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Unit Six Introduction
New Mexico today has more in common with the other parts of the United States than it
has ever had. This is because all of us live in the modem world. We all have access
to the latest advances in technology. We all know in an instant what is going on in
the rest of the world.
At the same time, New Mexico suffers from an identity crisis. Many people from
elsewhere confuse our state with “old” Mexico. Indeed, every issue of the New
Mexico Magazine has a feature called, “One of Our Fifty Is Missing.” Included
here are stories about how people have mistaken New Mexico for a foreign
country. Even our license plates say on them, “New Mexico, U.S.A.”
New Mexicans, to be sure, are proud of who they are. They are proud of their heritage.
They are proud of their diverse cultures. But they are also Americans who are
proud of their contributions to modern history. They, too, survived depression and a
second world war. They, too, have witnessed great changes in the world and in
theft lives since the war’s end.
You will read about New Mexico since 1930 in the chapters that follow. In Chapter 16
you will learn about New Mexico during the Great Depression and World War II.
In Chapter 17 you will read about New Mexico’s development since the end of
World War II. In Chapter 18 you will read about New Mexico today.
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Chapter 10
Depression and World War
What you will learn in this chapter—
New Mexicans throughout the 1900s have witnessed many changes in their lives. They
have witnessed many changes in the land that is New Mexico. You read about
some of these changes in the last chapter. You will read about other changes in this
chapter.
Some of the changes that occurred were the result of major events. These events
affected people outside as well as inside New Mexico. During the 1930s, for
example, New Mexicans like other Americans felt the effects of hard times. The
coming of a second world war and the war itself also touched people from all walks
of life across the country.
How New Mexicans were affected by these major events is the subject of this chapter.
You will learn about the effects of the Great Depression on New Mexico and its
people. You will also learn about the involvement of New Mexicans in World War
II. As you read, you will find information divided into the following sections:
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
NEW DEAL PROGRAMS AND POLITICS
THE START OF WORLD WAR II
HELPING TO WIN THE WAR
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THE GREAT DEPRESSION
Words to know
depression
Dust Bowl
tenant farmer
migrant work
The Great Depression begins. In the last chapter you read about New Mexico in
the 1920s. You may recall that most New Mexicans prospered during that decade.
Farmers and ranchers were an exception. They sold less after World War I.
Elsewhere, the story was much the same. Indeed, the 1920s were one of the most
prosperous decades in American history. All that, however, began to change in
1929. In that year the stock market crashed. Hard times followed.
There had been trouble spots in the nation’s economy in the 1920s. Farming had been
one such trouble spot. Others had been the overproduction of consumer goods and
stock market speculation. Worldwide, economies had suffered from the effects of
the world war. What the stock market crash did was to set off a chain of events.
These events led the United States deeper and deeper into depression.
Depression is a term used to describe an extremely troubled economy. A depression is
a time of falling business. It is a time of great unemployment. This unemployment,
in turn, leads to less demand for goods. Less demand for goods, in turn, leads to
lower prices. The spiral downward into depression then continues. It leads to still
more unemployment and still less demand for goods.
The depression of the 1930s is called the Great Depression. It is called the Great
Depression for two reasons.
(1) It was the worst depression in our nation’s history. Millions of people could not find
jobs. At the depth of the depression, nearly 25 percent of the workers were jobless.
Some Americans even starved to death.
(2) The depression was a long, drawn-out problem. It lasted throughout the 1930s. It did
not end until the United States got caught up in World War II.
New Mexico’s farmers and ranchers are hard hit. In New Mexico and
elsewhere farmers did badly. By 1931 the state’s most important crops were worth
about half their 1920 value. Farmers on the eastern plains were hardest hit. They
suffered from the high costs of running a farm.
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They suffered from a lack of rainfall. Indeed, they were part of a regional disaster
known as the Dust Bowl.
The Dust Bowl region lacked moisture. It was also hit by high winds. From Oklahoma
to eastern New Mexico the winds picked up the dry land. They blew away great
clouds of topsoil. So thick was the dust that it filled the air. People could not see
more than a foot or two in any direction.
