Date of Award

5-2014

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

Committee Chair(s)

James Sanders

Committee

James Sanders

Committee

Kyle Bulthuis

Committee

Victoria Grieve

Abstract

The story of how New Mexico became part of the United States is well known, along with many of the different legends. In an effort to shine new light onto this historical stage I took many of the same documents that other scholars have used and studied them from a colonial viewpoint. New Mexico appeared to be further along in its nationalism and economic development than other areas of the continent before the United States took an interest in it, but the American movement west can, and should, be read as an early United States colonial expansion. This new reading deserves its own narrative, which is provided here.

In order to undertake this new reading I have examined some key issues including the misconceptions that many Americans held towards New Mexico and its people, the economic relations between Americans, New Mexicans, and Native Americans, and the importance of Manifest Destiny in the push westward. None of these are new subjects, but a colonial reading of the documents provides a new perspective that will demonstrate how different the United States’ advance into New Mexico was from other westward movements.

Download

Share

COinS

Copyright for this work is retained by the student. If you have any questions regarding the inclusion of this work in the Digital Commons, please email us at .