The Yuma Sun is a newspaper in Yuma, Arizona , United States.
95-695: Though not founded until 1896, the Yuma Sun can trace its history back to the Arizona Sentinel , the first newspaper in what is now the Yuma area . The Yuma Sun would eventually be formed by a merger of the Arizona Sentinel and the Yuma Sun's predecessor, the Yuma Morning Sun . The Sentinel was founded in 1871 by David A. Gordon and C. L. Minor when Yuma was still known as Arizona City. The paper, originally called
190-538: A British company to build a railroad and sought an exclusive contract from the new Franklin Pierce Administration to deliver mail from New York to San Francisco. However, Sloo soon defaulted on bank loans and the contract was sold back to Hargous. The Pierce administration, which took office in March 1853, had a strong pro-southern, pro-expansion mindset. It sent Louisiana Senator Pierre Soulé to Spain to negotiate
285-667: A bill to create two railroads, one with a northern route, and one with a southern route starting below Memphis on the Mississippi River. Under the Rusk legislation, the President would be authorized to select the specific termini and routes as well as the contractors who would build the railroads. Some southerners, however, worried that northern and central interests would leap ahead in construction and opposed any direct aid to private developers on constitutional grounds. Other southerners preferred
380-739: A daily newspaper. In 1916 the paper was met with disaster, when a flood caused the collapse of the Morning Sun's offices, destroying all of the files of paper for the previous 20 years. The disaster was a total loss for the paper. However, the paper was able to receive financial backing and shortly resumed publication. In the midst of the Great Depression , it was soon realized that Yuma, a city of only 5,000, could not support two daily newspapers. In 1935, F.F. McNaughton and R.E. "Doc" Osborn purchased both struggling newspapers and combined them. Osborn's son Jones Osborn later became editor and publisher of
475-451: A deleterious way. The purchased lands were initially appended to the existing New Mexico Territory. To help control the new land, the US Army established Fort Buchanan on Sonoita Creek in present-day southern Arizona on November 17, 1856. The difficulty of governing the new areas from the territorial capital at Santa Fe led to efforts as early as 1856 to organize a new territory out of
570-635: A family was $ 42,718. Males had a median income of $ 36,345 versus $ 27,262 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 18,418. About 17.6% of families and 20.9% of the population were below the poverty line , including 30.7% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over. The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Yuma County. † county seat 32°47′13″N 113°58′58″W / 32.78694°N 113.98278°W / 32.78694; -113.98278 Gadsden Purchase The Gadsden Purchase ( Spanish : Venta de La Mesilla "La Mesilla sale")
665-472: A female householder with no husband present, and 22.6% were non-families. 18.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.27. In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.9% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age
760-542: A few thousand square miles and about 3,000 residents; more significantly, it included the Mesilla Valley. Bordering the Rio Grande River, the valley consisted of flat desert land measuring about 50 miles (80 km), north to south, by 200 miles (320 km), east to west. This valley was thought to be essential for construction of a transcontinental railroad using a southern route. John Bartlett of Rhode Island ,
855-498: A northern route. The Memphis convention overwhelmingly advocated the construction of a route beginning there, to connect with an El Paso, Texas to San Diego, California line. Disagreement arose only over the issue of financing. The convention president, Matthew Fontaine Maury of Virginia , preferred strict private financing, whereas John Bell and others thought that federal land grants to railroad developers would be necessary. Gadsden supported nullification in 1831. When California
950-458: A number of special districts. The board has members from five districts. The Board adopts ordinances, establishes programs, levies taxes, appropriates funds, appoints certain officials, and zones property and regulates development in the unincorporated area. In addition, members of the Board represent the county on numerous intergovernmental agencies. In Arizona's first 52 years as a state, Yuma County
1045-456: A precedent for using federal land grants when he signed a bill promoted by Douglas that allowed a south to north, Mobile to Chicago railroad to be financed by "federal land grants for the specific purpose of railroad construction". To satisfy Southern opposition to the general principle of federally supported internal improvements , the land grants would first be transferred to the appropriate state or territorial government, which would oversee
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#17330862563671140-511: A railroad across the isthmus was a "feasible and practical" idea. Clayton then instructed Robert P. Letcher , the minister to Mexico, to negotiate a treaty to protect Hargous' rights. The United States' proposal gave Mexicans a 20% discount on shipping, guaranteed Mexican rights in the zone, allowed the United States to send in military if necessary, and gave the United States most-favored-nation status for Mexican cargo fees. This treaty, however,
