The path to statehood was a long and arduous process for both New Mexico and Arizona. In 1848, the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War and allowed the New Mexico territory to be annexed to the United States; however, disputes regarding a state constitution, boundaries, slavery, and the people prevented movement towards statehood. Eventually on January 6, 1912, New Mexico became the 47th state admitted to the Union when President William Taft signed the New Mexico statehood bill. Thirty-nine days later, Arizona became the 48th state admitted to the Union. Read more about it!

The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.

The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.