In Des Moines, New Mexico, a farmer remembers a dust storm that suffocated his
turkey. The turkey hen had roosted in an old barrel. She was found buried up to her
neck in dust. In the Estancia Valley the people remember the dust storms just as
well. Dust clouds killed entire crops of pinto beans. They transformed the once
productive valley into “the valley of broken hearts.”
One eyewitness on the plains east of Las Vegas recalled,
The land, between the years 1932 and 1935, became a dust bowl. . . The winds blew and
the land became desolate and abandoned. Gradually the grass and other
vegetation disappeared and the stock began to perish. . . In the mornings upon
rising from bed, one’s body was imprinted on the sheets which were covered with
sand.. . The whole world around us was a thick cloud of dust. The sun was invisible
and one would scarcely venture into the outdoors for fear of breathing the foul grit.
In all parts of New Mexico, farm land dropped in value. It bottomed out at an average
of $4.95 an acre. This was the lowest value for an acre of land in the whole country.
Nationwide the average value of an acre of farm land was $31.16. Many farmers in
New Mexico had few or no crops to sell. As a result, they fell behind in their taxes.
They could not pay off their debts.
Some farmers had their land taken over by creditors. Others sold their land for what
they could get. So, farm land values dropped. Having been forced off their land,
some farmers became tenant farmers. They farmed land that was owned by
someone else. Tenant farmers paid rent in crops or money to the land owners.
>>>This dust cloud, which measured 1,500 feet high and a mile across, rolled over Clayton on May 28,
l937.The dust was so thick that one could not see lights burning across the street.
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<<<Besides coal mining, the town of Madrid was famous for its Christmas display (in the background).
(Photo 1940)
Other farmers who lost their land became migrant workers. They traveled from place
to place. They harvested crops grown by someone else. Still other farmers forced
off their land could find no work.
New Mexico’s cattle ranchers were also hard hit by the depression. They, too, suffered
from drought. They, too, suffered from the depressed economy. Grass lands dried
up. Ranchers raised fewer cattle. They watched the value of livestock decline. They
watched the value of their land decline.
Many ranchers fell behind in their taxes and other payments. They were like so many of
the region’s farmers. They were forced to sell their land. This land was bought by
large ranchers. The result was larger cattle ranches in New Mexico.
Mining is hurt. The depressed condition of farming and ranching had a harsh effect on
New Mexico’s economy. New Mexico was, after all, still largely a rural state. Most
of its people in the 1930s made their livings by raising crops and livestock. At the
same time, the depression hurt other parts of the state’s economy.
A decline in mining had begun during the 1920s. It continued during the 1930s. Coal
production, for example, was just 1.7 million tons in 1936. In 1919, shortly after
the end of World War I, coal production had peaked. In that year it had been two
and one-half times greater than the 1936 figure. In addition, many mines were
bought up by large companies during the 1930s.
State and local governments are hurt. Besides mining, state and local
governments felt the effects of depression. Governments had too little money to
provide all the needed services. By early 1933 some 8,000 school-age children in
New Mexico could not attend schools. Some school districts simply had no money
to keep their doors open.
Even successful businesses felt the depression. One of New Mexico’s oldest business
families, for example, lost profits. In 1928 the Charles Ilfeld Company enjoyed a
profit margin of 14.7 percent. Company prof336
its dropped to 2.2 percent in 1931. In 1932 the company lost money.
Northern New Mexicans suffer. New Mexico’s northern villages suffered as well.
Before 1930 many villagers had worked outside their villages to earn wages. After
1930 most villagers could not find outside work. Families did raise sheep and farm
in northern New Mexico. Still, they were not able to support themselves. So in the
1930s, many northern New Mexicans sought help.
Early in the depression help for those in need came from several sources. Churches did
charity work. So did the Salvation Army and the community chests. Local offices
for the needy also provided some relief.
However, as the depression grew worse, local efforts were not enough. And state and
local governments did not take up the slack. In part this was because they, too,
were suffering from the depressed economy. As a result, major efforts to help the
needy shifted in 1933 to the national government.
