History ETDs

Publication Date

5-23-1967

Abstract

Clarence E. Carter, esteemed editor of the Territorial Papers of the United States, has aptly described U. S. territorial history as the "Dark Age of American Historiography," and rightly so. In the case of New Mexico, some portions of its long, sixty-two year existence as a Territory--from approval of the Organic Act in 1850 to acquisition of statehood in 1912--have been adequately covered, particularly the years of the Civil War. Other aspects, notably statehood attempts, Indian lands and related problems, private land grants, and similar events, have, of late, likewise come under the scrutiny of historians. However, until the appearance of Lamar's The Far Southwest, last year, no satisfactory and even relatively comprehensive survey of New Mexico's colorful history as a Territory has been written. The works of Twitchell, Coan, Reeve, Read, Horgan, and others, provide unbalanced and inadequate coverage, particularly of political and social developments in New Mexico since American occupation by Kearny and his forces. Four current textbook histories are likewise unsatisfactory in this respect. Historians, apparently, have been more attracted to New Mexico's romantic era of the conquistadores as well as to the long period under Mexican rule.

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Degree Name

History

Department Name

History

First Committee Member (Chair)

Donald Colgett Cutter

Second Committee Member

Gerald David Nash

Third Committee Member

Gunther Eric Rothenberg

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

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