1235-618: A seaport. In addition, many Southern business interests feared that a northern transcontinental route would exclude the South from trade with the Orient . Other Southerners argued for diversification from a plantation economy to keep the South independent of northern bankers. In October 1849, the southern interests held a convention in Memphis, in response to a convention in St. Louis earlier that fall which discussed
1330-738: A southern route for the proposed railroad. The route was to begin in Texas and end in San Diego or Mazatlán . Southerners hoped that such a route would ensure Southern prosperity, while opening the "West to southern influence and settlement". Southern interest in railroads in general, and the Pacific railroad in particular, accelerated after the conclusion of the Mexican–American War in 1848. During that war, topographical officers William H. Emory and James W. Abert had conducted surveys that demonstrated
1425-508: Is Arizona's largest majority-Hispanic county . Long settled by Native Americans of indigenous cultures for thousands of years, this area was controlled by the Spanish Empire in the colonial era. In the 19th century, it was part of independent Mexico before the Mexican–American War and Gadsden Purchase . Yuma County was one of four original Arizona counties created by the 1st Arizona Territorial Legislature . The county territory
1520-715: Is a 29,640-square-mile (76,800 km ) region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that the United States acquired from Mexico by the Treaty of Mesilla , which took effect on June 8, 1854. The purchase included lands south of the Gila River and west of the Rio Grande where the United States wanted the construction of what is now known as the Sunset Route , a transcontinental railroad , to be carried out, which
1615-467: Is the second highest citrus producer behind Maricopa, a distant second in grapefruit , limes , and oranges but producing far more lemons . Some olives, clingstone peaches , and plums are grown here. Yuma County produces almost all of the vegetable seed grown in the state. The average farmer age is the lowest in the state, at 56.6 years. During the winter agricultural season from November to March, some 40,000 Mexican workers cross
1710-706: The Arizona Free Press , was renamed the Arizona Sentinel after one year of publication. Two years later, the paper's name was shortened to just the Sentinel . In 1911, the paper merged with the Yuma Examiner to become the Arizona Sentinel and Yuma Weekly Examiner . Then, in 1915, the paper merged with the Yuma Southwest to become the Arizona Sentinel Yuma Southwest . A little over a year later,
1805-483: The Congressional Research Service stated, "...it is unclear how much of the drop-off is due to increased enforcement and how much is a result of the U.S. economic downturn and other systemic factors". The Greater Yuma Economic Development Corp anticipates many agricultural jobs in the county will soon transition to robotics . The Board of Supervisors is the governing body of the county and
1900-511: The Mesilla Valley , protection for Mexico from Indian raids, and the right of transit in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec . The treaty provided for a joint commission, made up of a surveyor and commissioner from each country, to determine the final boundary between the United States and Mexico. The treaty specified that the boundary, after following the Rio Grande River from the sea, would turn west from
1995-581: The Southern Pacific Railroad later completed in 1881–1883. The purchase also aimed to resolve other border issues. The first draft was signed on December 30, 1853, by James Gadsden , U.S. minister to Mexico, and by Antonio López de Santa Anna , president of Mexico. The U.S. Senate voted in favor of ratifying it with amendments on April 25, 1854, and then sent it to President Franklin Pierce . Mexico's government and its General Congress or Congress of
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#17330862563672090-466: The Sun . While The Sun had been a morning newspaper, the new owners decided instead to publish the merged daily paper in the early afternoon as The Yuma Daily Sun . The owners reasoned that the main sources of national and world news — Washington, D.C., and New York — were two hours to three hours ahead of Yuma and so an afternoon newspaper would be able to carry the latest news of the outside world. In 2001,
2185-530: The United States Congress with the first plan to construct a transcontinental railroad. Although Congress took no action on his proposal, a commercial convention of 1845 in Memphis took up the issue. Prominent attendees included John C. Calhoun , Clement C. Clay, Sr. , John Bell , William Gwin , and Edmund P. Gaines , but James Gadsden of South Carolina was influential in the convention's recommending
2280-637: The Utah Territory and the New Mexico Territory , would facilitate a southern route to the West Coast since all territory for the railroad was now organized and would allow for federal land grants as a financing measure. Competing northern or central routes championed, respectively, by U.S. Senators Stephen Douglas of Illinois and Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri , would still need to go through unorganized territories. Millard Fillmore established
