Reading and Writing Workshop

Territorial Period and the American Southwest (1850s–1912)
Session 1: Incorporation into U.S. Territories (Arizona, New Mexico, etc.)
Topics:

• The U.S. acquisition of the Southwest post-Mexican-American War
• The Gadsden Purchase (1854) and territorial reorganization
• Early governance and law in Arizona and New Mexico Territories

Reading:

• "Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo" (1848) – Key articles related to U.S. acquisition
  https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/guadhida.asp
• "The Gadsden Treaty" (1854)
  https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/mx1853.asp

Writing Prompt:
How did the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Gadsden Purchase shape the identity and governance of the American Southwest?

Session 2: The California Gold Rush and Mining Booms (Arizona Copper, New Mexico Silver)
Topics:

• The ripple effect of the California Gold Rush (1848–1855) in the Southwest
• Arizona’s copper boom and New Mexico’s silver mining
• Mining towns and their impact on regional development

Reading:

• "The Forty-Niners" from The Annals of San Francisco by Frank Soulé (1855)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30360
• Annual Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office (1871) (section on mining and mineral resources in Arizona and New Mexico)
  https://archive.org/details/annualreportofc1871unit

Writing Prompt:
Describe how mining in Arizona and New Mexico differed from the California Gold Rush in terms of labor, settlement, and economic outcomes.

Session 3: Railroads and Cattle DrivesTopics:

• The arrival of the Southern Pacific and Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroads
• The rise of cattle drives and ranching economies
• Transformation of Indigenous and Hispanic land use

Reading:

• "Report on the Railroads of the Southwest" by Thomas Donaldson (1880) from Public Domain Documents of the U.S. Congress
  https://archive.org/details/reportonrailroa00donagoog
• Excerpts from The Cattle Industry of the Southwest by Joseph G. McCoy (1886)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/58430

Writing Prompt:
How did railroads and cattle drives reshape the economy and culture of the American Southwest?

Session 4: Apache Wars, Navajo Long Walk, and Indigenous Conflicts
Topics:

• The series of conflicts with Apache, Navajo, and other Indigenous nations
• The Navajo Long Walk (1864) and Bosque Redondo reservation
• Geronimo and the Apache resistance

Reading:

• Life Among the Apaches by John C. Cremony (1868) – Primary account of Apache resistance
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45452
• The Navajo Treaty of 1868
  https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/nav001.asp
• "Geronimo’s Story of His Life" by Geronimo, as told to S.M. Barrett (1906)
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/691

Writing Prompt:
Compare and contrast the experiences of the Navajo and Apache during the period of U.S. military campaigns and forced relocations.

Capstone Writing Assignment:
​Write an essay or short story from the perspective of a settler, miner, rancher, or Indigenous person living in the Southwest between 1850 and 1912. Incorporate historical details from at least two of the readings from this unit.