Arizona Celebrates 114 Years of Statehood

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Arizona is celebrating its 114th anniversary of statehood on February 14th, 2026. The state was admitted to the United States by President William Howard Taft on this date in 1912, after a long journey from its origins as part of Mexico to becoming a complex mix of Indigenous, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo-American influences. While early political leaders were Confederates or Confederate sympathizers, Arizona was ahead of its time in progressive policies like women's suffrage.

Why it matters

Arizona's statehood anniversary marks an important milestone in the state's history and evolution. The state's unique cultural heritage, natural resources, and economic development over the past century have transformed it into a major hub in the American Southwest.

The details

Arizona's path to statehood was a complex one, with the state's population originally consisting of Indigenous tribes, Spanish and Mexican settlers, and Anglo-American migrants. Despite early political leadership with Confederate ties, Arizona was progressive on issues like women's suffrage, narrowly rejecting it in 1891 before passing it overwhelmingly just months after becoming a state in 1912. The state's climate and natural resources, especially the rise of the copper mining industry during the World Wars, fueled its growth into the "Valley of the Sun" that is known today.

• Arizona was admitted to the United States as the 48th state on February 14, 1912.
• Women's suffrage was narrowly rejected at the 1891 Arizona Constitutional Convention.
• A bill giving women the right to vote made it to the governor's desk before being vetoed in 1903.
• Just months after becoming a state in 1912, the Arizona Equal Suffrage Association successfully petitioned to put women's suffrage on the November ballot, which passed by a landslide.