Ever wonder why it took New Mexico so long to become a state? Following a brief period of military occupation and rule from 1846 to 1850, New Mexico entered a period of rapid change as newcomers from the United States settled in a land belonging to Hispanic and Indian peopled. New Mexico met all the criteria for statehood by 1850, but the obstacles were placed in its way, and the territory began a long and difficult sixty-two-year journey to statehood.
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