day boundaries), reshaping both Nevada and Arizona.

Over the years, our borders have changed a lot. At first we were only a part of a territory, and then we added more land and became our own. After adding and losing land, we redrew the lines to what they are today, which, in reality, are really quite good. Inside these boundaries are a great state with an extraordinary amount of diversity and beauty. So now you know, how exactly Arizona got its shape and you can answer the question, why is Arizona shaped the way it is?

Land gained from the Gadsden Purchase of 1854 - Image courtesy of WIkipedia

The New Mexico Territory in 1861 & The Arizona and New Mexico Territories sometime after 1864 - Images courtesy of Wikipedia