2375-426: The poverty line , including 27.9% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over. As of the 2010 census , there were 195,751 people, 64,767 households, and 48,976 families residing in the county. The population density was 35.5 inhabitants per square mile (13.7 inhabitants/km ). There were 87,850 housing units at an average density of 15.9 units per square mile (6.1 units/km ). The racial makeup of
2470-745: The 2010s. In this county, plantations suffer from the Carob Moth ( Ectomyelois ceratoniae ) and the Banks Grass Mite ( Oligonychus pratensis ). Leaders in the county are aware their economy is tied to that of Mexican states on the other side of the border; both have to be considered. "There are automotive plants in Ciudad Juárez, across from El Paso; aerospace plants in Mexicali, southwest of Yuma; and medical devices’ manufacturers in Tijuana, near San Diego. On
2565-504: The 75,000 or so native nomads in the region from attacking swiftly and taking refuge among the hills, buttes , and arroyos in a landscape where one's enemies could be spotted twenty or thirty miles away. In the five years after approval of the Treaty, the United States spent $ 12 million (equivalent to $ 330 million in 2023 ) in this area, and General-in-Chief Winfield Scott estimated that five times that amount would be necessary to police
2660-513: The American side, there is a mix of retail stores, warehouses and trucking companies..." Because of Yuma County's location along the U.S.-Mexico border , large numbers of aliens entering the United States illegally pass through Yuma County. From October 2004 to July 2005, some 124,400 undocumented foreign nationals were apprehended in the area, a 46% increase over the previous year. In 2014, however, only 5,902 people were apprehended. The report from
2755-678: The California state legislature a large land grant located between the 34th and 36th parallels, along the proposed dividing line for the two California states. A few months later, Gadsden and 1,200 potential settlers from South Carolina and Florida submitted a petition to the California legislature for permanent citizenship and permission to establish a rural district that would be farmed by "not less than Two Thousand of their African Domestics". The petition stimulated some debate, but it finally died in committee. The Compromise of 1850 , which created
2850-507: The Gulf of Mexico with the Pacific Ocean. In 1842 Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna sold the rights to build a railroad or canal across the isthmus. The deal included land grants 300 miles (480 km) wide along the right-of-way for future colonization and development. In 1847 a British bank bought the rights, raising U.S. fears of British colonization in the hemisphere, in violation of
2945-450: The IBWC has been heavily criticized as an institutional anachronism, by-passed by modern social, environmental, and political issues. The residents of the area gained full US citizenship and slowly assimilated into American life over the next half-century. The principal threat to the peace and security of settlers and travelers in the area was raids by Apache Indians. The US Army took control of
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3040-516: The Mesilla Valley by Mexico because of its implication for the railroad, but President Fillmore supported it. Southerners in Congress prevented any action on the approval of this separate border treaty and eliminated further funding to survey the disputed borderland. Robert B. Campbell , a pro-railroad politician from Alabama , later replaced Bartlett. Mexico asserted that the commissioners' determinations were valid and prepared to send in troops to enforce
3135-644: The Mexican legislature rejected the treaty, a move that led to the Mexicans canceling Hargous' contract to use the right of way. Hargous put his losses at $ 5 million (equivalent to $ 142 million in 2023 ) and asked the United States government to intervene. President Fillmore refused to do so. Mexico sold the canal franchise, without the land grants, to A. G. Sloo and Associates in New York for $ 600,000 (equivalent to $ 17 million in 2023 ). In March 1853 Sloo contracted with
3230-570: The Mississippi and New Orleans, and they at least wanted to secure a southern route. Also showing interest was Peter A. Hargous of New York who ran an import-export business between New York and Vera Cruz . Hargous purchased the rights to the route for $ 25,000 (equivalent to $ 700,000 in 2023 ), but realized that the grant had little value unless it was supported by the Mexican and American governments. In Mexico, topographical officer George W. Hughes reported to Secretary of State John M. Clayton that
3325-429: The Pacific railroad for the remainder of the antebellum period. It was becoming increasingly difficult, if not outright impossible, to consider any proposal that could not somehow be construed as relating to slavery and, therefore, sectional issues. Although few people fully realized it at the close of 1854, sectionalism had taken such a firm, unrelenting hold on the nation that completion of an antebellum Pacific railroad
