Colorado: A History of the Centennial State, Fifth Edition

Introduction

xiii introduction The United States is a plural society. Its peoples have defined themselves as members of communities within a larger nation. They remember the histories and extol the accomplishments of their particular ethnic groups. They sing the praises of their regions, states, cities, or towns; and they cheer their local sports teams. They identify themselves as members of the leisured or laboring classes and as representatives of specific industries. The nation’s history, in large measure, has been made by the interaction of such groups—their conflicts, their cooperation, their occasional blending under the unifying pressures of commerce, communication, and common causes. Asmuchasanyotherstate,Coloradohasgrownwithin this multicultural framework. It has witnessed deep divisions among Native Americans, Spanish-speaking Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and the heterogeneous assemblage sometimes labeled Anglo-Americans. The split between entrepreneurs and working people and the contests between economic regions have been equally important. The state’s political divisions have often reflected the conflicts among its social and economic groups. Just as diversity has provided much of the catalyst for historical change in Colorado, its cities and towns have provided the context for much of that change. Cities— engines of growth, change, and progress throughout the introduction xiv United States—played an especially important role on the American frontier. During the years of pioneering, the frontier city was an advance base of supply, furnishing food, clothing, and tools. When settlers began to produce a surplus of goods, the city provided credit and transportation and found outside buyers . Because the interregional and international exchange of agricultural and mineral products for manufactured goods was the foundation of US economic growth during the first three centuries of settlement, the frontier city was vital not only to the surrounding area but also to the development of the nation as a whole. Certainly, in the trans-Mississippi West the urban frontier and the frontier of settlement were nearly synonymous. Credit, capital, and supplies for the development of the plains and mountains came initially from cities such as St. Louis and Chicago and a host of smaller urban centers such as Omaha and Kansas City. Cattle towns, farm-market centers, and mining towns soon sprang up in Colorado. Even after the initial excitement of settlement, the new towns and cities provided the money and leadership to develop regional resources. Within Colorado, Denver monopolized these metropolitan functions after 1859. At the end of the twentieth century the Denver metropolitan area counted a population more than four times that of Colorado Springs and fifteen times that of Pueblo. Denver served similarly as a channel for eastern capital and influence during Colorado’s development as a supplier of raw materials for eastern consumption. If Colorado and other western states have been economic colonies of the East, as numerous writers have complained, then Denver for much of Colorado’s history has been one of the colonial capitals. This description remains accurate in the twenty-first century, but with modifications . The shift of population and economic activities to the suburban counties that ring Denver has changed the balance of power within the region. Although the city of Denver gained population between 1990 and 2010, other communities grew even faster. Cities such as Aurora are now large enough to pursue independent development. Colorado Springs has come into its own as a nationally connected city and a rival to Denver. Development north of Denver in Greeley, Loveland, Longmont, and Fort Collins has made the northern piedmont another focus of growth and political power. Another characteristic plays a special role in the history of Colorado—the land itself. The opportunities and constraints offered by the land have shaped the development of mining, tourism, and agriculture. Those who chronicle Colorado introduction xv must borrow from the expertise of the geologist, geographer, botanist, and zoologist . The historian must also examine the ways Coloradans have reacted to their land and record the deep affection for the topography most residents have shared. In the nineteenth century pioneers explored the land and learned to appreciate the scenery. Since the 1960s many Coloradans have fought to save a landscape threatened by rapid development. Historians also observe changes in the ways Coloradans have perceived both their environment and themselves. Men and women in the 1860s or the 1890s did not react to problems and choices the same way citizens in the 2000s do. Each generation views the world with different perspectives and operates on the...