What major historical events happened in Arizona?

 Despite its status as a new member of the United States, Arizona has a rich historical past . Here are some of Arizona's most significant historical occurrences, ranging from pre-Civil War activities to the deeds of influential political people and tragedies that affected Arizonans.



  • Hohokam development in 1 A.D.

Around the year one A.D., the Hohokam people start to establish communities along the Gila River. The Casa Grande Ruins National Monument showcases the remnants of their more extensive and advanced towns and constructions built during the following 1,400 years.

  • Mexican-American War concluded in 1848.

The conflict ended with the United States agreeing to pay $15 million for more than 500,000 square miles of Mexican territory, including the majority of modern-day Arizona, in part due to the annexation of Texas by the United States in 1845.

  • 1863, the state of Arizona became a territory.

After the Mexican-American War, in 1863, the process of becoming a territory ended. The territory's initial capital is Fort Whipple. But shortly after the Civil War ended, the state's capital was transferred to Prescott and Tucson a few years later. Before moving to Phoenix in 1889, it returned to Prescott in 1877.

  • Gadsden Purchase, 1853

The agreement with Mexico expands the United States by almost 30,000 square miles, including territory in Arizona. The Senate ratified the treaty in April 1854 after being signed in late 1853.

  • Large-scale mining starts around 1858.

When Jacob Snively discovered gold in Gila City, east of Yuma, the era of industrial mining in Arizona officially began. The first of many boom towns in the area was Gila City.

  • Phoenix evolved in 1868.

Phoenix is established when a committee of locals along Swilling's Ditch meets to choose and give a townsite a name. This committee was founded when intrepid Jack Swilling arranged a proposal to use the historic Hohokam canals. Phoenix received formal recognition from the Yavapai County Council on May 4, 1868. It was after that incorporated in 1881.

  • 1901: William McKinley as president, makes a trip

Four months before he was killed, on May 7, 1901, President William McKinley and his Cabinet members arrived in the state. The modest gold-mining town of Congress and the nation's capital in Phoenix are two of its stops. The trip demonstrates that the Territory of Arizona had a prosperous industry.

  • Roosevelt Dam was built in 1903, and the Salt River Water Users' Association was established.

In 1903, Valley residents banded together to organise the group under the leadership of Dwight Heard and a few other notable persons. Concerned that summer droughts were harming the crucial farming industry, the organisation worked to have Roosevelt Dam built in 1911. The dam could hold runoff from snow and rain in the winter and then, in the summer, use a canal system to supply water to nearby settlements.

  • Cotton craze, 1914–20

Cotton became the state's most important crop, partly because of the demands of the American military during World War I. As an industrial fabric, a stricter variety of long-staple cotton becomes essential.

  • Grand Canyon became a national park in 1919

Arizona's premier natural marvel renamed the Grand Canyon Game Preserve in 1906, was made a national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908. In 1919, it was designated as the 17th national park in the country. It is currently the largest and most well-known national park in Arizona, with close to 5 million visitors each year.

  • 1930: Bringing Mexicans home

The Repatriation Movement was one of the first large-scale deportations targeting Mexicans, both legitimately and illegally, in the United States. The incident in 1930 took place at the same time as the Depression, which made many people unemployed, including Mexicans who worked in mines, on ranches, and farms.

  • 1936: Central Arizona Project, Hoover Dam over the Colorado River

U.S. Reclamation Services built the Hoover Dam to regulate the Colorado River, which was inaugurated in 1936. The dam is a component of initiatives to distribute the river's precious water among the neighbouring states. Arizona opposes the project because it thinks California will receive too much water. The Central Arizona Project, a 336-mile canal that continues to supply water to the desert, is born out of the conflict.

  • 1966: Using the Miranda warning to uphold rights

Ernesto Miranda had been detained and found guilty of kidnapping and rape in Phoenix in 1966 based on a purported confession. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction after his lawyers took the case there. Since then, officers have been obligated to give the Miranda warning before making an arrest.

  • 1975: Overcoming the gender divide

Phoenix, the most prominent American city with a female mayor, elected Margaret Hance as its first female mayor in 1975. The downtown park that crosses Interstate 10 bears her name.

  • Same-sex marriage in 2014

Arizona began recognising same-sex marriage on Oct. 17, 2014. Since 1996, the state has had a law prohibiting same-sex unions, and in 2008, voters ratified a constitutional amendment to maintain this ban. The state's rules were challenged in two federal court actions, and both cases resulted in rulings that the ban was unlawful.

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