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- The Santa Fe Ring was a group of powerful attorneys and land speculators in the United States during the late 19th century and into the early 20th century. It amassed a fortune through political corruption and fraudulent land deals. Many prominent people in New Mexico Territory including future Senator and Secretary of War Stephen Benton Elkins were implicated. The ring figured into the various range wars and feud such as the Pecos War, Lincoln County War, and the Colfax County War. The ring name was applied to almost all state politicians in the state capital in Santa Fe, New Mexico, who had near total control of the state during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and were said to turn a blind eye to or be actively involved in corruption. The most infamous period involving the ring was in the 1870s, when ownership of huge Spanish land grants was sorted out. Membership were accused of selling to farmers new to the area land that in fact was not owned by the sellers. They were said to obtain government contracts to supply beef to American Indians on reservations, obtaining the contracts through corrupt political contacts, but with them supplying either less beef than the contract called for, or a poor quality of meat, often spoiled. (en)
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