Cultural Consequences

Stanley M. Hordes

New Mexico State Historian, 1981-1985

Many New Mexicans look to the achievement of statehood as one of the watershed events in New Mexico’s history– we all know the familiar demarcation: the Spanish period, from 1540 to 1821; the Mexican period, from 1821 to 1846; the U.S. Territorial period, from 1846 to 1912; and the Statehood period, from 1912 to the present. In administrative and political terms this is certainly true. With statehood, New Mexico was no longer a dependent territory of the United States, where citizens were prohibited from voting for president, and governors were not elected, but rather appointed by the president. After 1912, the full franchise was vested in most New Mexicans (male, white, New Mexicans, that is– suffrage was not extended to women until 1920, and Indians were not permitted to vote in state and national elections until 1948).

But in a more subtle sense, the 1912 transition from territorial to statehood status represented a significant step toward the homogenization of New Mexico culture, resulting in a weakening of native identity, Hispano and Native American, alike. In a certain sense this cultural development was both a cause and effect of statehood. Proponents of statehood trumpeted how progressive New Mexico was– how the region was maturing to become so much like the other forty-six states in terms of cultural assimilation into mainstream American life. At the same time, the post-1912 period witnessed a marked increase in migration to New Mexico from the East and Midwest. The newcomers would come to have a profound impact on the shaping of societal norms over the course of the next several decades, serving to“Americanize” what had comprised for centuries an essentially Native American and Hispano world.

This process did not begin magically in 1912, but rather had its origins in developments over a half century earlier. The transfer of sovereignty from Mexico to the United States in 1846 had a profound impact on the cultural landscape of New Mexico. The early years of U.S. rule witnessed the superimposition of Anglo-American influence over the Territory. New Mexicans had to adjust themselves to a new political elite– governors, administrators, judges; a new religious elite– archbishops, priests, missionaries; and a new economic elite– merchants and lawyers, who spoke a different language and represented an alien culture. But, for the most part, internal affairs within Hispano and Indian rural communities throughout New Mexico remained much the same as they had prior to the U.S. invasion. Spanish remained the dominant language, facilitating the passing down of cultural traditions from one generation to another.

In the early and middle decades of the twentieth century this superimposition slowly and almost imperceptibly transformed itself into a true imposition of Anglo-American culture. The arrival of radio, movies, and later television, plus the participation of New Mexicans in World Wars I and II, all exposed the inhabitants of this remote frontier region to a far greater range of ideas and influences. Moreover, the development and expansion of public schools throughout the state resulted in an influx of teachers from