Melzer Sunshine and Shadows in New Mexico's Past, Volume 2

The U.S. Territorial Period, 1848-1912
1. Auflage 2011
ISBN: 978-1-936744-97-8
Verlag: Rio Grande Books
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 364 Seiten

Sunshine and Shadows in New Mexico's Past has one main goal: to reveal the sharp contrasts in New Mexico history. As with all states, New Mexico has had its share of admirable as well as deplorable moments, neither of which should be ignored or exaggerated at the other's expense. New Mexico's true character can only be understood and appreciated by acknowledging its varied history, blemishes and all. The second of three volumes, Sunshine and Shadows in New Mexico's Past: The U.S. Territorial Period represents the New Mexico Historical Society's humble gift to New Mexico as the state celebrates its centennial year of statehood in 2012.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Melzer, Richard

Leseproben

Donaciano Vigil, The Gifted Giant–But Was He A Traitor?

Paul M Kraemer

The name Donaciano is derived from the Spanish word for gift, donación.1 Donaciano Vigil was clearly a gifted person. His parents had chosen his unusual but not unknown name with unexplained clairvoyance in 1802, but the name became somewhat common before Donaciano’s death in 1877, perhaps because of Donaciano Vigil’s fame,2 which rested partly on the fact that he was physically a giant, possibly 6' 5" at a time when the average New Mexican man was about 5' 4" tall.3 Hence, being instantly recognizable, he was known by almost everyone. But Donaciano was a giant in other respects as well. He could speak, read and write both English and Spanish and would translate documents in either direction with a high degree of competence.4 We also know from his speeches that he possessed a modern analytical mind.5 Thus, in 1846, when New Mexico was first annexed by the United States, it was not surprising that General Stephen Watts Kearney would want Donaciano in the civil government that he was forming under his “Kearney Code.” When Donaciano accepted the position of Secretary of the territory,6 he became a collaborator with questionable loyalty to the Republic of Mexico according to a conservative faction of the population, as at that time Mexico was at war with the United States.

Donaciano Vigil

There was, however, considerable diversity of opinion among New Mexicans. One viewpoint was offered by Donaciano’s cousin, Juan Bautista Vigil y Alarid, who was in charge of Santa Fé at the plaza after General Kearney had addressed the crowd on August 19, 1846. Juan Batista Vigil’s response included the following:

Do not find it strange if there has been no manifestation of joy and enthusiasm in seeing this city occupied by your military forces. Though the power of the Mexican Republic is dead; but no matter what her condition, she was our mother. What child will not shed abundant tears at the tomb of his parents?7

Later, when Colonel Munroe became commander of the U.S. military occupation, the colonel asked Donaciano what he thought of the Mexican government. Donaciano switched to a different metaphor for his response:

I felt very much as a son would feel toward a father who had given him little or no attention in his youthful days, except as he exacted his hard earnings, and left him to shift for himself when in trouble.8

His disillusionment with the Mexican government was described in detail in a series of lectures and proposals he delivered to the Departmental Assembly, of which he was an alternate member, in May and June, 1846, just before the American invasion. He said that as a young man he was very optimistic about the Mexican Republic and believed that the northern frontier provinces would be supported by the government under the federalist constitution of 1824. As he expressed it, “we saw everything through rose-colored glasses at that time.”9 But the ascendancy of Antonio López Santa Anna in 1833, followed by a series of conservative centrist governments, the abandonment of the 1824 constitution and instability that historian David Weber characterizes as “teetering between chaos and anarchy.”10 (Over the period 1833 to 1855, there were thirty-six presidential changes, eleven of which involved Santa Anna.11) The centrist governments did little to support the frontier provinces, and Texas, Sonora, California, and New Mexico all had rebellions against the Mexican government between 1835–1837.12 After the rebellion of 1837 in New Mexico (in which he served as a sergeant in the Presidio Company), Donaciano became a protégé of Governor Manuel Armijo, serving the latter’s administration as Military Secretary and later being promoted to Captain.

