Governor of Santa Fe Province

Transcription

Hey guys and welcome back to That Was History! We're a little belated on saying this but all of us here at That Was History hope you've had a wonderful New Year thus far. This is our first episode for 2014, and it's a special one. You'll see why in a little bit, but let's get to the content you came here for, shall we? This state right here is none other than the state of New Mexico that has been a state of the USA since January 6th of 1912. Now obviously you know there has to be some significant history behind the state, and there absolutely is! Let's start in the 16th century and work our way forward. In this century, Spanish explorers passed through the area of what would become New Mexico and discovered some very well-preserved ruins of a thirteenth century civilization. Rumors quickly got passed around about the riches that these ruins supposedly contained, which encouraged the first full-scale expedition into this territory in 1540. Unfortunately, the very famous Apaches of the Americas did not like this intrusion into their land by Spain. Fighting would ensue for years until 1609 when Pedro de Peralta was made governor of the "Kingdom and provinces of New Mexico." The Apaches would rise up again in the late 17th century and would drive Spain out of New Mexico, but that was short-lived. Colonists from Spain would show up again in the 18th century to try their hand at professions like farming and mining. Now, lets fast track to 1821 where the country of Mexico gained its freedom from Spain. When this happened, the territory that was "New Mexico" became a province of Mexico, and that would officially open trade between Mexico and the United States. The trade system worked for a while with some Americans even settling in New Mexico by way of the Santa Fe Trail. If you know your wars from history, however, you will remember that peace did not last as the Mexican-American war would break out in 1846. The United States had very little difficulty occupying New Mexico, and two years later the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo would give New Mexico to the United States. The Gadsden Purchase in 1853 would see New Mexico to its modern-day size. Shortly after this, New Mexico became very important with regards to the Civil War. Everyone wanted to know one question: Was New Mexico going to be a slave state or a free state? Obviously, this answer would help determine New Mexico's allegiances during the impending Civil War. As I mentioned earlier, this episode is special. I have Keith Hughes of HipHughes History with me. So let's see what he has to say about the slave / no slave debacle. Hey That Was History! I love talking about the Civil War... you guys know that! I would certainly be happy to talk a little bit about the New Mexico Territory's impact on the Civil War. Now, New Mexico's territories of course are wrapped up into the Compromise of 1850 which set the boundaries for New Mexico. So, you know if you watch HipHughes History, I love analogies. So, the analogy that I would use is that the additional of New Mexico in the Compromise of 1850 is like the second band aid that we're trying to put on the wounds of sectionalism. Now, as we all know sectionalism has many different components. It's really the expansion of slavery that is driving sectionalism, and the first band aid that we put on that problem in order to solve the problem of whether to new territory should have slavery or not, because the Constitution certainly weaseled themselves out of that and didn't mention anything, was the Missouri Compromise of 1820. In 1820, we create this kind of invisible line across the map that's supposed to forevermore solve the problem of whether slavery will be legal or it won't be legal. Of course, this gets wripped off in 1850. The Compromise of 1850 deals with slavery differently, and in New Mexico in the territories that were coming in it was decided that they would be allowed to vote on slavery. This is the concept of Popular Sovereignty, and we all know that doesn't work out very well. You can fast-forward four years, and in 1854, Popular Sovereignty is first battle-tested in Kansas with the Kansas-Nebraska Act. This is the baby of Democrat, Stephen Douglas... and that goes horribly bad! Horribly bad! You have radicals from both sides, the slave camps, and abolitionists like John Brown who end up... it doesn't work out well. There's a reason why it's called Bloody Kansas. So that part of the compromise fails, and really the second part of the compromise... you know California was brought in as a free, Union state. So, therefore, the South really wanted to see something in their palm. They wanted something back, and they got the Fugitive Slave Act. Now, the Fugitive Slave Act while at first sounds really awesome if you're a Southern plantation slave owner... really what it's going to do is create even more tension. It brings, in a sense, the stink of slavery from the south to the north, and that's going to cause a rise of Abolitionism, and even though that Abolitionism is outside the government, and now we have the new government and the Republican Party coming to town, and they're free soil ideas. I don't think they're abolitionist as much as "real abolitionists" like William Lloyd Garrison, and as we mentioned, John Brown, but it doesn't matter! It doesn't matter! The South sees this rise of Abolitionism as kind of eventuality that is coming down to free the slaves. Certainly, you know, in 1862 Harriet Beecher Stowe with Uncle Tom's Cabin. It's the second-best seller after the Bible in the 19th century. That, like the Fugitive Slave Act, is causing more tension by the rising forces of abolitionism, but i'm not blaming New Mexico. If anything, the additional of New Mexico put off the Civil War for about a decade. Many historians say it was that decade, because the north was industrializing, that's going to give them the big advantage in the upcoming Civil War... New railroad lines, machinery, all that stuff. but I'm done talking about it, so I'm going to kick it back to you, Cliff, and That Was History. Keep pumping out the content because we all know cat videos... there's only so much you can watch on the YouTubes. We like the learnings! We'll see you guys next time. Check it out! So there you have it. New Mexico was one of those states that both sides of the Civil War wanted really bad. At one point, both the Union and Confederate governments were laying claims to the territory. This would make New Mexico a big player in the Trans-Mississippi theater of the Civil War until its end in 1865. Even after this war, the Apache and Navajo Indians would remain a problem for the United States until Geronimo's surrender in 1886. With the Native American threat our the way, settlers finally swarmed into New Mexico by way of the Santa Fe Railroad. All these many years of history had to take place before New Mexico would finally receive statehood in 1912. Thanks so much for watching this episode of That Was History featuring our guest host Keith Hughes of HipHughes History. Be sure to like this video and pass it around with your friends, and also head over to Keith's channel and subscribe to him if you're looking for even more great history content! There's only so much that we can offer on our own, and Keith has been building his library for years. You'll enjoy it, I promise. If you haven't subscribed to us yet, be sure to do so using the annotation on-screen. That way you can always keep up with the latest from us here at That Was History. Thanks again for watching, and I'll see you next time.