Raising Arizona

‘rasing arizona’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_Arizona) was a hilarious look at the land of Arizona.  (who knows if the culture portrayed was accurate, but having been there a number of times, it looked pretty accurate to me.)  however, Arizona is anything but funny!  

ever wonder why arizona has the anti-immigrant immigration law it has? 

ever wonder why arizona is like ‘wonder bread’? 

ever wonder why its political rhetoric has been ‘red hot’ lately? 

well…let’s take a look at the history of arizona:  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona)

well, lookie here:

Arizona is the 48th state and last of the contiguous states admitted to the Union, achieving statehood on February 14, 1912 - the 50th anniversary of Arizona's recognition as a territory of the Confederate States of America.

hmmm…

When Mexico achieved its independence from Spain in 1821, what is now Arizona became part of the Territory of Nueva California, also known as Alta California.^[21] In the Mexican–American War (1847), the U.S. occupied Mexico City and pursued its claim to much of northern Mexico, including what later became Arizona.

interesting…

In July 1860, a convention of settlers from the southern part of the territory was held in Tucson. The convention drafted a constitution for a "Territory of Arizona" to be organized out of the New Mexico Territory south of 34° N.

The convention elected Lewis Owings as the territorial governor, and elected a delegate to Congress. The proposal, however, did not succeed in Congress because of opposition from anti-slavery Congressmen, who feared the new territory might eventually become a slave state.

After the start of the American Civil War, support for the Confederacy was strong in the southern part of the New Mexico Territory, largely due to its neglect by the United States government. In March 1861, the citizens of Mesilla, New Mexico called a secession convention to separate themselves from the United States and join the Confederacy.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_Territory_%28Confederate_States_of_America%29)

…

Arizona was administered as part of the Territory of New Mexico until southern New Mexico seceded from the Union as the Confederate Territory of Arizona on March 16, 1861. Arizona was recognized as a Confederate Territory by presidential proclamation of Jefferson Davis on February 12, 1862. This is the first official use of the name.

…

Arizona became a U.S. state on February 14, 1912. This resulted in the end to the territorial colonization of Continental America. Arizona was the 48th state admitted into the U.S. and the last of the contiguous states to be admitted. The admission, originally scheduled to coincide with that of New Mexico, was delayed by Democrats in the territorial legislature to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Arizona becoming a Confederate territory in 1862.

well…howdie dudie!

In 2010, Arizona passed the toughest illegal immigration legislation in the nation, igniting a fierce debate between supporters and detractors of the law.

now…are you surprised?  (didn’t think so!)

oh, and let’s not forget:

William Walker     (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Walker_%28filibuster%29)

The Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC, reorganized in early 1865 as The Order of the Sons of Liberty)     (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_the_Golden_Circle)

and on and on…

all in all, arizona has a pretty nasty past.  has it grown up any?  some.  but, who’s raising arizona?

 (daddy?)

 (mommy?)

yikes!  you better hide!  they’re comin out shoot’n!