Arizona states of Sonora and Baja California. Arizona is the 48th state and last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, achieving statehood on February 14, 1912, coinciding with Valentine's Day. Historically part of the territory of "Alta California" in New Spain, it became part of independent Mexico in 1821. After being defeated in the Mexican–American War, Mexico ceded much of this territory to the United States in 1848. The southernmost portion of the state was acquired in 1853 through the Gadsden Purchase. Southern Arizona is known for its desert climate, with very hot summers and mild winters.
That Used to Be Us That Used to Be Us That Used to be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back is a non-fiction book written by Thomas Friedman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning "New York Times" columnist and author, with Michael Mandelbaum, a writer and foreign policy professor at Johns Hopkins University. They published the book on September 5, 2011 in the United States. It addresses what the authors see as the four major problems America faces today and possible solutions. These problems are defined as: globalization, the revolution in information technology, the nation's chronic deficits, and