The younger McCormick suffered from poor health and was educated at home by private tutors with the expectation he would attend Columbia University.

McCormick took his oath of office on December 29, 1863, as part of the Navajo Springs ceremony that officially established Arizona Territory.

The newspaper's first edition was printed on March 9, 1864, at Fort Whipple and began regular operations in Prescott on June 22, 1864.

[10] McCormick's control of the newspaper aided his political career by ensuring he could always receive favorable press coverage.

[11] In 1868, following the territorial capital's move to Tucson, McCormick sold his property in Prescott and purchased an interest in the Weekly Arizonian.

McCormick's response was to repossess the paper's printing press and begin a new newspaper, the Arizona Citizen, on October 15, 1870.

To achieve their goals, the clique crossed traditional political divides of the day, with Northern Republican governors appointing Southern Democrats and Hispanics to governmental positions.

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.

[17] McCormick also pushed for the creation of the roads, railroads, telegraph lines and postal routes needed for such an economy to function.

He also asked Congress to acquire additional land from Mexico so that Arizona could have a port on the Gulf of California[18] To meet the need for food, the governor called for settlers and "tame" Indians to engage in farming.

[19] To help protect the growing population from outlaws, McCormick asked the territorial legislation to create courthouses and jails.

[5] During his run, McCormick avoided normal party affiliations and instead ran as a non-partisan candidate under a "Unionist" banner.

The election centered on the issue of the territorial capital having been moved the previous year, with allegations circulated that McCormick had been promised support from Pima County if he signed the bill.

[23] On his arrival in the Congress, McCormick's past acquaintances with influential people of the day allowed him to become unusually effective as a territorial delegate.

[24] During his first term, McCormick's efforts were focused on the Apache Wars and the establishment of additional postal routes within Arizona.

[8] McCormick also worked on a bill to restrict the killing of American Bison except for use as food, legislation resolving citizenship issues of Mexican-born residents of Arizona who lived in land acquired through the Gadsden Purchase, further expansion of mail routes and criminalization of acts that damaged or destroyed parts of the new military telegraph system.