SECTION REVIEW
1.
Explain why the depression of the 1930s is called the Great Depression.
2.
What was the Dust Bowl?
3.
How did the value of farm products and farm land in New Mexico change?
4.
What became of New Mexico farmers who were forced off their land?
5.
How did the depression affect cattle ranching in New Mexico?
6.
What effect did the depression have on mining?
7.
What effect did the depression have on state and local governments and on private
businesses?
8.
Why were the northern New Mexico communities so hard hit by the depression?
NEW DEAL PROGRAMS AND POLITICS
Word to Know -
relief
Needy New Mexicans find help. Formal relief, meaning the government’s caring
for people in need, was part of the New Deal. The New Deal
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<<<NEW MEXICO’S COUNTIES
was the name given to the programs of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt first
won election to the presidency in 1932. Taking office in March 1933, he soon sent
several New Deal relief measures to Congress. Congress quickly passed the acts
that Roosevelt wanted.
New Mexicans welcomed New Deal relief programs. In some counties more than half
the people were enrolled in relief programs by 1935. This was most common in the
eastern counties. Here, drought and dust storms made dry farming impossible.
In Harding County, for example, 72.8 percent of the people were on relief. (See the map
on this page.) In Torrance County the percentage on relief was 61.4. Catron
County, hit by drought but not by severe dust storms, had a relief percentage of
58.7. All in all, 14 counties in northeastern and east-central New Mexico suffered
from drought. The
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Civilian Conservation Corps
Many young men signed up for the Civilian Conservation Corps in New Mexico. They
worked hard. Their results were astounding. A record of their achievements hangs
on the wall of the state capital building, It has hung there since 1992. Here is what
it says:
US CCC
“Spirit of the CCC” 1933—1942
plaque in the state capital building in Santa Fe, dedicated on the 59th Anniversary of
the Founding of the CCC, March 31,1992
Civilian Conservation Corps
During the Great Depression of the 1930’s when financial disaster, environmental ruin,
25% unemployment and hunger stalked this land, 54,500 Civilian Conservation
Corps (CCC) members served in New Mexico. They were part of the 3.5 million
members, including 225,000 veterans in 4,500 camps throughout the nation. These
members replenished our forests, built state and national parks, thousands of lakes,
public buildings, dams, reservoirs, fish hatcheries, wildlife refuges, phone lines,
roads and many other needed projects too numerous to mention. They restored
Civil War battlefields, thousands of historic structures and millions of Dust Bowl
acres in America’s heartland.
In New Mexico, CCC members constructed the Bosque Del Apache Wildlife Refuge,
Bandelier National Monument, the Southwest regional headquarters building for
the National Park Service in Santa Fe and State parks including Hyde Park, River
Park, Conchas, Elephant Butte and Bottomless Lakes Park. They made major
improvements in Carlsbad Caverns, built 795 bridges, 658 dams and reservoirs,
wells, many miles of roads, trails and fences, planted six million trees, restored
Chaco Canyon Ruins and reseeded thousands of acres of grazing land.
When WWII began, ex-CCC members made up about 20% of America’s armed forces.
Their dead, which numbered in the tens of thousands, attest to their contributions to
the cause of freedom. General George C. Marshall, Army Chief of Staff, later
credited their training in the CCC as a major factor in America winning WWII.
This tribute to the members of the Civilian Conservation Corps was requested by Senate
Joint Memorial 16 of the 37th Legislature Second Session, 1986. It was brought to
reality by the joint efforts of the Legislative Council and the New Mexico
Roadrunner Chapter #14 of the National Association of the Civilian Conservation
Corps Alumni (NACCCA).
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<<< CCC projects such as this aided all parts of New Mexico. To protect the soil, CCC workers planted
over a billion trees across the country.
percentage of the people in these counties who were on relief varied. It ranged from a
low of 24.3 percent to a high of 72.8 percent.
