This is Part 15 of a 17-part series. Now let’s see here, what the hell happened in the last part? Well shit, let’s just cheat and follow this link, to get up-to-date.
To start at the beginning, follow this link.
Alta California
On January 24, 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill, and wouldn’t you know? A bunch of damned migrants and immigrants wanted it. Migrants from eastern states, and immigrants from all over the world, poured into California during the ‘49er Gold Rush.
The 300,000 new, gold-grubbing arrivals to this U.S. possession allowed California to skip territorial status and directly become a state. So once again, newcomers changed the course of California history. And just like that, even before we became a state, we were getting too friggin’ crowded.
A constitutional convention took place in Monterey, in 1849, in order to establish the boundaries, laws, and government structure of the proposed state. And in order to wear funny hats, go to strip joints, and do other things delegates don’t talk about after returning home.
A debate ensued over the boundaries. Big Staters were greedy. They argued for keeping the boundaries of California as they were under Mexican rule. They hated to hear Texans brag all the time, and wanted a state big enough to shut them up.
If Big Staters had their way, California would have been larger than Texas.
But Small Staters were practical. They argued that a state this enormous would be too difficult to administer. They sought an eastern boundary at the 116th meridian, which would have included two-thirds of current-day Nevada, and would have sliced due south to the Mexican border, near San Diego, but would have cut off most of the southern deserts.
A weird “compromise” was hammered out that made California even smaller, and created the state’s current boundaries. These boundaries exclude Nevada, but encompass the southern deserts west of the Colorado River. And, most importantly, they provide access to the abundant waters of the Colorado. Californians wanted lawns.
The remainder of Alta California became the lands of the Utah and New Mexico Territories. These territories were later subdivided into smaller territories and states.
The California constitution also banned slavery, and sadly, this led to another weird compromise. The Compromise of 1850.
U.S. Senator from Kentucky, Henry Clay, as he appeared in 1848.
The proposed admission of California as a free state prompted fiery debate in Congress between abolitionists and pro-slavery Southerners. This debate became so heated it nearly devolved into civil war. But Senator Henry Clay came to the rescue, and proposed a compromise that averted war. At least for the time being.
The Compromise of 1850 allowed California’s admission into the Union as a free state. It also allowed any new state, whether north or south of the Mason-Dixon line, to decide for itself if it would permit slavery. It included the highly controversial Fugitive Slave Act. And it cut the borders of Texas down to its current boundaries.
The Compromise of 1850 was the last major achievement of Henry Clay, before he died in 1852. And it allowed California to become our 31st state, on September 9, 1850.
The Bear Flag
The original Bear Flag, fabricated in Sonoma, was destroyed in the fires that followed the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. But a replica had been created in 1896 for the 50th anniversary of the Bear Flag Revolt, and today it’s displayed in the museum at the Sonoma Mission State Historic Park.
This photograph of William Todd’s original Bear Flag, was taken in 1890. 16 years later, the flag was destroyed in the fiery aftermath of the Great San Francisco Earthquake.
In 1911, the Bear Flag was adopted as California’s official state flag. Only this time a better artist was employed. The bear looked much more like a bear than a pig. And it was bigger and more centered on the flag.
And the interesting words, California Republic still appeared below the ursine symbol. Today California sports the fifth largest economy in the world, so it could really be its own republic. And I’m sure there are many red states that wouldn’t mind if we seceded.
Maybe with just a little more illegal immigration, we can pull it off.
California’s state flag, as it appears today. Now I see the bear. It’s walking across someone’s well watered lawn.
Come on back in a few days, for Part 16: The Conquered After Conquest.
Categories: Series (History): Conquering California
Chasing Unicorns 
In the lower Colorado we all love our lawns. And that’s why Denver can’t have them — we get all the water.
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Yeah, but I’m with you about lawns. They require too much work. I use my hula hoe to keep any and all blades of grass off my property.
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Now that’s a flag to wave about!
Go Bears!
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It’s a nice flag. If we’d have had that flag from the start, maybe we would have remained a republic.
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Sure. Sure. But if you were still a republic, then Trump wouldn’t be your President.
Oh, wait, that’s a good thing.
Hmm . . . maybe I can convince FL to secede?
And then we can legalize pot and thumb our noses at D.C. politics.
Change is Life!
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Sounds like a plan. Hey, maybe we can start a movement. A 50-state secession. That would be interesting.
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Race you to the exit sign!
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You’re on.
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Ahh! I like that flag. We don’t have that nice of flag,maybe I have to move to California.
Great job once again. I would give the teacher some apples but the last time I did that I got sent to the spam dungeon! I see what happens when one is nice!
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Well thank you.
The spam dungeon was just a test to see how forgiving you are. So far, you’re not doing a good job passing that test.
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..mmm..!!
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I’m at a loss for words here, Tippy … so maybe I’ll just say ‘nice flag’, although I do agree that the whole ‘republic’ thing is a bit odd. I would never have associated bears with California so it has been very interesting to read about the history.
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It’s actually a California grizzly bear, which was hunted so much, it went extinct in the 1920s. They were once very populous in our state. In the early 1800s, the Mexican vaqueros would capture them, and for public sport would pit them against bulls, in an arena. They apparently were very large bears, so it must have been quite a spectacle to see these fights. These days we only have black bears. No grizzlies of any kind exist in California anymore.
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So many animals have gone extinct because we, as a species, are idiots 😕
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I know. It’s so sad.
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“Maybe with just a few more illegal immigrants…” Ha! Very interesting. The gold rush reminds me of Saturday morning cartoons from when I was a kid: “There’s gold in them thar hills!”
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That reminds me of another quote: “Great Leaping Horney Toads!” ~ Yosemite Sam.
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Oh Sam. I miss him.
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The greed. And I get stuck on slavery being allowed. It just makes me so sad.
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Slavery was a big deal in those days. It’s surprising today that so many people thought of it as being a normal way to conduct business. Attitudes have certainly changed, and for the better, in my view. Although they may be backsliding a bit, these days.
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Yes. I can’t wrap my head around it. So many if not all of the religious too. Funny thing is, Jesus wasn’t white so where they get their stupid ideas from is beyond me.
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They got their ideas from White Jesus, not Black Jesus.
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Apparently.
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