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Arizona Call to Prayer co-director Guy Chadwick has just completed original research and a book entitled God in the Foundations of Arizona Government. This book is the result of his treasure hunt into the archives and written historical record of our unique state. As intercessors, it is invaluable to have understanding in order to pray most effectively. The historical foundations in God for Arizona revealed in this book will surprise you and profoundly deepen your perspective for powerful prayer. Published by Arizona Call to Prayer
Softcover, 180 pages
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GENERAL STATE HISTORY
The motto of Arizona is "Ditat Deus" which means "God enriches" and our Creator has certainly endowed this state with a history of creative entrepreneurs, a heritage of sacrificial Christian leadership, sources of wealth in mineral deposits, and breathtaking displays of beauty found in natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon.
The first known inhabitants of the land were the Sinagua ("without water," Spanish) in the north and the Hohokam ("The people who have gone away," Hopi) in the Central part of the State. The Hohokam were ingenious people who discovered how to harness the water of the Gila and Salt Rivers through irrigation to water their fields and grow a variety of crops. They were knowledgeable astronomers, skilled jewelry makers, and the first entrepreneurs, traveling even as far as the Pacific Ocean to trade their handicrafts with other tribes. Their belief system was filled with mythological stories about receiving power from various animals and birds through dreams, and they also worshipped three main gods through magical songs and ritual dances. One god was Siuuhu who was believed to have created mankind a second time after the original people were destroyed by a great flood which covered the earth. Both the Hohokam and the Sinagua mysteriously disappeared around 1400 A.D.
In the 1500's, Spanish explorers arrived, many of whom had been lured by legends about seven cities of gold and the expectation of sudden wealth. Not all of the explorers were opportunists though; some were Christians who had miraculous healing gifts. One was Alonzo del Castillo Maldonado. "At sunset he pronounced a blessing over the sick, and all the Christians united in a prayer to God
on the following morning there was not a sick person among them." (Farish, 1915, p. 2)
The next to arrive in the 1600's were the Franciscans, Dominicans and Jesuits, who were motivated by missionary zeal. The first three Franciscans came to the resistant Hopi Indians in northeastern Arizona. When Friar Francisco de Porras healed a blind boy, hundreds of Hopis were converted to Christianity in a short time. Porras became the first martyr in Arizona after eating food poisoned by angry Hopi shamens.
Probably the most famous of the Jesuits was Father Eusebio Francisco Kino. Known as the Great Apostle to the Pima Indians, Father Kino made his first trip to what is now Arizona in 1691. He established missions around Tucson, but also made itinerant trips to preach and teach. In a memorial service, Father Kino was eulogized with the following words: "He prayed much, and was considered without vice
He never had more than two coarse shirts, because he gave everything as alms to the Indians." (Faulk, 1970, p. 23)
It should be remembered that during this time Arizona was still part of Mexico under the control of the Spanish Empire. When Mexico won its independence from Spain, the Mexican Congress decreed on Dec. 20, 1827, that all foreign missionaries be expelled. So, this ended the missionary endeavors of the various Spanish Catholic orders. The United States acquired a portion of what is now Arizona under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the remainder of the land through the Gadsden Purchase in 1853.
During the 1800's, violence against Arizonan settlers from warring Apaches (meaning "man fight") started to increase. Some feel this was due to the betrayal, torture and murder of their greatest chief, Mangus Colorado. (He was promised he would receive humane treatment if he surrendered.) Others feel that the loss of missions and the lack of Indian conversions was a factor. Naturally, the encroachment of settlers either Spanish or other Anglos on Indian land was an issue as it disrupted their ability to hunt or farm and so limited their food sources. But, the history of Anglo - Indian relationships in Arizona is complex. Some tribes were peaceful and maintained good relationships with settlers. But some, like the Apache were more warlike, and fought not only Anglos, but also other tribes. Historically, there were a number of betrayals and broken treaties. In short, there was much innocent blood, both Anglo and Indian, shed on Arizona soil.
Not many are aware that the civil war actually had a part to play in the formation of Arizona. A battle of the war was fought at Picacho Peak, a site located between Phoenix and Tucson, on April 15, 1862. The Tucson area was largely made up of settlers from the south, who were naturally sympathetic to the confederate cause while the areas farther north consisted of settlers from the east coast who were largely pro-Union. The Tucson settlers tried to persuade Congress to create a Confederate Territory of Arizona with Tucson as the capital. But in the 1860's, large quantities of gold were discovered in the north near where the present city of Prescott is located. In Washington, D.C., it was decided that the Union should secure its claims to Arizona and its mineral wealth. Congress quickly passed a bill, called the Organic Act, which divided New Mexico in half and created a Territory of Arizona from its western half. One of prominent lobbyists for this bill was Charles D. Poston who became known as the "Father of Arizona" for his work in making Arizona a separate territory. He became the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Arizona and is also considered the "Founder of Yuma."
The Organic Act legislation was signed into law by President Lincoln and John N. Goodwin, a Union sympathizer from Maine, became Arizona's first territorial governor. Goodwin rejected Tucson as a logical choice for the capital and headed toward the area that was to become Prescott. As Arizona's first territorial capital, Prescott was named after historian William Hickling Prescott who wrote a book about Mexican history and the Aztecs. The Territorial Secretary of State, Richard C. McCormick, erroneously believed that the ancient Indian ruins in the area were proof that Aztec Indian civilizations originated there before they went to Mexico.
