Colorado

Diverse groups and ideas in Colorado have long generated progress and conflict. Admitted as the 38th state to the Union in 1876, the eastern portion of the state was purchased by the federal government as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and the western portions were purchased from Mexico in the Treaty [Page 139]of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. Native Americans created cliff dwellings in the state prior to 1299 at Mesa Verde; however, the Ute Indians are the oldest continuous residents of the state.

In 1541, Spanish explorers gave the state its name, which means “red” in Spanish, because of the red color of the Colorado River. In 1851, the first non-native settlement was established and ushered in a period of conflict between new settlers ...