Relief programs make jobs available. Some New Deal relief programs put people
to work. One such program was the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The
WPA employed people in many kinds of jobs. Writers, artists, and musicians
practiced their trades as employees of the WPA. Others who worked for the WPA
built schools and other public buildings.
Some buildings at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque were built with WPA
moneys. These include the library and the administration building. So was the high
school in Clayton a WPA project. By 1936 more than 13,000 New Mexicans had
found jobs through the WPA.
New Deal programs help young people. Two other New Deal programs produced
jobs for New Mexicans as well. The first was the Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC). (See Special Interest Feature.) The second was the National Youth
Administration (NYA). Both programs were designed to help young people.
The CCC employed young men between the ages of 18 and 25. These young men
worked in soil conservation projects. They worked in forest improvement projects.
They lived in camps. Part of what they earned each month went directly to their
families. A CCC branch for young Indian men employed them in flood control and
irrigation projects. This CCC branch helped increase farm production on Pueblo
lands.
The NYA, the second program, emphasized job training. Those trained under the NYA
received wages for their training. In Clayton, for example, young people learned
skills in woodworking, metal work, adobe work, and weaving. The youth of
Clayton then helped build their school. The NYA trained many people. The country
would need these skilled workers when the Second World War began.
Politics are affected by the depression. Trying to help Indians, Congress also
passed what has been called the “Indian New Deal.” This 1934 New Deal program
was outlined in the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA).
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Its provisions did many things. It changed how some of New Mexico’s Indians lived.
You will read about the IRA and other changes in Indian ways of living in the next
chapter.
New Deal programs brought relief to many thousands of New Mexicans. They kept up
the spirits of the American people. But the New Deal did not bring an end to the
depression. The 1930s remained a hard time for many New Mexicans.
The 1930s were also a time of shifting political fortunes. The Republican party had long
dominated New Mexico politics. In the 1930s it began to lose its power. The
Republican party lost its power because it lost the support of Hispanic New
Mexicans.
Hispanic New Mexicans began to join the Democratic party in the early 1930s. They
liked the New Deal programs of President Roosevelt, a Democrat. They also liked
the 1935 appointment of a Hispanic New Mexican to the United States Senate. The
new senator was Democrat Dennis Chavez. After 1935 the Hispanic bloc of voters
supported the Democratic party. This support began a long period of Democratic
control of New Mexico politics.
There are some bright spots in the 1930s. New Mexicans had little to cheer
about during the 1930s. At the same time, there were some bright spots. The
population, for example, continued to grow. In its region New Mexico had the
second greatest number of families new to one state. By 1940 the population was
531,818.
Oil production grew as well. This increased oil production provided needed tax money
to the state. Tourism remained strong during the 1930s. And the number of state
parks grew. The increase in parks was aided by the national government. The
government helped pay for the development of new state parks.
>>>Senator Dennis Chavez was the most important Hispanic New Mexican leader in the 1900s.
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So, New Mexico enjoyed some growth during the 1930s. But this growth was not great.
Real growth awaited the end of the Great Depression. And end it did with the
coming of World War II.
SECTION REVIEW
I.
What kinds of jobs did the Works Progress Administration provide?
2.
What New Deal programs especially helped young people?
3.
What New Deal program is called the “Indian New Deal”?
4.
Which political party came to power during the 1930s, and why did this change
occur?
THE START OF WORLD WAR II
World War II begins. On September 3, 1939, Great Britain and France declared war
on Germany. This was two days after German armies invaded Poland. It marked
the start of World War II. As the war continued, more and more countries were
drawn into the fighting. The aggressor nations were the Axis powers. These nations
were Germany and Italy. Japan joined the Axis in 1940.
In Europe Germany overran one country after another. In May 1940 first German and
then Italian armies invaded France. After the fall of France in June 1940, Great
Britain stood alone. It was the only country in western Europe still fighting against
the Axis powers. The Soviet Union joined the war on Britain’s side in June 1941.
In that month German troops invaded Russia.
The United States did not enter World War II until late 1941. Until then President
Roosevelt and the Congress did take some action. For example, they lent aid to
Great Britain and other countries who opposed the Axis powers. They also took
steps to prepare this country for war.
