A political system and its institutions comprise a physical manifestation of a political culture which, in turn, is a subset of culture in general. Culture, in this general sense, consists of an aggregate of the experiences, beliefs, perceptions, and the uniqueness of its participants, in whatever happens to be the resultant mix. Certain features of Arizona and its peoples need to be discussed as a prelude to understanding the political system currently in effect. 

DURATION OF SPANISH/MEXICAN RULE 

No part of the contiguous United States was ruled longer by outside forces than the American Southwest. Whereas indigenous populations and their cultures were largely displaced, destroyed, or assimilated in much of the United States, such was not the case in the Southwest, largely because no one group was powerful enough to totally dominate another. 

Yet the Spaniard was here more than a half century before the founding of Jamestown, and laid claim to the Southwest long before northern and western Europeans were able to establish a firm foothold on the eastern seaboard. At about the time established statehood crossed the Mississippi with the admission of Missouri into the Union, Spanish rule shifted to Mexican rule, and Mexico would continue to lay claim to that area destined to become the American South-west. 

Spanish and Mexican populations were never extensive but what they lacked in density they perhaps made up for in duration. The Spanish-Mexican period lasted from 1539 to 1848, one and one half times the existence of the Constitution. When the Southwest did pass to the United States the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Gadsden Purchase Treaty of offered citizenship to the peoples of Hispanic origin residing in the affected areas. 

Today, in the faces of many of its citizens, in place names whose origins might long be forgotten, in the presence of archeological and historical sites, in culture, and in language, the presence of the past lays heavily on the course of the future. Geographical proximity to Mexico, historic and economic ties, and ties by blood and language, aid in maintaining the existence of a part of our earliest culture. 

INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS 

Second only to Oklahoma, Arizona has the largest indigenous (Native American) population of any state. The tribes that currently reside in Arizona were here before the Spaniards came. They had not been relocated or driven from other homelands; this was home. And unlike their brethren before them who were displaced by the press of settlement to less desirable areas, there was no place else to go. Many of the names on reservation signs across Oklahoma reflect the presence of peoples long before associated with homes in the American East. The Apache, Navajo, Hopi, Pima, etc., were here first, and they stayed. 

One of the first requests by territorial Arizona was for the federal government to use the military to place native populations on reservations. An initial allocation of 75,000 acres was followed by monetary appropriation by 1867 to accomplish this task.  What followed were dark pages in Arizona history--the era 
 of the "Apache wars"--replete with ample shedding of blood. The end result was native populations living on reservations comprising one fourth of the land mass of the State, meaning one fourth of the state ruled by tribal law, one fourth of the state not subject to state taxation, one fourth of the state subject to very limited jurisdiction by state government, one fourth of the state with a direct appeals process to federal rather than state courts, one fourth of the state semi-sovereign nations within a sovereign state. 

A percentage of Arizona's native population has successfully maintained traditional lifestyles. This, coupled with a state dotted with the archeological remains of the past, has made Arizona truly a living museum. Cultural diversity is very real. 

PRIVATE VS PUBLIC DOMAIN 

In most western states a sizeable chunk of the land is owned by the federal government, and Arizona is no exception--a whooping 44%. Another 17% is owned by state governmental entities. Add this to the reservation lands previously mentioned, and we come up with government ownership of roughly 85% of the entire state. Conversely, this leaves 15% for private ownership, and this means that only 15% of the state land is taxable. 

In addition to the tax base issue, there exist several other problem areas, such as environmental issues with the federal government over the use of land under federal jurisdiction, interpretations of the Indian Gaming Act as applied on the reservations, the vast distances between islands of privately developed land that require the building of stretches of highway through non tax-bearing lands, and federal policy as it relates to logging, mining, and grazing, to name a few. 

GEOGRAPHY 

Begging the forebearance of geographers, the term used herein is to be interpreted in its broadest possible context. 

Arizona is big--real big. It is the sixth largest state in the Union. The state of Massachusetts would very easily fit within the boundaries of Maricopa County, and Connecticut could be enveloped within the Valley of the Sun. The smallest county in Arizona, Santa Cruz, is larger than the state of Rhode Island. All of Arizona's fifteen counties are larger than some eastern states. 

