In 1848 the Southwest was acquired by the United States in the War with Mexico.  Arizona was part of the region that became known as the New Mexico Territory consisting of what is today known as the States of Arizona and New Mexico.

     In 1849 "The Gadsden Purchase" acquired the region south of the Gila River extending from the  California border to the Rio Grande River.  With Gold discovered in California, migration through Arizona was extensive and eventually those who were unsuccessful in California came to Arizona to settle.

     The southern region of the New Mexico Territory, especially Tucson and Mesilla, would become settled primarily by pioneers from the south, including many Virginians.  There would also be heavy settlement by the Mormons throughout most of the Arizona part of the Territory.

     On March 16, 1861, an "Ordinance of Secession" was passed by a Convention of the People of Arizona at Mesilla, Arizona Territory.  On August 1st, the Territory of Arizona was created and seceeded from the Union.  The Arizona Territory consisted of the portions of the region of the New Mexico Territory which was south of the Gila River from El Paso to Yuma.

     On February 14th, 1862, the Territory of Arizona was recognized by the Confederate States of America. Granville H. Oury of Tucson, a Virginian, was elected as the first delegate to the Confederate Congress.

     On February 14th, 1863, the Territory of Arizona was recognized by the United States Government, but to spite the Confederacy the borders were adjusted:  The original northern border included Piute county, which Nevada renamed Clark county, whose seat is Las Vegas.

     From 1865 to 1900, there was a great influx of settlers mostly from the southern states, most of whom were ex-Confederates or refugees from the Reconstruction South, including a great many from the war devastated regions of Virginia.  As the mining boom hit, many more settlers came to Arizona from the mid-west, and from countries around the world, including Germany, Ireland, Wales and China.

     On February 14th, 1912 Arizona became the 48th State.

Arizona was the last State in US history to take up arms against another State:

            In 1934, California began construction of the Parker Dam to divert Colorado River water to the Los Angeles reservoir.  Unbeknownst to Arizona residents, California was claiming ALL rights to the Colorado River.  When Arizona Attorney General Arthur La Prade was informed that California claimed control of the river, he in turn, informed Arizona Governor Moeur that the construction of Parker Dam would require footings set on both sides of the river, one side being Arizona’s.  That March, Governor Moeur dispatched the Nellie Jo, a ferry boat in the Arizona Navy commanded by first woman Admiral and Yuma Senator Nellie Bush, to transport 6 members of the Arizona National Guard to observe construction of the dam.

         Upon hearing the report, Governor Moeur issued a proclamation entitled “to Repel an Invasion,” in which martial law was declared.  Moeur dispatched the ferry boat Julie B with 17 truckloads of militiamen, 40 sharpshooters and 20 machine gunners to halt construction on Arizona’s side of the river.  

        Teddy Roosevelt’s US Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes asked the US Supreme Court to issue an injunction against Arizona, but the Court refused on grounds that Congress never authorized the dam.  Ickes then guaranteed that no further construction would take place until Arizona's water claims were adjudicated.  That agreement provided for the Gila River irrigation project which became the Salt River Project today.

       However operatic this episode may be, it exemplifies astute politics and represents the last time that one US State took up arms against another US State.


Arizona will dissolve the current government to re-establish the Constitution:

            Under Arizona Revised Statues HRC 2034, The State of Arizona assures its intention to dissolve the current federal government with the approval of 34 other states and start over under the original intent of the founding fathers.  Participating states would re-ratify and re-establish the present Constitution "as the charter for the formation of a new federal government, to be followed by the election of a new Congress and President and the reorganization of a new judiciary."  Individual members of the military will return to their respective states and report to the governor until a new president is elected.



FEDERAL SITES

1. www.ice.gov – US Customs and Immigration Enforcement has finally admitted that Human trafficking as an epidemic in the US with Arizona one of the leading exporters of Human beings.  Victims are typically children stolen for resale on the black-market abroad with the aid of Child Protective Services.  Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano is investigating CPS with results forthcoming. 

 

2. www.nsa.gov – National Security Agency, nicknamed “No Such Agency” in Tom Clancy novels, has a very sheik and seductive web presentation.  There is a Kids Page and an informative narrative on NSA’s origin and history.  Radio was hi-teck in WWI and Cryptology in WWII.  The future is none of our business.    

 

3. www.usdoj.gov – US Marshalls now offer ‘fugitive safe surrender’ program for non-violent felony and misdemeanor offenders.  Under S. 2750/H.R. 5459, funding was provided to adjudicate non-violent offences as a crucial step toward community reentry.  The program was piloted in Cleveland and Phoenix with plans for expansion, claiming that tens of thousands of fugitives reside in every major city across the US.     

 

4. www.fbi.gov – FBI is our premier investigative branch operating under the Department of Justice and serves as a role model internationally.  The FBI clearly has a handle on everything judicial and does not resemble other Federal websites with the exception of shared “wanted” information.  The website is excellent for branching out into a browsers particular area of interest from cyber scams to kidnapping.

   

5. www.dhs.gov – DHS definitely has a fresh, completely unique look and feel.  The landing page is clean, uncluttered and caters to Netizens with an 8th grade education or less.  With 8 formerly separate Federal entities fused into one, I’m really impressed with how unsophisticated the web presentation is.  For browsers who prefer eye candy – this isn’t the place to go, but requires no brain to navigate otherwise.

 

NON-FEDERAL SITES

6. http://www.tiffinohio.com/TiffinPD -- I was here once before in search of Fred’s e-mail address and this time for aesthetic reasons.  This is an extremely clean, easy to navigate, user friendly site.  You can get to any point in the site within two clicks and I already know that won’t be true for my last four items.  The only question I have is the .gif image of Ohio’s State flag.  I’m sending Fred an Ohio pennant flag in its pennant shape just in case TPD’s webmaster wants it.

  

7. www.lvmpd.com – Las Vegas Metropolitan PD’s site is very sheik and very funded.  The webmaster’s aesthetic senses agree with my own.  LV Metro has added Homeland Security and Multimedia as additional options, and considering the broad range the site covers, it’s still easy to find what you need without undue frustration.  I see more and more design concepts that blend a Noir-like background with tints and hues of selected colors.  They did a good job and it compliments flavor of Las Vegas.        

 

8. http://www.houstontx.gov/police -- Houston PD’s site doesn’t load fast and is Jeff Foxworthy friendly.  There’s a “cash for crooks” program and a recruitment banner that can’t go unnoticed.  I appreciate how the webmaster added the slider on the left side of the landing page for folks who forget that scrolling down is possible.  Most of the pages I make are for the scrolling impaired.  The visitor’s link on the top right corner leads to a zip code selector that will transport a browser to any area of Houston.  Nice idea.     

 

9.  http://www.oxnardpd.org – Oxnard, California PD has an awkward and mysterious website, as though the public already has a long working relationship with the police.  OPD uses a .org extension instead of the usual .com or .gov.  Further browsing proves that Oxnard PD has outdone itself with community outreach programs to be envied by other PD’s that just don’t know where to begin.  This might be a good place to start.  The load time will bog down older browsers and some of the fine print is too small even for 20/15, but there are some unique venues contained in this site worth reexamining. 

 

10. http://www.hampton.va.us/police/index.html -- Hampton, Virginia PD has a really neat candy heavy opening.  You’ll need you’re speakers on to hear the music and watch the flash presentation.  It’s no-nonsense and straight to the point after that.  Hampton is surrounded by 26 military installations and has just about every type of climate and amenity you could want.  HPD’s citizens police academy is an excellent way to eliminate the “us and them” syndrome that kills many well intended outreach efforts.