The correct answer to this open question is the following.
The refusal to accept New Mexico as a state says a lot about what people at that time thought it meant to be American. Thet showed a racist behavior because the United States Congress did not accept the New Mexico's application to be a state of the Union. The reason? Congressmen had many doubts about the kind of people -mostly Native American Indians- that could be part of the United States.
Yes, I see contemporary parallels or similarities with present events. Recent racists events have taught us that racism practices are very ingrained in some parts of American society.
The settlement of the frontier has defined American History.
