University of New Mexico. University Libraries

On April 25, 1974, young army captains led a coup d'etat in Portugal, thus deposing the government originally headed by Ant?nio de Oliveira Salazar, a right-wing dictatorship which had lasted nearly fifty years under Salazar, himself, and his less powerful successor, Marcello Caetano. Salazar's demise was linked to the Colonial War, involving Portuguese control of Angola and Mozambique -- colonies which sought independence. It was also linked to poor economic conditions and the repression of labor movements in Portugal, rampant government corruption, and increasing military unrest. The post-revolutionary period saw the birth of numerous new political parties --among them, Maoist, Socialist, and Communist parties -- which are represented in the posters housed in this collection.

From the guide to the Portuguese Revolutionary Ephemera, 1961-1975, (University of New Mexico. Center for Southwest Research.)

Underground newspapers proliferated during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The term "underground" refers to publications that advocated social and political views outside of the mainstream. These were not clandestine operations, but presented perspectives that differed considerably from establishment publications. In 1967, the Underground Press Syndicate was organized with the stated goal of sharing information about what they called the collapse of Western civilization. They promoted alternative cultures and life-styles as means of adjusting to the fall of the establishment. It became clear by the mid-1970s that Western civilization was not about to undergo a major upheaval. A few of the underground newspapers changed their focus and became establishment organs. By doing so, they reflected growing mainstream acceptance of such counterculture principles as public discussion of sexuality and environmental awareness.

From the guide to the Underground Newspaper Collection, 1967-1993, (University of New Mexico. Center for Southwest Research.)

Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865, was born in Kentucky. He resided in that state as well as Indiana and Illinois during his childhood and adolescence. Though he received less than one year of formal education, Lincoln had a long political career. Despite his initial failings in bids for election to the Illinois legislature and U.S. Congress, he served in the Illinois legislature in 1834, and in Congress in 1846. In 1860, he was the Republican presidential candidate and took office in 1861. Although Lincoln was only minimally involved in the anti-slavery movement at the time of his election, he is perhaps best known for the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862 and for being the "Civil War President," as his presidency (including his reelection for a second term) spanned the years of the Civil War (1861-1865). Days after the end of the war, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in the Ford's Theater.

From the guide to the Collection of Newspaper Clippings and Memorabilia about Abraham Lincoln, 1858-1913, (University of New Mexico. Center for Southwest Research.)

As Marta Weigle and Barbara Babcock note, "The artists' role in constructing the national imagery of the West cannot be overtitleasized." Artists working for the Santa Fe Railway and others whose images were used by the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce or local lodges and resorts presented images of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the Southwest in such a way as to promote the Southwest as a tourist or residential destination which mixed romanticized images of nature and Native Americans with depictions of comfortable, "cosmopolitan" living. Numerous scholars have noted the way in which Native Americans have been utilized to promote travel. However, tourists were not the only visitors courted in this way. For some time, Albuquerque and other parts of New Mexico were attractive to health-seekers, generally, and to tuberculosis patients, specifically. Albuquerque promoted itself to this clientele boasting a climate beneficial to those who suffer from tuberculosis and a higher recovery rate for tuberculosis patients than other areas of the country. Given most areas' fear of drawing tuberculosis sufferers, Albuquerque was alone in its advertising to this community. Erna Fergusson noted, in 1940, that "Albuquerque had two businesses: the Santa Fe Railroad and tuberculosis. She reported that at that time, between 350 and 500 health-seekers visited Albuquerque each year. Still, these were not the only new residents to Albuquerque. Erna Fergusson concluded, in 1947 that the nature of newcomers to Albuquerque was changing. "Of late, the character of these newcomers has changed from people seeking salubrious climate and people from neighboring states drifting westward, to GI's, investors, highly trained technicians. These people have made us more than ever cosmopolitan."

From the guide to the Albuquerque and New Mexico Pamphlet Collection, 1880-1961, (University of New Mexico. Center for Southwest Research.)