The war itself came to the United States on December 7, 1941. On that day the Japanese
made a sneak attack on the United States. They bombed the American naval base at
Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. They sank many United States naval vessels. (See Special
Interest Feature.) They also attacked the Philippines.
On December 8 President Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. The
Congress honored this request the same day. Germany and Italy then declared war
on the United States. So, the United States armed forces fought against both Japan
and Japan’s allies.
New Mexicans fight in the Philippines. New Mexico servicemen were
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The U.S.S. New Mexico
The U.S.S. New Mexico was a battleship. It saw much action during World War II. The
ship had got its start as Battleship 40 in October 1915. All told, the ship took about
one and a half years to build. It was finally launched on April 23, 1917.
On hand for the christening of the new battleship were several special guests. Included
was the daughter of New Mexico’s late governor, Margarita C de Baca. Miss C de
Baca christened the New Mexico. She broke a bottle of champagne and water from
the Rio Grande across its hull. Also present was the then Assistant Secretary of the
Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt. He would later serve his nation as president.
The New Mexico did not see action during World War I. Still, she was a grand ship. She
measured 624 feet in length. She was 106 feet 3 inches wide. Her big guns had a
range of nearly 10 miles. She carried a crew of 1,323 men.
Between the two world wars the New Mexico became known as the queen of the Pacific
Fleet. She was stationed in the Pacific until 1941. Then, she was transferred to the
Atlantic Ocean and missed the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the attack the New
Mexico returned to the Pacific. There, she remained for the rest of the war.
The New Mexico was awarded six battle stars for her outstanding battle record. At the
same time, she suffered great damage. In January 1945 she received a direct hit on
her bridge. Twenty-nine men and the commanding officers were killed. Then, in
May 1945, the ship received two hits. This time 54 men were lost.
The New Mexico stayed on active duty despite the damage suffered. She was present at
the surrender of the Japanese. But in 1946 she was sold for scrap. Her two bells,
her helm, and other mementos were given to New Mexico.
One of her bells hangs in the mall at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
Her helm hangs on the wall at the university’s naval ROTC building. Her silver
service has been on display at the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe, All are
proud reminders of the brave ship and crew that served their country well.
>>>The U.S.S. New Mexico
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<<<At Camp Luna near Las Vegas, the soldiers of the 200th Coast Artillery train with 75-millimeter
cannons. (Photo August 1940)
among the first Americans to see action in World War II. The day before Congress
declared war, New Mexico National Guardsmen fought in the Pacific. They had
been members of the National Guard 111th Cavalry. In 1940 the 111th had become
part of the 200th Coast Artillery, Anti-Aircraft Regiment.
The troops of the 200th had arrived in the Philippines in September 1941. These islands
belonged at that time to the United States. The regiment’s orders were to defend
Clark Field and Ft. Stotsenberg. These bases lay 75 miles north of Manila, the
Philippine capital.
So, hundreds of New Mexicans were at Clark Field when the Japanese attacked it on
December 7. The attack occurred some 10 hours after the strike on Pearl Harbor.
The 200th regiment destroyed some low-flying Japanese fighter planes. The
bombers, however, flew above the range of the antiaircraft guns.
In January 1942 Japanese ground forces attacked the Philippines. Some New Mexico
servicemen fought the Japanese as members of the 200th regiment. Others had
become members of a newly formed unit. This was the 515th Coast Artillery
Regiment.
In time, the United States troops were ordered to withdraw to Bataan Peninsula. The
peninsula was 30 miles long. The fighting was fierce. The badly outnumbered
Americans and Filipinos suffered from hunger. Then, on April 9, 1942, the 78,000
American and Filipino soldiers surrendered to the Japanese.
New Mexicans are war heroes. What followed has come to be called the Bataan
Death March. The Japanese forced the captives, about 20,000 of whom were
Americans, to march 65 miles to a railroad. The captives had no food or water.