This fascination with the Aztec culture became part of the first Masonic lodge in Prescott which named itself the Atzlan Lodge. Aztlan was a mythical site where the Devil appeared to the Aztecs in the representation of an idol. Masonry and the other secret societies were very popular in the western towns of Arizona. Much of the settlers' social life revolved around lodge activities and many members were prominent civic and political leaders. In addition to the other groups, a different type of secret society, the Ku Klux Klan, gained a foothold in Phoenix. In the 1920's there were 300 Klan members in Phoenix. Among these were newspaper editors, law enforcement officers, a Superior Court judge, company managers, and legislators. From its initial success in Phoenix, the Klan branched out to smaller communities in Arizona.
Fortunately, the early Protestants were shining lights in the midst of this darkness. The first Protestant missionaries came to Arizona in 1868. Not surprisingly, they found the people of Arizona mainly miners, cowboys, soldiers, merchants and railroad workers to be quite resistant to the Gospel. But these persistent and longsuffering preachers continued to sow into rocky soil and watched their congregations gradually increase. One notable example in Phoenix was the First Church of Christ congregation which grew from 20 members in 1887 to 3,000 members in the 1920's. (This was 10% of the city's population at the time). Another memorable work was that of the Congregationalists in Prescott who reached out to the Chinese in their community and taught them English using the Bible. One of these students, known as Charlie Wann, who returned to China as a believer, started a chain of department stores and with his income established several chapels, built a Christian hospital, initiated Sunday School programs and formed a Home Missionary society. He held daily church services in his home and in each of the stores resulting in the conversion of many.
In 1889, the territorial capital was moved permanently to Phoenix, a place named for the mythological bird which rose up out of the ashes. And in a similar way, Phoenix arose from the ruins of the Hohokam. While on an excursion in 1867, Jack Swilling, a prospector and former Confederate army officer who fought in the Picacho Peak battle, saw before him the expansive Salt River Valley and discovered the ruins of prehistoric Indians canals. Swilling, a resourceful man with the innovative spirit of an entrepreneur, suddenly had the idea to re-dig the ancient canals and divert water from the Salt River to irrigate land for farming. He soon organized the Swilling Irrigation Canal Company and moved into the valley. With this new access to water, many settlers moved into the area. By 1875, Phoenix was a thriving community of 16 saloons, four dance halls, a brewery, a jail, a lithograph, two banks, and a few stores. In 1882, land developer, Clark A. Churchill, incorporated a new company, the Arizona Canal Company to increase the water supply. "The Arizona Canal was unique. It was not built upon the old Hohokam canal system, but upon soil that had been previously unplowed." (Winters, 2000)
Precious little happened in Arizona without a struggle and the territory's admission to Statehood was no exception. Many petitions for admission were largely ignored for about twenty years. Then in January 1910, Congress authorized the Arizona territory to hold a constitutional convention for the purpose of drafting a state constitution. This new constitution passed the Congress, but President Taft vetoed it because it contained a provision allowing the recall of judges. The majority of Arizonans favored this provision as they resented the "idea that there is to be an exclusive class that shall be granted certain privileges and immunities." (Wagoner, 1970, p. 480) But in a general election, Arizonans voted to amend the constitution in accordance with the President's wishes. Finally, on February 14, 1912, Arizona was admitted as the 48th State of the Union. Humorously, voters reinserted the recall of judges back into their constitution on November 5, 1912.
Statehood helped to draw many new pioneers to the area as did the construction of Roosevelt Dam which increased the water supply. During this time, there was considerable growth in the mining areas such as Globe, Jerome and Bisbee as well as those towns located along railroads such as Winslow and Yuma. After World War II there was another significant increase in population as many veterans who had been stationed in Arizona returned after the war. This tremendous population growth has continued to this day with Phoenix being the 6th largest city in the nation. Every day, the population of Arizona grows by 425 people. Many of the new residents are from other nations. According to the 2000 Census, the Asian/Pacific Islander population is Arizona's fastest growing racial group, but there has also been an 88 percent rate of growth in the Hispanic population over the past decade.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abbey, Sue. Mar. 30, 1997. "Jon Con Sang Family Achieved Success, Lost it to Communists." The Daily Courier. Bostwick, Todd W. Feb. 1998. "Hohokam Rock Art, Astronomy, and Religion." Glyphs, Newsletter of the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society. Tucson, AZ. Farish Thomas Edwin. 1915, History of Arizona, Vols. I & II. The Filmer Brothers Electrotype Company: San Francisco, CA. Faulk, Odie B., 1970. Arizona, A Short History. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, OK. Goldwater, Morris. "History of Masonry in Prescott." Unpublished manuscript, Prescott Public Library files, Prescott: AZ. Internet: http://www.azcentral.com/news/census_demographics.html Keane, Melissa, A. E. (Gene) Rogge, and Sharon K. Bauer. June 1998. Cornerstones of the Faith: The First Eight Congregations in Phoenix and the Archaeology of the First Presbyterian Church Site. Pueblo Grande Museum Occasional Papers No. 2. City of Phoenix: Phoenix, AZ. Kimball, Richard W. March 8, 1993. "History Revealed on Naming Prescott." The Prescott Courier. Luckingham, Bradford. 1989. Phoenix: The History of the Southwestern Metropolis. The University of Arizona Press: Tucson, AZ. Pilles, Peter Jr. 1983. "The Southern Sinagua," Plateau: People of the Verde Valley, Vol. 53, No. 1. Wagoner, Jay J. 1970. Arizona Territory, 1863-1912: A Political History. The University of Arizona Press: Tucson, AZ. Wagoner, Jay J. 1989. Early Arizona: Prehistory to Civil War. The University of Arizona Press: Tucson, AZ. "When the Klan Came to Arizona," Prescott Public Library Files. Winters, Robert J. 2000. The Valley of the Son Fulfilling Christ's Redemptive Purpose for Greater Phoenix in the 21st Century. Restoration International Ministries and Publications, Inc.: Glendale, AZ. Woznicki, Robert. 1999. The History of Arizona. Woznicki Publications: Tempe, AZ.
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