Donaciano’s speech of June 18, 1846, mostly concerned the deterioration of relations with the “wild” tribes that surrounded the Hispanic population. After a detailed analysis of this problem, he concluded that since the central government would not help them, they had to somehow defend themselves. Since 1835, the centrist government was so fearful of rebellions that they did everything possible to limit the effectiveness of local militias.13. This, of course, also limited New Mexico’s ability to defend itself against the American invasion. The citizen militia rarely had any guns or ammunition while even the presidial soldiers were poorly equipped and, in any case, only served to protect Santa Fé. It was thus absolutely necessary to provide guns and ammunition to the dispersed villages. He proposed that the central government could at least allow them to import arms and munitions duty free.14

Four days after his speech of June 18, he addressed the Departmental Assembly again, this time concerning the centrist government’s practice of appointing governors who knew nothing about New Mexico, but nevertheless believed that it was culturally inferior. The speech was basically a political diatribe against three such governors: Albino Pérez, who was assassinated in the 1837 rebellion, Mariano Martínez, who replaced Manuel Armijo in December 1843, and Francisco García Condé, who served briefly in August 1845 before Manuel Armijo was appointed for a third time as governor. In this address he also accused the central government of interference with the Santa Fé Trail trade, which had greatly improved the economy of New Mexico.15

Governor Manuel Armijo wearing the plumed brass helmet of the elite Mexican Cavalry.

Donaciano was not alone in his disillusionment. In 1844, when Santa Anna further increased his centrist dictatorship, the Departmental Assembly made the following ambiguous oath of allegiance to the centrist government: “intimately united with the Mexican Republic, we continue to be free and independent.”16 Mariano Chavez, a wealthy and influential merchant (he served as acting governor in 1835 and President of the Assembly in 1844) was more specific: “neglect has weakened ties with the central government and new ties could not be established without our sustained, mutual reciprocal services.”17 As historian David Weber put it, “what they got was another outsider governor.”18

Native New Mexicans numbered somewhat over fifty thousand at this time just before the American invasion. Politically they could be considered as being divided into factions. Some, like Donaciano, were openly pro-American, while there were a few that were pro-Texan. The most conservative elements included the wealthy influential people and especially the clergy, most of whom had received their education in Durango and were under obedience to the Bishop of Durango. But a sizeable majority had strong ties only to New Mexico itself. Some would have opted for an independent republic, if that were possible. But with the approaching invasion, many people much preferred being annexed by the United States rather than becoming part of Texas, the latter having been repeatedly aggressive since 1841.19 The potential annexation to the United States would be especially preferred if New Mexico could achieve statehood quickly and thereby not be completely governed by outsiders. Even Padre Martínez of Taos, a very nationalistic citizen of the Republic of Mexico, admired American institutions and had many American friends.20

The invasion of New Mexico in August 1846 was a small part of the war with Mexico (1846-1848) and there appears to be general agreement as to its causes.21 The United States had very rapid population growth in the first half of the nineteenth century, producing demographic pressure that created an expansionist political response. A British member of parliament at that time commented that if this growth continued, the United States “would become the greatest bully in the world,”22 which sounds like “the pot calling the kettle black.” The population grew to about 20 million people by 1846. Growth was accompanied by an economic slump in the Eastern states where people were accumulating, with many moving westward. In Texas, for instance, Americans settled in sufficient numbers to rebel against their Mexican hosts, establishing an independent republic in 1836.23 Similar infiltration occurred in California. “Manifest Destiny” became a rallying slogan: a clever phrase because it could mean different things to different people. At any rate, the result was the 1846 annexation of about half of the Mexican Republic, along with the addition of Oregon and Washington and the present border of Western Canada at the 49th parallel. The war with Mexico was a very unequal conflict in almost every respect. While the United States had about 20 million people and a strong federal government, Mexico had a population of about 7 million and a central government in which conflicts between political factions were so virulent that early in 1847 there were riots between them in the streets of Mexico City even as General Winfield Scott was approaching the capitol with U.S. troops.24

Donaciano’s appointment as Secretary of the territory under Governor Charles Bent was based on the Kearney Code, a provisional arrangement that made Donaciano completely subservient to the military commander. At this time, the territory of New Mexico was not a Territory of the U.S. but an occupied military zone....