They had to march for six days. About 11,000 Americans and Filipinos died on the
march. Of the captives who died, 4,000 were Americans, including many New
Mexicans.
Trains took some surviving captives to a Japanese prison camp. Ships took still others
to prison camps in Japan. On board these ships yet more captives died. And within
the camps, in both the Philippines and in Japan, thousands more died. Again, many
were New Mexicans. Of
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the 1,800 New Mexicans who served in the Philippines, only 900 returned home. A
Bataan Memorial was built at Fort Bliss, Texas. Later moved to Santa Fe, the
memorial includes our state’s eternal flame. It honors the brave New Mexicans who
fought and died in the Philippines.
SECTION REVIEW
1.
Why did the United States enter World War II in December 1941?
2.
Why were New Mexicans among the first Americans to see action?
3.
How many New Mexicans fought in the Philippines, and why did half of them die?
HELPING TO WIN THE WAR
New Mexicans serve all over the world. The war lasted nearly four years. New
Mexicans saw action wherever there was fighting. In fact, New Mexico had the
highest casualty rate (dead and wounded) in the Union. One group of New
Mexicans even played a special role in the war effort. These were the Navajos.
The United States government used Navajos as code talkers. The code talkers translated
secret military messages into the Navajo language. Upon their arrival the messages
were decoded by other Navajos. This way of sending messages confused the
Japanese. The Japanese never solved the code. In this way the Navajos made a
major contribution to the American war effort.
New Mexico’s resources are thrown into the war effort. The Navajos were
joined by many other New Mexicans in helping win the war. A total of 49,579 New
Mexicans were drafted into the armed forces. Congress passed the Selective
Service Act in October 1940. The draft
>>>This appeal for war bonds and stamps is in Spanish. Who does the person on the poster represent?
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was then in effect until the end of the war. Other New Mexicans who served in the
armed forces were volunteers. Indeed, New Mexico had the highest volunteer rate
of any state.
Thousands more helped the war effort in other ways. The state provided training
programs for the army and navy. These programs were offered through the state’s
colleges. They covered weather forecasting, preflight training, and other training.
In some parts of the state, the national government built special camps. The camp at
Santa Fe housed Japanese-Americans. These Japanese-Americans had been
removed from the West Coast under orders from President Roosevelt. After the
attack on Pearl Harbor, anti-Japanese feelings on the West Coast had broken out.
People feared that the Japanese were a threat to the security of the West Coast.
The president had reacted to these fears. He said that national security required the
relocation of 112,000 Japanese-Americans. Nearly two-thirds of those relocated
had been born in the United States. Sent to camps in New Mexico and other states,
the Japanese-Americans remained there until war’s end.
Camps at Roswell and Lordsburg held prisoners of war. They mainly housed Germans
and Italians. New Mexico’s prisoner-of-war camps were among the largest in the
nation.
The state receives military installations. In some parts of the state, the national
government built army air force bases. Some of these bases remain in place today.
So, it was during World War II that New Mexico became an important military
center. In 1911, for example, the state got the first of many bases. This was the
Albuquerque Army Air Base. It is today Kirtland Air Force Base.
A second base opened in Albuquerque in 1942. Also in 1942, bases opened in Clovis,
Alamogordo, and Roswell. These bases came to be named Cannon, Holloman, and
Walker air force bases. In addition, temporary wartime air bases existed at Hobbs,
Deming, and Fort Sumner. And in 1945 the White Sands Proving Ground opened
in south-central New Mexico. It is today called White Sands Missile Range.
Wartime operations at Albuquerque’s bases showed how important New Mexico was as
a military center. Early in the war the Albuquerque Army Air Base housed an air
force advanced flying school. This school was a bombardier school. Renamed
Kirtland Field in early 1942, the air base ran a school throughout the war.
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Dr. Robert H. Goddard
The rocket age came to New Mexico in 1930. In that year Dr. Robert H. Goddard
moved to Mescalero Ranch near Roswell. There, he built and tested liquid-fueled
rockets.
