SUBTITLE; HOW THREE LITTLE KNOWN U.S. PRESIDENTS AND AN ERRONEOUS MAP BROUGHT FUTURE COPPER MINES TO THE NATION
James Polk #11
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Zachary Taylor # 12
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Franklin Pierce #14
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I am a history buff as most readers can tell from
the nature of many postings. Is seems to
me that many geologists (especially stratigraphers) are historians; however, we
just study “old stuff.” In my
introductory geology classes there were always the questions about paleontologists
and archaeologists, about how old a bone must be before it is classified as a
fossil, about the ~10k boundary between the Pleistocene and the Holocene
(Recent). My standard answer was if the
bone smelled, give it to an archaeologist.
On the other hand, I did notice that many geologists took a big interest
in history and were always willing to help the field historians decipher the
local stratigraphy, soil zones, bones, etc.
The other day I was thinking (daydreaming?) about
what it would have been like to explore some old Arizona mines during times of magnificent
crystals falling off the walls---or something like that. This made me wonder about how many rockhounds
recognize a mapmaker by the name of John Disturnell? If it had not been for ole John’s goof-up,
the U.S might have been cut off from some really nice crystals in southern
Arizona, not to mention some really large copper deposits.
Disturnell was a publisher of guidebooks, maps, tourist
directories, railroads, etc. and without any real experience in drafting accurate
maps or presenting valid statistics. His company simply drew upon whatever
older editions were out there and plagiarized about anything. However, from what I can tell other
publishers were doing the same sort of piracy.
I recently read a biography of James K. Polk, the 11th
President of the U.S. (1845-1849). Like collecting
strange minerals, I am a sucker for reading about “relatively unknown” U.S. statesmen
(Millard Fillmore anyone). So, Polk was
a strong promoter of territorial expansion, the Manifest Destiny of the U.S. -- all the way to the Pacific
Ocean. However, he had a small problem
with land claimed by Mexico in the southwest and the “Oregon Question” in the
northwest---not to mention the Republic of Texas and the fledging Republic of California. Of course, no one bothered to consult with
the Native Americans living in the area.
Map of the Republic of Texas. The land claimed by
Texas is in light green, while administered territory is in dark green. Public Domain photo.
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Polk seemed most concerned with acquiring Texas as a
first step to continental domination.
The Texians had declared independence from Mexico in 1836 but of course
that action precipitated a couple of well-known battles that are ingrained in
Texas history books: the Alamo, and
Goliad (Texians losing), and San Jacinto (Texians winning). After the Battle of San Jacinto, Mexico,
really the losing general Santa Anna, and the Texians signed the Treaties of
Velasco (plural since one copy was public and one secret). The important part, at least too many Texians,
was the establishment of the Republic’s southern boundary as the Rio Grande
River (rather than the Nueces River to the north). The kicker to the Vilasco document---the
official Mexican government did not accept the Treaty (Santa Anna did not have
signing authority), especially the Rio Grande part, and Mexico continued to
claim Texas, and especially the land as far north as the Nueces (Nueces Strip).
Map showing land ceded to the U.S. by Mexico with
the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Photo courtesy of World Book (1999).
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In 1845, the U.S. annexed (mostly with permission)
the Republic of Texas---with boundaries at the Rio Grande (although this
boundary was not explicatively stated in the congressional annexation
resolution). Texas then became the
nation’s 28th state. Mexico had
stated for years that if the U.S. annexed Texas, a region they still claimed,
war would be inevitable, and so it came to be.
The President sent General Zachery Taylor (future 12th President)
to south Texas to show the flag and construct a fort (Fort Texas) on the banks
of the Rio Grande. After a battle with Mexican forces (Thornton Affair) President Polk claimed Mexico soldiers were on
U.S. soil, north of the Ro Grande, and had “shed American blood on American
soil.” War was declared in May 1846 and
finally ended in 1848 with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (Treaty
of Peace, Friendship, Limits and Settlement between the United States of
America and the Mexican Republic).
With this treaty the U.S. acquired Texas, California, and parts of New Mexico,
Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado.
