Figure 1.--Here we see an unidentified mother and son enjoying the desert and mountains near Kingman, Arizona (1930). Pictures like this were only possible is they were touring in an automobile.

The Southwest is essentially northern Mexico, excluding California. (Texas is sometimes included with the South.) Although in cultural terms, southern California might be included. The Southwest is probably the most distinctive of all American regions. The United States is arguably the most gifted of all countries because so much of the country was fertile arable land suitable for agriculture. This was in part of the many rivers that flow east from the Rockies and west from the Appalachians. The only major river is the Colorado which flows south carving out the Grand canyon and entering the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. The one area of the country that is not well-watered in the southwest which includes several small deserts, but nothing like the great deserts of the world. Water continues to be a serious problem. It was the most lightly populated area of the the contiguous state. as a result it was where the first nuclear explosion was conducted. The region became known as a tourist mecca, girst by rail and then by Henry Ford's Model-T tun Lizzie. Sanatoria offered clear air and sunshine gor those sufferinf from tuberulosis. After World War II, air conditioning has led to increasing population flows into the region. The Southwest was the piece of the West that the United States did not obtain in the Louisiana Purchase (1803). Texas separated from Mexico as a the Texas War for Independence (1835-36). Texas did not, however, at the time join the Union. This did not occur until the the Mexican American War (1846-48). Texas joined the Union and the United States obtained the Mexican Cession--essentially the Southwest. The Mexican Cession included California. Here we think California is best considered as part of the West, although a good case could be made for including southern California with the Southwest. The Southwest was very lightly settled at the time. Thus Americans moving into the area soon overshadowed the Mexican population. Mexicans living in the area were automatically granted American citizenship. Hispanics until the 1970s largely lived in the Southwest and southern California. The exception were Puerto Ricans and Cubans. The southwest is geographically different than much of the rest of the country. Large areas of the Southwest are arid and not suitable for agriculture unless it can be irrigated.

Created: 5:26 AM 10/1/2024
Last updated: 5:26 AM 10/1/2024