Size, coupled with a widely dispersed population, yield some interesting political problems. To comply with the guidelines for congressional district apportioning contained within Baker v. Carr, all six federal congressional districts must include part of the Phoenix metropolitan area (Maricopa County lays claim to two thirds of the state population) . Districts fan out over literally hundreds of miles, over changing climatic zones, differing peoples, different economies.  For example, District 6 includes the reservations of the Four Corners area, among others, the settlements dotting the White Mountains and the Mogollon Rim (including Flagstaff), and the urban sprawl of Fountain Hills, East Scottsdale, and East Mesa.  From the ponderosa pine to the Sonoran Saguaro, mountain to desert, traditional indigenous peoples to sophisticated urbanites, there is one congressperson representing all. 
 Not only is adequate representation rendered extremely difficult, if not impossible, but due to the distances involved, the time and expense of travel, the cost of political campaigns, and the cost of transportation and communications systems are greatly increased. 

Arizona is a land of contrasts. The state symbol is the saguaro, yet more of Arizona is forested with ponderosa pine than with the saguaro cactus. Snow skiing is a major winter attraction, and Arizona has more pleasure boats per capita than any other state except Florida. It is a land of contrasts, built on diversity. 

DURATION OF TERRITORIAL STATUS 

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787, one of the few notable successes of the Articles of Confederation government, provided a structure for the creation of new states that was loosely followed in the creation of all subsequent states except Texas and West Virginia. Basically, a three stage process was to be observed. In the first stage Congress would establish geographical boundaries and authorize the President to appoint a territorial governor and other territorial officials necessary to meet the needs of the territory in question. In the second stage an elected lower house and an appointed upper house of a territorial legislature was authorized.  This legislative body was to enact measures that would meet the immediate needs of the territory and move it along the path toward statehood, subject to a line of vetoing authorities.  With population growth the territory could petition Congress for permission to call a territorial constitution convention in preparation for statehood (stage three). 

The length of territorial status and the amount of hardship endured by people during their territorial experience varied tremendously. Whereas some states, California, went from territory to statehood in two years, Arizona's total territorial experience stretched from 1848 to 1912. This meant 64 years of rule from Washington, oftentimes by appointees with little or no interest in the concerns of the territory, . Not that champions of Arizona's cause did not exist; they most certainly did!  But problems of absentee government created distrust for government, most of it directed at the territorial governor.  Current limitations on gubernatorial power and other structures within our constitution date from this drawn out and distasteful experience. 

ISOLATION 

One of the principle reasons for the unpleasant experience of territorial days was the mindset and perceptions of the eastern establishment about the region.  Dating from the days when the myth of the "Great American Desert" was spread (circa 1820) , Arizona and the rest of the Southwest was seen as being unfit for civilized people.  It was perceived as a land inhabited by savage peoples, poisonous "critters," of hostile environment, devoid of culture, and lacking in economic opportunity.  Ignored was the fact that all this was contrary to the successes of eastern entrepreneurs operating within the territory, and the lifestyles they were enjoying while here. 

Yet except for the military telegraph and intermittent stagecoach forays, Arizona was isolated by distance and geography until the coming of the Southern Pacific Railroad to Tucson in 1880, and a spur to Phoenix in 1887.  Even by rail it was a long way from the East, and the difficulties of access simply kept people and interest away.  This mindset was slow to die even as Arizona moved into the twentieth century and it was a series of events around the World War II era that enabled Arizona to commence its phenomenal growth. 

The isolation was double pronged.  Not only did the rest of the country know or care little for Arizona, but Arizonans themselves were in large measure isolated from what was going on in the rest of the country. With a dominance in mining, cattle, and agriculture, and no appreciable business or industrial base, there was little need to pursue the infrastructure, the educational system, and the quality of life-type issues that were deemed essential "back East."  So, after its discovery at mid-century Arizona would have a great deal of catching up to do.