3420-519: The Sentinel and the Examiner had become separate newspapers again. Sometime after, the Sentinel became daily. The Yuma Morning Sun first saw the light of day on April 10, 1896. The Sun was founded by Mulford Winsor , the son of a newspaper editor. This rendition of the paper would be printed off and on for a period of nine years. Then, on November 15, 1905, the paper was renamed The Morning Sun , becoming
3515-766: The Sloo grant was signed in Mexico on March 21, 1853. At the same time that this treaty was received in Washington, Pierce learned that New Mexico Territorial Governor William C. Lane had issued a proclamation claiming the Mesilla Valley as part of New Mexico, leading to protests from Mexico. Pierce was also aware of efforts by France, through its consul in San Francisco, to acquire the Mexican state of Sonora . Pierce recalled Lane in May and replaced him with David Meriwether of Kentucky. Meriwether
3610-511: The Treasury, supported it. Both were stockholders in a Vicksburg -based railroad that planned to build a link to Texas to join up with the southern route. Davis argued that the southern route would have an important military application in the likely event of future troubles with Mexico. A treaty initiated in the Fillmore administration that would provide joint Mexican and United States protection for
3705-537: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the Gadsden Treaty and subsequent treaties, the International Boundary and Water Commission was established in 1889 to maintain the border. Pursuant to still later treaties, the IBWC expanded its duties to allocation of river waters between the two nations, and provided for flood control and water sanitation. Once viewed as a model of international cooperation, in recent decades
3800-421: The U.S. to buy-out Article XI for $ 25 million ($ 670 million ) while President Fillmore proposed a settlement that was $ 10 million less ($ 270 million ). During negotiations of the treaty, Americans had failed to secure the right of transit across the 125-mile-wide (201 km) Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southern Mexico. The idea of building a railroad here had been considered for a long time, connecting
3895-544: The US would allow further aggression against Mexican territory. Santa Anna needed to get as much money for as little territory as possible. When the United Kingdom rejected Mexican requests to assist in the negotiations, Santa Anna opted for the $ 15 million package. Santa Anna and Gadsden signed the treaty on December 30, 1853, and the treaty was presented to the U.S. Senate for confirmation. Pierce and his cabinet began debating
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3990-582: The Union took final approval action on June 8, 1854, when the treaty took effect. The purchase was the last substantial territorial acquisition in the contiguous United States , and defined the Mexico–United States border . The Arizona cities of Tucson , Yuma and Tombstone are on territory acquired by the U.S. in the Gadsden Purchase. The financially-strapped government of Santa Anna agreed to sell
4085-500: The United States entered into many other debates, as the acquisition of new territory opened the question of whether it would be slave or free territory; in this case, the debate over slavery ended progress on construction of a southern transcontinental rail line until the early 1880s, although the preferred land became part of the nation and was used as intended after the Civil War. In January 1845, Asa Whitney of New York presented
4180-537: The United States from any further obligation to protect Mexicans. $ 50 million (equivalent to $ 1.4 billion in 2023 ) would have bought the Baja California Peninsula and a large portion of the northwestern Mexican states while $ 15 million ($ 430 million ) was to buy the 38,000 square miles (98,000 km ) of desert necessary for the railroad plans. "Gadsden's antagonistic manner" alienated Santa Anna. Gadsden had advised Santa Anna that "the spirit of
4275-463: The United States negotiator, agreed to allow Mexico to retain the Mesilla Valley by setting the point at which the boundary commenced toward the west from the Rio Grande River at 32° 22′ N. This point was north of the American claim of 31° 52′ N and, at the easternmost part, also north of the Mexican-claimed boundary at 32° 15′ N, both also on the Rio Grande River ). Bartlett's agreement to 32° 22′ N
4370-482: The acquisition of Cuba. Pierce appointed expansionists John Y. Mason of Virginia and Solon Borland of Arkansas as ministers, respectively, to France and Nicaragua . Pierce's Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, was already on record as favoring a southern route for a transcontinental railroad, so southern rail enthusiasts had every reason to be encouraged. The South as a whole, however, remained divided. In January 1853, Senator Thomas Jefferson Rusk of Texas introduced
4465-407: The age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 24.4% were non-families, and 19.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.39. The median age was 33.8 years. The median income for a household in the county was $ 40,340 and the median income for
4560-422: The age" would soon lead the northern Mexican states to secede so he might as well sell them now. Mexico balked at any large-scale sale of territory. The Mexican President felt threatened by William Walker 's attempt to capture Baja California with 50 troops and annex Sonora. Gadsden disavowed any government backing of Walker, who retreated to the U.S. and was placed on trial as a criminal. Santa Anna worried that