Here is where John Disturnell comes in. His maps of the southwest, mostly plagiarized
and not quite accurate, essentially were the only game in town and therefore
were used in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo---but in different versions. The seventh version of the map (The Republic of Mexico) was attached to
the U.S. copy while the 12th version was attached to Mexico’s
copy. However, since Disturnell plagiarized
previous errant maps the documents used in the Treaty negotiations were also in
error, especially concerning the location of El Paso and the Rio Grande River;
both were key points is establishing the international boundary. The Treaty specified that the southern U.S.-Mexico
boundary would follow the River from its mouth to a point eight miles north of
El Paso and then head west. Well, Disturnell’s
errant map showed El Paso to be about 35 miles further south and about 100
miles further west than the “correct” location determined by various surveys. It stands to reason that Mexico favored the
map while the U.S. was partial to the land surveys. The critical point with the U.S. was a
possible route for a southern transcontinental railroad trending through
southern New Mexico, the Mesilla Strip.
President Franklin Pierce (1853-1857; the only
President ever elected from New Hampshire) was often called a “doughface”, a
northerner with southern sympathies. He had
selected Jefferson Davis, the future President of the Confederate States of America,
as his Secretary of War and yielded to Davis’ insistence to locate a southern route
for a future transcontinental railroad. So, he sent James Gadsden to Mexico in order to
purchase a rather large hunk of land covering southern New Mexico (west of the
Rio Grande) and about the southern one-third of Arizona. The expanding nation also wanted the northern
tip of the Gulf of California in order to build another seaport; however, Mexico
would have then been shut off from the Colorado River and would not accept the
terms. The Gadsden Purchase was ratified
by the U.S. Senate in mid-1854 and the last major land acquisition to the lower
48 was completed, mainly to appease southern congressmen and their dreams of
the first transcontinental railroad linking southern states to the Pacific
Ocean.
Of course, the initial transcontinental railroad was
built in the north across Nebraska, Wyoming and Utah into California (see
previous posts); however, the Gadsden Purchase did include that large hunk of southern
Arizona. And, that parcel included
Tucson, and the gigantic metallic deposits of places like Bisbee, Tombstone,
Tiger, Old Hat/Mammoth, Old Yuma, Ajo, Ray, the mines in the Patagonia and Catalina
Mountains, and a host of others. Silver,
gold, lead and some other metals were extracted from many mines in southern
Arizona; however, when I think of Arizona metals my first thought is copper,
and copper, and more copper. Since the
early part of the 20th century Arizona is usually listed as the
leading U.S state in the production of copper, not all of it in southern
Arizona (remember Jerome and Clifton) but much of it was located in lands obtained
via the Gadsden Purchase for a whopping 10 million dollars.
Most rockhounds have, in their collection, at least
a few specimens of native copper.
Generally the nuggets (mostly flattened blogs) are from the Keweenaw area
of Michigan where Precambrian rocks of the Mid- Continent Rift System produced prodigious
amounts of the metal, some even found as large boulders. Arizona rocks are famous for yielding
crystals of native copper often growing as arborescent masses or tangled branches. My modest collection has three specimens from
the 79 Mine near Hayden, and a couple labeled “Bisbee” without additional
information about a specific mine.
Arborescent copper from Bisbee. Length ~1.4 cm.
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Crystals of arborescent copper, Bisbee,
Arizona. Close-up of top photo showing crystals.
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Length ~ 1.5 cm.
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Length ~2.1 cm.
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Crystalline copper from 79 Mine near Hayden, AZ. Length ~3 cm.
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So, although the southern congressional delegation
missed out on an early transcontinental railroad, significant minerals were later
mined on lands acquired through the Gadsden Purchase. If it had not been for John Disturnell’s plagiarism
and errant maps, and for three relatively unknown Presidents---Franklin Pierce
(signed the Gadsden Purchase), Zachary Taylor (commanded troops in Mexico), and
James K. Polk (acquired large tracts of land) --- these critical metallic
resources may have remained with Mexico.
In this short posting I can’t begin to explore all
of the ramifications, back-room dealings, implications, lies, interesting
facts, etc. associated with the Mexican War and the later Gadsden
Purchase---they are fascinating. For
example, many of the well-known army officers in the Civil War (on both sides
of the conflict: Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, George Meade, Thomas “Stonewall”
Jackson, Winfield Scott) were veterans of the Mexican War. John C. Fremont raised the U.S flag in
California and later was the first presidential candidate (1856) of the new Republican
Party. Franklin Pierce won the
presidency by defeating his old military commander in Mexico, Winfield Scott. U.S. Grant became the 18th
President of the U.S. And then, there were
the persistent questions about slavery and the introduction of “free states” or
“slave states” into the Union. And in Washington,
a congressman from Illinois was asking embarrassing questions about the
administration and the War.
There is more selfishness and less principle among members of Congress than I had any conception of before I became President of the U.S.
James K. Polk
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