After Governor Goodwin was elected territorial delegate and left for Washington in late 1865, Secretary McCormick became acting governor of Arizona Territory. He was officially appointed as governor on March 14, 1866. Among the chief issues McCormick faced were hostilities from Apache and other tribes. To deal with this threat he called for an increase in U.S. Army troops and a reorganization of small forts located throughout the territory into larger installations to maximize the number of soldiers available for action. Instead of the policy of extermination advocated by many within the territory, McCormick supported the creation of Indian reservations.