4655-502: The border daily to work in United States fields. The area is watered by the Colorado River , and the sector supplies a large part of the US leafy vegetables. The Yuma Lettuce Days festival and agritourism is connected to Yuma agriculture. In 2017 the county produced vegetables worth $ 782,293,000, ranking first in the state and third in the entire country, from 107,908 acres (43,669 ha). Fruits brought $ 62,499,000, also first in
4750-562: The border of northern Sinaloa state. West of the county across the Colorado River in southeast California is the Colorado Desert , (a northwestern subregion of the Sonoran Desert). North of the county, with La Paz County the regions merge into the southeastern Mojave Desert . Southwest of Yuma County, is the entirety of Northwest Mexico, at the north shoreline of the Gulf of California , and
4845-517: The border. Mexican officials, frustrated with the failure of the United States to effectively enforce its guarantee, demanded reparations for the losses inflicted on Mexican citizens by the raids. The United States argued that the Treaty did not require any compensation nor did it require any greater effort to protect Mexicans than was expended in protecting its own citizens. During the Fillmore administration, Mexico claimed damages of $ 40 million (equivalent to $ 1.1 billion in 2023 ) but offered to allow
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#17330862563674940-478: The county by 560 votes over Hillary Clinton in the presidential election of 2016 . However, Trump's margin did improve to over 4,000 votes as he won the county again in 2020 over Joe Biden . In 2024 , Trump won Yuma County by over 20 percentage points against Kamala Harris , the best performance by a Republican since Ronald Reagan in 1984 . According to the United States Census Bureau ,
5035-623: The county has an area of 5,519 square miles (14,290 km ), of which 5,514 square miles (14,280 km ) is land and 5.1 square miles (13 km ) (0.1%) is water. The lowest point in the state of Arizona is on the Colorado River in San Luis in Yuma County, where it flows out of Arizona and into Sonora in Mexico . Yuma County is in the west, and northwestern regions of the north–south Sonoran Desert that extends through Sonora state of Mexico to
5130-405: The county was 70.4% white, 2.0% black or African American, 1.6% American Indian, 1.2% Asian, 0.2% Pacific islander, 20.8% from other races, and 3.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 59.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 10.6% were German , 7.4% were English , 6.9% were Irish , and 3.2% were American . Of the 64,767 households, 41.1% had children under
5225-419: The damages caused by American Indian raids, but agreed to let an international tribunal resolve this. Gadsden realized that Santa Anna needed money and passed this information along to Secretary Marcy. Marcy and Pierce responded with new instructions. Gadsden was authorized to purchase any of six parcels of land with a price fixed for each. The price would include the settlement of all Indian damages and relieve
5320-420: The difficulties of the task: Comanche, Apache, and other tribal warriors had been punishing Spanish, Mexican, and American intruders into their stark homeland for three centuries and been given no incentive to let up their murderous marauding and pillaging, horse stealing in particular. The U. S. Army had posted nearly 8,000 of its total of 11,000 soldiers along the southwestern boundary, but they could not halt
5415-679: The feasibility of a railroad's originating in El Paso or western Arkansas and ending in San Diego. J. D. B. DeBow , the editor of DeBow's Review , and Gadsden both publicized within the South the benefits of building this railroad. Gadsden had become the president of the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company in 1839; about a decade later, the company had laid 136 miles (219 km) of track extending west from Charleston, South Carolina , and
5510-423: The final transfer to private developers. By 1850, however, the majority of the South was not interested in exploiting its advantages in developing a transcontinental railroad or railroads in general. Businessmen like Gadsden, who advocated economic diversification, were in the minority. The Southern economy was based on cotton exports, and then-current transportation networks met the plantation system's needs. There
5605-469: The isthmian proposals. An amendment was added to the Rusk bill to prohibit direct aid, but southerners still split their vote in Congress and the amendment failed. This rejection led to legislative demands, sponsored by William Gwin of California and Salmon P. Chase of Ohio and supported by the railroad interests, for new surveys for possible routes. Gwin expected that a southern route would be approved—both Davis and Robert J. Walker , former Secretary of
5700-477: The list for the categories of vegetables + melons + potatoes + sweet potatoes at $ 782,293,000, and fruits + tree nuts + berries at $ 62,499,000. Overall this is the second (to Maricopa ) producing county for all agricultural products at $ 1,143,068,000 per year and for organic production . Almost all of the dates ( Phoenix dactylifera ) in the state are grown here, about 10 million pounds (4,500 metric tons; 5,000 short tons) worth $ 35 million per year. This
