By Sherry Robinson
All She Wrote
© 2026 New Mexico News Services
As we observe the nation’s 250 th anniversary, historians focus on the East Coast, but New Mexico has proud moments too. Return with me to 1851, when New Mexico became a territory of the United States.
Five years after the United States claimed New Mexico as a prize of the Mexican-American War, Congress declared New Mexico a territory and President Millard Fillmore appointed James Silas Calhoun as governor.
Calhoun was a cut above the usual federal appointee; a former judge, legislator, merchant and banker from Georgia, he was highly ethical and conscientious. (I wrote his biography in 2021.) He was already serving as New Mexico’s first Indian agent. And he spoke Spanish.
New Mexicans had no experience with democracy. They had been under the thumb of Spain and Mexico for more than two centuries and in 1846 became wards of a corrupt U.S. military occupation.
Political debates were hotly divided. One faction demanded that Americans run everything, even though they represented a sliver of the population. And to avoid taxes they wanted to keep New Mexico dependent on the federal government. Calhoun’s faction argued for statehood and had the support of New Mexicans.
In his inaugural speech on March 3, 1851, he said: “An era in the history of New Mexico commences this day… The fate of New Mexico, under Providence, is in the hands of her own sons, and if wise and patriotic counsels prevail, a brilliant destiny awaits her.”
With Calhoun’s inauguration, New Mexicans became citizens – with rights – of a United States Territory. He understood that he must guide the creation of a just and stable government in this remote outpost and see that New Mexicans were closely involved in the process. His experience as a judge and legislator prepared him well for the job.
New Mexicans weren’t entirely unprepared. Prominent families had long sent their sons to the States to be educated, and among the American newcomers were a handful of lawyers. On May 19 New Mexicans elected their legislators. The men chosen could be considered the fathers of New Mexico Territory, and most of them were Hispanic.
This high level of political participation was unusual for a conquered people, according to historian Phillip Gonzáles. The American political process gave New Mexicans a seat at the table and rewarded them as they submitted to the power of the United States.
Now, imagine 39 legislators settling into small chambers in the ancient, dilapidated Palace of the Governors on the Santa Fe Plaza. Their job was to create a government from scratch.
New Mexico then had about 57,000 people, not counting tribes, and seven in eight were illiterate. Only churches provided any education. Indian hostilities were rampant. And official Washington barely knew the territory existed.
Addressing lawmakers, Calhoun covered issues that are surprisingly contemporary, beginning with elections. He asked them to define the qualifications for voting and holding office so that “strangers temporarily residing in your midst” couldn’t interfere in elections and suggested requiring voters to register before elections to prevent fraud. Regarding taxation, it “should be borne alike, having a just regard to the means of each individual… Not one cent beyond the just wants of the government should be collected, and the most rigid economy should be practiced.”
On education, this father of two daughters said it was important to educate New Mexico’s girls as well as her boys. Agricultural laws should govern irrigation, sale of animals, and marks and brands. Improper use of weights and measures should be penalized. As for the poor, he said, “Let us, at the very commencement of our career in self-government, take special care of the weak and the innocent, and secure to them the means of an honest and virtuous independence…”
Issues of their day included defining relations between masters and peons, demanding that the military restore church property it had seized, exploring the territory, and persuading people to give up their Mexican citizenship and join the “political community of New Mexico.”
For 40 days the first territorial legislature tackled Calhoun’s priorities and their own. By adjournment new legislators had accomplished a great deal. They declared and established the people’s rights, decided who could vote, provided for punishment of crimes, regulated trade and interaction with the tribes, attempted to levy taxes, established the territorial treasury, standardized master-servant contracts, and regulated water and acequias. They passed mining and agricultural laws and created judicial districts.
In just three months, Calhoun and the Legislature made a remarkable start on creating a territorial government that brought order and predictability. They reassured skeptical New Mexicans and welcomed their participation in the American democratic process.