Goddard’s earlier flight tests in Massachusetts had alarmed officials there. However,
his work had caught the attention of Charles A. Lindbergh. Lindbergh had made the
first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. He then arranged private
funding for Goddard’s tests.
Goddard’s move to Roswell meant open spaces and good weather for bigger test flights.
His work with liquid-fueled rockets made rapid progress. The first Roswell test
occurred in December 1930. Goddard’s rocket flew 2,000 feet into the air.
Goddard continued building rockets until October1941. A later model reached an
altitude of 9,000 feet. Goddard’s research led to 214 patents for designing,
powering, and guiding rockets. Yet the United States armed forces saw little of
value in Goddard’s ideas. As World War II neared, they moved him East to
develop airplane engines.
German scientists, on the other hand, read his research reports. They used Goddard’s
concepts to make rockets of their own. The deadly V-2 rockets, which bombed
London, England, in 1944, followed Goddard’s design. After the war American
soldiers captured Werner von Braun, Germany’s leading rocket scientist. Von
Braun was asked to explain how the V-2 worked. He answered, Why don’t you ask
Goddard how they work?”
Goddard, however, had died on August 10, 1945. He had never returned to the Roswell
test site. The United States finally honored Goddard in 1959. In that year he
received the Congressional Gold Medal. This is our highest civilian award. Today
Goddard High School in Roswell bears his name.
>>>The Goddard Rocket Collection in the Roswell Museum
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By 1945 Kirtland had trained 1,750 B-24 pilots and crew members. On a smaller scale
Kirtland had also trained aviation mechanics and navigators. And in 1942 and 1943
it had doubled as a ground school for glider pilots. Its final wartime role was to
train combat crews for the B-29 bomber.
The army built Albuquerque’s second base east of Kirtland. This was the Albuquerque
Air Depot Training Station. Opened in June 1942, the station trained crews to
service, repair, and maintain aircraft. No longer needed as a training station after
1943, the base became an army air field.
Still later the base became an army air force convalescent center. The center treated
wounded pilots and crew members. In addition, it provided rest and recreation. The
base again became an army air field in 1945. In that year its official name became
Sandia Base.
During the 1940s, then, New Mexico developed as one of the country’s military
headquarters. It provided military training for the whole nation. It also helped lead
the way in military research. (See Special Interest Feature.)
The Manhattan Project gets started. At Los Alamos research furthered the
development of the atomic bomb. The site of a boys’ ranch school until 1942, Los
Alamos lies 20 miles northwest of Santa Fe. J. Robert Oppenheimer had attended
the boys’ school there. It was he who told the United States government about Los
Alamos. He urged the government to buy the school and surrounding land for
atomic research. The government did so. It later established the Manhattan Project
there. Oppenheimer helped head this project.
The government sealed off the area in 1943. It brought in top scientists. Some were
Jewish refugees from Hitler’s Germany. Research facilities were built, and some
7,000 people lived at the project site. The town of Los Alamos had been born.
Yet no one outside the site was told what was happening. All aspects of the Manhattan
Project were top secret. Numbers rather than names appeared on the drivers’
licenses of those who lived and worked at the project site. The address for Los
Alamos was P. 0. Box 1663, Santa Fe.
The atomic age begins. What went on inside the project was, of course, work on the
atomic bomb. The bomb and the idea behind it were new. Not even those who built
the bomb knew if it would work. The bomb first had to be tested. This test took
place at Trinity Site on the White
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Sands Proving Ground. The date was July 16, 1945.
The test was a success. In fact, the blast was heard or the flash was seen all over the
state. One traveler had just crossed from New Mexico into Arizona when
Suddenly, the tops of high mountains by which we were passing were lighted up by a
reddish, orange light.
The surrounding countryside was illuminated like daylight for about three seconds.
Then it was dark again.
The experience scared me. It was just like the sun had come up and suddenly gone down
again.
Still, the new bomb remained a secret for three more weeks. Only after an atomic bomb
was dropped on Japan did people everywhere learn of the new weapon. The site
was Hiroshima, Japan. The date was August 6, 1945. In an instant, 75,000 Japanese
died.
