Most people think of February 14th as a day of roses and chocolate for their special someone, but it's also special day for Arizonans. On this day in 1912, President Taft signed the Arizona Statehood Act which admitted the Arizona Territory as the 48th state to join the United States of America.The history of how Arizona became the 48th state is pretty interesting. The Arizona Republic [article no longer available] says that Arizona was originally supposed to become a state on February 12th in honor of Lincoln's birthday, but President Taft had to delay signing the bill because of a trip to New York.
The Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records website tells a different tale. According to their article The Road to Statehood, President Taft initially refused to sign the Arizona Statehood Act because of a clause in the state's constitution about permitting the recall of judges. With the clause removed, the president then signed the bill into law.
Once Arizona was officially a state, an election was held and the clause about permitting the recall of judges was added to the State Constitution anyway! Talk about sticking it to the man!