5795-417: The mountains, a route with a southeastern terminus might need to swing south into what was still Mexican territory. The administration of President Pierce, strongly influenced by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis , a Southerner from Mississippi, saw an opportunity to acquire land for the railroad, as well as to acquire significant other territory from northern Mexico. In those years, the debate over slavery in
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#17330862563675890-500: The newspaper went back to its roots, changing its name to The Sun and returning to morning delivery seven days a week. In 2009 the name of the newspaper was again changed. It became the Yuma Sun , reflecting its growing role as not only a printed newspaper but also as a digital source of information on the Internet. Yuma metropolitan area, Arizona Yuma County is a county in
5985-763: The outlet of the Colorado River into the Colorado River Delta region, now altered with lack of freshwater inputs. Notable mountains in Yuma County include the Gila Mountains and the Tule Mountains . As of the census of 2000, there were 160,026 people, 53,848 households, and 41,678 families residing in the county. The population density was 29 people per square mile (11 people/km ). There were 74,140 housing units at an average density of 13 units per square mile (5.0 units/km ). The county's racial makeup
6080-415: The paper switched its masthead back to the Arizona Sentinel. Finally, in 1918 it was again renamed the Yuma Examiner and Arizona Sentinel . The paper moved from a daily to semiweekly in 1920, then became a daily once again later that same year. In 1924, the paper merged again with Yuma Valley News and became the Examiner Sentinel News . In 1925 it shortened its name to the Yuma Examiner . By 1928
6175-548: The precepts of the Monroe Doctrine . United States interest in the right-of-way increased in 1848 after the gold strikes in the Sierra Nevada , which led to the California Gold Rush . The Memphis commercial convention of 1849 recommended that the United States pursue the trans-isthmus route, since it appeared unlikely that a transcontinental railroad would be built anytime soon. Interests in Louisiana were especially adamant about this option, as they believed that any transcontinental railroad would divert commercial traffic away from
6270-406: The purchase as acquisition of more slave territory. Even the sale of a relatively small strip of land angered the Mexican people, who saw Santa Anna's actions as a betrayal of their country. They watched in dismay as he squandered the funds generated by the Purchase. Contemporary Mexican historians continue to view the deal negatively and believe that it has defined the American–Mexican relationship in
6365-465: The purchase lands in 1854 but not until 1856 were troops stationed in the troubled region. In June 1857 it established Fort Buchanan south of the Gila at the head of the Sonoita Creek Valley. The fort protected the area until it was evacuated and destroyed in July 1861. The new stability brought miners and ranchers. By the late 1850s mining camps and military posts had not only transformed the Arizona countryside; they had also generated new trade linkages to
6460-435: The purposes of building a railroad through it, convince Mexico that the US had done its best regarding the Indian raids, and elicit Mexican cooperation in efforts by US citizens to build a canal or railroad across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Supporting the Sloo interests was not part of the instructions. Gadsden met with Santa Anna in Mexico City on September 25, 1853, to discuss the terms of the treaty. The Mexican government
6555-407: The revised treaty back to Santa Anna, who accepted the changes. The treaty went into effect June 30, 1854. While the land was available for construction of a southern railroad, the issue had become too strongly associated with the sectional debate over slavery to receive federal funding. Roberson wrote: The unfortunate debates in 1854 left an indelible mark on the course of national politics and
6650-439: The river eight miles (13 km) north of El Paso. The treaty was based on an 1847 copy (the Disturnell Map) of a twenty-five-year-old map which was incorporated into the treaty. However, surveys revealed that El Paso was 36 miles (58 km) further south and 100 miles (160 km) further west than the map showed. Mexico favored the map, but the United States put faith in the results of the survey. The disputed territory involved
6745-404: The southern part allow slavery. Gadsden planned to establish a slave-holding colony there based on rice, cotton, and sugar, and wanted to use slave labor to build a railroad and highway that originated in either San Antonio or the Red River valley. The railway or highway would transport people to the California gold fields. Toward this end, on December 31, 1851, Gadsden asked Green to secure from
6840-463: The southern portion. Many of the early settlers in the region were, however, pro-slavery and sympathetic to the South , resulting in an impasse in Congress as to how best to reorganize the territory. The shifting of the course of the Rio Grande would cause a later dispute over the boundary between Purchase lands and those of the state of Texas, known as the Country Club Dispute . Pursuant to