President Harry S. Truman had made the decision to use the bomb. He believed that its
use would save hundreds of thousands of American lives. He believed its use
would force the Japanese to surrender. Japan did surrender to the United States.
However, Japan surrendered only after a second atomic bomb was used. The
United States dropped this bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9.
With the surrender of the Japanese, World War II came to an end. New Mexico and its
people had played a major role in the war effort. New Mexico was, among other
things, the birthplace of the atomic age. It has remained a center of atomic research
ever since. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory carries on research for the
Department of Energy.
So does Sandia National Laboratories. Today, Sandia is a private corporation. It began
as a subgroup of the Los Alamos Laboratory late in the war. Since that time Sandia
has researched and developed nuclear weapons. It has also worked on new and
improved sources of energy. Sandia National Laboratories is located on the military
reservation in Albuquerque. It shares space with Kirtland Air Force Base.
>>>Scientists inspect Ground Zero at Trinity Site. (Photo November 1945)
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In the 1950s the Sandia-Kirtland complex led the way in planning nuclear tests. Since
1963 Kirtland has been the site of the Air Force Weapons Laboratory. As such,
Kirtland is engaged in weapons research and development.
New Mexico’s long-term role as a research center has brought money into the state. It
has provided many jobs. Military and defense activity has also caused growth.
During the war it brought people into the state. Many families stayed, and after the
war New Mexico continued to grow.
SECTION REVIEW
1.
Who were the Navajo code talkers, and how did they help the war effort?
2.
How did New Mexico’s casualty and volunteer rates during the war compare to
those of other states?
3.
What were the functions of the special camps built by the government in New
Mexico?
4.
Where was the Manhattan Project located, and what was its purpose?
5.
According to the traveler in Arizona, what did it look as if the sun had done during
the first atomic bomb test?
6.
In what ways has New Mexico become a center for military and defense activities?
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CHAPTER REVIEW
Words You Should Know
Find each word in your reading and explain its meaning.
1.
depression
2.
Dust Bowl
3.
tenant farmer
4.
migrant worker
5.
relief
Places You Should Be Able to Locate
Be able to locate these places on the maps in your book
1.
Harding County
2.
Torrance County
3.
Catron County
4.
Clayton
5.
Roswell
6.
Lordsburg
7.
Clovis
8.
Alamogordo
9.
Los Alamos
Facts You Should Remember
Answer the following questions by recalling information presented in this chapter.
1.
Briefly explain the effects of the depression in New Mexico on each of the
following:
a.
farming and cattle raising
b.
mining
c.
d.
e.
state and local government
the villages of northern New Mexico
state politics
2.
In what ways did individual New Mexicans participate in World War II?
3.
What contributions did New Mexico as a state make to the war effort?
4.
Who are the following people, and why are they important?
a.
Dennis Chavez
b.
Franklin D, Roosevelt
c.
J. Robert Oppenheimer
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Things You Can Make or Do
Listed below are things you can make or do. Some items you can do on your own.
Other items you can do as a member of a group.
1.
Conduct an interview with a person who lived in New Mexico during the 1930s or
1940s. Ask the person to tell you something about life during the Great Depression
or during World War II. Then, tell the class about that one person’s experiences.
2.
Find out if there were any New Deal projects carried out in your community during
the depression. Learn what you can about the project. Report your findings to the
class.
3.
Make a poster that shows something about the involvement of the United States in
World War II. Your poster might ask young men to enlist in the armed forces. Your
poster might ask people to buy savings bonds. Your poster might tell people why
the rationing of items like gasoline, meat, coffee, and sugar is a necessary part of
the war effort. Whatever poster you make, it should include a special appeal to New
Mexicans.
4.
Make a model of a World War II battleship like the U.S.S. New Mexico. Or make a
model of some other World War II ship, airplane, tank, or weapon of war.
5.
Form a committee to find out more about the Manhattan Project. You might focus
on one or more of the project’s scientists. You might focus on Los Alamos. Or you
might focus on the testing of the atomic bomb at White Sands Proving Ground.
351