Luis Maria Cabeza de Baca petitioned the Mexican governor for a grant of land bordering on the Rio Gallinas for himself and his seventeen sons in 1821. The grant was made in 1823, but it was never completely occupied due to encroachment by the Indians. The first settlement of any size was made in 1833, when a group of men from San Miguel del Bado, on the Pecos River, petitioned for a grant. The grant was given under the condition that a plaza be erected for protection against the Indians. This grant was confirmed by the U.S. Congress on June 21, 1860. Subsequently, descendants of Cabeza de Baca tried to regain control of their original land grant. In the arbitration that followed, title to the Las Vegas Land Grant was retained by the town of Las Vegas and as compensation to the Baca heirs, the United States Congress authorized distribution of five parcels of public land from various locations in the Southwest.

From the guide to the Las Vegas Land Grant (N.M.) Maps, 1879-1888, (University of New Mexico. Center for Southwest Research.)

The Mexican Communist Party was formed in 1919, strongly linked (ideologically and economically) to the organization known as La Internacional Comunista. For some time, the organization of the Mexican Communist Party was in foreign hands. This changed with the integration into the Mexican Communist Party of noted Mexican artists, such as Diego Rivera, who eventually rose to the executive ranks of the Party. From 1925 to 1935, the Party was declared illegal, and operated in a clandestine fashion. During this time, many communists were jailed and killed. Police opened fire on numerous manifestations and protests. Workers were unionizing to demand better conditions, and these demands were met with hostility, and, often, violence. There were numerous organizations affiliated with the Mexican Communist Party, though many of these were ephemeral.

Items in this collection date to the time when Hitler was in power in Germany, and Mussolini in Italy. Cuba saw the transition from one dicatatorial regime (Gerardo Machado) to another (Ramón Grau San Martín). The United States was demonstrating imperialist tendencies and exerting military influence around Cuba. In Nicaragua, Augusto César Sandino was a prominent figure (until his death at the hands of the National Guard in 1934). In Mexico, first Calles, then Cárdenas, then Rodríguez were in power. In the United States, race relations were inflammatory. In Scottsboro, Alabama, in March of 1931, nine black youth were falsely accused of rape. They were tried numerous times, sentenced to death numerous times, and re-tried, due to judges overturnining the convictions, due to the defendants' inadequate representation, and ordering new trials. Finally, in 1935, the Supreme Court reversed the convictions of Norris and Patterson, two of the defendants.

In February of 1933, the Reichstag was burned in Germany, and at this time, the governmental persecution of Communist Party members began on a large scale. E. Thaelman, Secretary of the German Communist Party and others affiliated with this party were accused of burning the Reichstag and sentenced to death.

From the guide to the Mexican Communist Party Ephemera, 1932-1938 (bulk 1933-1934), (University of New Mexico. Center for Southwest Research.)

The San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico and northeastern Arizona was the area of New Mexicos first commercially viable oil and gas wells. Major strikes in the Basin in 1920 and 1922 resulted from a flurry of exploration activity in the area during the 1910s by the Midwest Refining Company and other outfits. The Midwest Refining Company began operations in 1914 and as an affiliate of the Midwest Oil Company (later Midwest Oil Corporation), an Arizona-based oil company formed in 1911. The Midwest Refining Company hired Jack Sickler and A.B. Beall, Jr., petro-geologists, to work under the guidance of Thomas S. Harrison, the companys chief geologist from 1914-1920, to explore the drilling possibilities in the San Juan Basin. Their final report describing the geology major physical features of the area and the likelihood of oil strikes in the San Juan Basin is the main document of this collection. The Midwest Refining Company struck oil in the Hogback Dome, in 1922, leading to the first San Juan Basin oil boom in subsequent years. The Midwest Refining Company was acquired by Stanolind Oil and Gas Company (a subsidiary of Standard Oil Company) in 1921, and the name disappeared from use in 1926.

From the guide to the San Juan Basin Petro-geological Research Collection, 1920-1948, (University of New Mexico. Center for Southwest Research.)