6935-507: The southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona . As of the 2020 census , its population was 203,881. The county seat is Yuma . Yuma County includes the Yuma, Arizona Metropolitan Statistical Area . The county borders three states: Sonora , Mexico, to the south, and two other states to the west, across the Colorado River : California of the United States and the Mexican state of Baja California . Being 63.8% Hispanic in 2020, Yuma
7030-613: The spirit of "Young America", and efforts to build railroads and canals across Central America and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico divided their forces, leaving a lot of time for the Pacific railroad. Moreover, the Compromise of 1850 encouraged Southerners not to antagonize opponents by resurrecting the railroad controversy. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) ended the Mexican–American War, but left issues affecting both sides that still needed to be resolved: possession of
7125-633: The state of Sonora, Mexico. Magdalena, Sonora, became a supply center for Tubac; wheat from nearby Cucurpe fed the troops at Fort Buchanan; and the town of Santa Cruz sustained the Mowry mines, just miles to the north. In 1861, during the American Civil War , the Confederate States of America formed the Confederate Territory of Arizona , including in the new territory mainly areas acquired by
7220-438: The state, 56th out of >3000 counties in the country. Jojoba ( Simmondsia chinensis ) is a valuable native crop here. From here it has also been introduced into cultivation in other countries. The Sweetpotato Whitefly (Silverleaf Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci ) is a common pest here. The county is planted with large extents of several crops which serve as hosts. Date trees ( Phoenix dactylifera ) were planted here in
7315-460: The territory for $ 10 million (equivalent to $ 270 million in 2023 ). After the devastating loss of Mexican territory to the U.S. in the Mexican–American War (1846–48) and the continued unauthorized military expeditions in the zone led by William Carr Lane , New Mexico territorial governor and noted filibuster , some historians argue that Santa Anna may have calculated it was better to yield territory by treaty and receive payment rather than have
7410-608: The territory simply seized by the United States. As the railroad age evolved, business-oriented Southerners saw that a railroad linking the South with the Pacific Coast would expand trade opportunities. They thought the topography of the southern portion of the original Mexican Cession was too mountainous to allow a direct route. Projected southern railroad routes tended to veer to the north as they proceeded eastward, which would favor connections with northern railroads and ultimately favor northern seaports. Southerners saw that to avoid
7505-551: The treaty a bad reputation. Some Senators objected to furnishing Santa Anna financial assistance. The treaty reached the Senate as that body focused on the debate over the Kansas–Nebraska Act . On April 17, after much debate, the Senate voted 27 to 18 in favor of the treaty, falling three votes short of the necessary two-thirds majority. After this defeat, Secretary Davis and southern Senators pressed Pierce to add more provisions to
7600-592: The treaty in January 1854. Although disappointed in the amount of territory secured and some of the terms, Pierce signed it, and submitted it to the Senate on February 10. Gadsden, however, suggested that northern Senators would block the treaty to deny the South a railroad. The treaty needed a two-thirds vote in favor of ratification in the US Senate, where it met strong opposition. Anti-slavery senators opposed further acquisition of slave territory. Lobbying by speculators gave
7695-631: The treaty in early 1851, but the Mexican Congress refused to accept the treaty. In the meantime, Hargous proceeded as if the treaty would be approved eventually. Judah P. Benjamin and a committee of New Orleans businessmen joined with Hargous and secured a charter from the Louisiana legislature to create the Tehuantepec Railroad Company. The new company sold stock and sent survey teams to Mexico. Hargous started to acquire land even after
7790-498: The treaty including: The land area included in the treaty is shown in the map at the head of the article, and in the national map in this section. This version of the treaty successfully passed the US Senate April 25, 1854, by a vote of 33 to 12. The reduction in territory was an accommodation of northern senators who opposed the acquisition of additional slave territory. In the final vote, northerners split 12 to 12. Gadsden took
7885-436: The unratified agreement. Article XI of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo contained a guarantee that the United States would protect Mexicans by preventing cross-border raids by local Comanche and Apache tribes. At the time the treaty was ratified, Secretary of State James Buchanan had believed that the United States had both the commitment and resources to enforce this promise. Historian Richard Kluger , however, described
