New Mexico was ceded to the United States in 1848, at the end of the war with Mexico, but not until 1912 did President William Howard Taft sign the proclamation that promoted New Mexico from territory to state. Why did New Mexico’s push for statehood last sixty-four years? We find a complex set of obstacles, tied to self-serving politicians. In a national perspective we attempt to look at the collisions between New Mexicans seeking to control their destiny and the…