The 6th Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the

Arizona Territorial Legislature The Arizona Territorial Legislature was the legislative body of Arizona Territory. It was a bicameral legislature consisting of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Council. Created by the Arizona Organic Act, the le ...

which met in

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

beginning on January 11, 1871, and ran until February 14, 1871.

Background

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...

's sixth legislative session was initially scheduled to occur in 1869. Governor Richard C. McCormick had departed to become Arizona's

Territorial Delegate to Congress A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

following the previous session however and his replacement had not arrived in time to issue a call for elections. In the intervening time, the U.S. Congress had passed legislation calling for the legislature to meet every two years instead of the previous annual meetings. During the mean time, Anson P.K. Safford had become Governor of Arizona Territory. The

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

continued throughout Arizona Territory. Due to limited political influence and lack of

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

and

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

service within the territory, there was little understanding of the situation on the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

. Unsatisfied with the situation, the territorial government was exerting what influence they possessed to have General

George Stoneman George Stoneman Jr. (August 8, 1822 – September 5, 1894) was a United States Army cavalry officer and politician who served as the fifteenth Governor of California from 1883 to 1887. He was trained at West Point, where his roommate was Stonewall ...

(a future

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

) replaced as commander of the

District of Arizona District of Arizona was a subordinate district of the Department of New Mexico territory created on August 30, 1862 and transferred to the Department of the Pacific in March 1865. District of Arizona (Dept. of New Mexico) commanders Headquarter ...

. Compounding the Indian issue was the presence of Mexican outlaws raiding the territory. A lingering issue was the status of Pah-Ute County. Created by the 1865 session of the legislature, most of its land had been transferred to

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

by the U.S. Congress on May 5, 1866. As a result the county was only a fragment of its original size and its status remained uncertain.

Legislative session

The session convened on January 11, 1871. To address problems cause by Apache depredations during the preceding two years and special committee was formed to address the issue.

Governor's address

The Governor's address was given on January 14, 1871. He used the speech to label the

Apache Wars The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States Army and various Apache tribal confederations fought in the southwest between 1849 and 1886, though minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. After the Mexic ...

as the territory's biggest concern, stating "the Apache Indians have never manifested the least disposition to live on terms of peace, until after they have been thoroughly subjugated by military power" The second issue facing the territory was a lack of public schools. While there was a catholic school for girls in Tucson and a

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in Prescott, there were no public schools for the nearly 2,000 children residing in Arizona Territory.

Legislation

The result of the special committee on the Apache issue was creation of a memorial to Congress containing statements from leading citizens and Army officers detailing the situation and requesting additional military presence. Typical of the included testimony was a statement from Governor Stafford reading, "during the year 1870 the Apache Indians have been and are now in more active hostility than at any time since the Territory has been under the American Flag." To address the Governor's call to establish a public education system, a territorial

property tax A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...

of US$0.10 per $100 assessed value was established to create a general education fund. The act also authorized the

Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

in each county to assess property tax of up to US$0.50 per $100 assessed value to finance operation of public schools. A proposal to create a Pinal County made in response to appeals by residents of

Pima Pima or PIMA may refer to: People * Pima people, the Akimel O'odham, Indigenous peoples in Arizona (U.S.) and Sonora (Mexico) Places * Pima, Arizona, a town in Graham County * Pima County, Arizona * Pima Canyon, in the Santa Catalina Mountains ...

and

Yavapai The Yavapai are a Native American tribe in Arizona. Historically, the Yavapai – literally “people of the sun” (from ''Enyaava'' “sun” + ''Paay'' “people”) – were divided into four geographical bands who identified as separate, i ...

counties was twice defeated in the House of Representatives by a vote of 7–8. A bill introduced later in the session succeeded in creating

Maricopa County Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about 6 ...

from a portion of southern

Yavapai County Yavapai County is near the center of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Prescott. Yavapai County comprises the Prescott, AZ M ...

west of the San Carlos River. The act which created Pah-Ute County was repealed returning the remains of the county to

Mohave County Mohave County is in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 213,267. The county seat is Kingman, and the largest city is Lake Havasu City. It is the fifth largest county in the United St ...

. Additionally, the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

of Yuma County was moved from

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...

to Arizona City.

Members

Neither Mohave nor Pah-Ute counties were represented at this session.

References