7980-566: Was $ 3 million (equivalent to $ 85 million in 2023 ) in debt. Gadsden wanted to connect all Southern railroads into one sectional network. He was concerned that the increasing railroad construction in the North was shifting trade in lumber, farm and manufacturing goods from the traditional north–south route based on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to an east–west axis that would bypass the South. He also saw Charleston, his home town, losing its prominence as
8075-413: Was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 102.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.1 males. The median income for a household in the county was $ 32,182, and the median income for a family was $ 34,659. Males had a median income of $ 27,390 versus $ 22,276 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 14,802. About 15.5% of families and 19.2% of the population were below
8170-469: Was 68.3% White , 2.2% Black or African American , 1.6% Native American , 0.9% Asian , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 23.6% from other races , and 3.2% from two or more races. 50.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 43.7% reported speaking Spanish at home Language Map Data Center . There were 53,848 households, out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.3% were married couples living together, 11.2% had
8265-541: Was a primarily Democratic county, only voting for the Republican candidates four times in presidential elections prior to 1968. From 1968 onward, it has consistently voted for Republican presidential candidates. In 2016, county voters elected more Democrats to the Board than Republicans for the first time since 2004. However, their margins of victory have been reduced in recent years as the county has rapidly grown in population and become majority-Hispanic. Donald Trump only won
8360-529: Was admitted to the Union as a free state in 1850, he advocated secession by South Carolina. Gadsden considered slavery "a social blessing" and abolitionists "the greatest curse of the nation". When the secession proposal failed, Gadsden worked with his cousin Isaac Edward Holmes , a lawyer in San Francisco since 1851, and California state senator Thomas Jefferson Green , in an attempt to divide California into northern and southern portions and proposed that
8455-482: Was defined as being west of longitude 113° 20' and south of the Bill Williams River . Its original boundaries remained the same until 1982, when La Paz County was created from its northern half. The original county seat was the city of La Paz; in 1871 it was moved to Arizona City, later renamed as Yuma in 1873. This county is the highest crop producer in the state by dollar value per year. Yuma County tops
8550-402: Was given orders to stay out of the Mesilla Valley until negotiations with Mexico could be completed. With the encouragement of Davis, Pierce also appointed James Gadsden as minister to Mexico, with specific instructions to negotiate with Mexico over the acquisition of additional territory. Secretary of State William L. Marcy gave Gadsden clear instructions: he was to secure the Mesilla Valley for
8645-556: Was going through political and financial turmoil. In the process, Santa Anna had been returned to power about the same time that Pierce was inaugurated. Santa Anna was willing to deal with the United States because he needed money to rebuild the Mexican Army for defense against the United States. He initially rejected the extension of the border further south to the Sierra Madre Mountains . He initially insisted on reparations for
8740-521: Was in exchange for a boundary westward from the river that did not turn north until 110° W in order to include the Santa Rita del Corbe Mountains (sometimes referred to simply as the Corbe Mountains) located in current New Mexico east of current-day Silver City. This area was believed to have rich copper deposits, and some silver and gold which had not yet been mined. Southerners opposed retention of
8835-451: Was little home market for an intra-South trade. In the short term, the best use for capital was to invest it in more slaves and land rather than in taxing it to support canals, railroads, roads, or in dredging rivers. Historian Jere W. Roberson wrote: Southerners might have gained a great deal under the 1850 land grant act had they concentrated their efforts. But continued opposition to Federal aid, filibustering, an unenthusiastic President,
8930-477: Was never finalized. The Clayton–Bulwer Treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom, which guaranteed the neutrality of any such canal, was finalized in April 1850. Mexican negotiators refused the treaty because it would eliminate Mexico's ability to play the US and Britain against each other. They eliminated the right of the United States to unilaterally intervene militarily. The United States Senate approved
9025-575: Was prohibited. Money, interest, and enthusiasm were devoted to emotion-filled topics, not the Pacific railroad. The effect was such that railroad development, which accelerated in the North, stagnated in the South. As originally envisioned, the purchase would have encompassed a much larger region, extending far enough south to include most of the current Mexican states of Baja California , Baja California Sur , Coahuila , Chihuahua , Sonora , Nuevo León , and Tamaulipas . The Mexican people opposed such boundaries, as did anti-slavery Americans , who saw
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