I disagree - the land was taken by a Navy commander, and an Army general. Fremont was a Army lieutenant acting outside his orders - and the bear flag rebellion only lasted a few weeks before they surrendered to a Mexican landowner. Most of those involved joined the US forces and marched on LA, but arrived too late to do anything.

 

California became a US Territory in 1847 when when the Mexican government handed it over to John C Fremont. In Jan of 1848 gold was discovered at Sutters Mill, and Sep of 1850 California became a state.

I am not real good on California's overall history, but if anyone is interested in the northern parts of the mother lode, I learned quite a bit growing up.

As a kid, I lived in Forest City, and also attended school at the North Columbia Schoolhouse, before is became a museum.It is always great when I make it back home, and see the history. Towns like Downieville, Forest, North San Juan and Alleghany have hardly changed over the last 150 years.

There is still mining going on at the 16 to 1, and if I remember correctly, it is the oldest continually operating gold mine.

The little town of Washington, CA is also a great place to visit. I hated moving from there the year before last. You won't find a convience store or gas station for about 26 miles, but the area along the Yuba river is awesome.

The house I had, had a closed mine shaft next to the house, and there are friends that still live there with septics that are actually old mine shafts...My guess is that it will take a while before they have to worry about having them pumped...LOL

 

FOODFIGHT! I'm just sittin' here on the sidelines eating popcorn.

 

Where are you getting this info from? CA was never a US territory.

Please give me a reputable information source...not from Wikipedia, which is usually rife with errors.

I have over 300 books on the history of California, have read them all, and not one says anything about CA being a US territory.

IF CA was a US territory...please tell me who the Territorial Governor was. Every US territory had one.

The fact that Commodore Sloat captured a part of CA has nothing to do with CA becoming a territory of the US.

John C. Fremont, ever the opportunist, wangled an appointment as military governor of CA after the war ended, but he didn't last long.
I can't recall who the Mexican Government handed CA over to (if they did hand it over, it was hardly necessary).

In 1856, after serving as the first US Senator from CA, Fremont became the first Republican candidate for president.

btw: US Navy Lt. Catsby ap Jones (later a Captain in the CSN) sailed into Monterey Bay and captured Monterey without firing a shot.

There was only one problem, this was before the Mexican War began.

 

Perhaps it would be better to say US Protectorate.

IDE was never the President of anything - he and Sutter declared California as a free republic with IDE as president - but his men had already been pressed into Fremont's American Brigade and the lands were already in the hands of US Forces, with treaty talks proceeding between the US and Mexican Government.

You can call yourself King of Southern California if you want - but that does not make it so.

 

Ide was president of the Bear Flag Republic..for 25 days...which is the length of time the republic lasted.

After the republic ended (not before), Ide and other joined up with Fremont.

Here's my source: California, From Wilderness to Empire, by Robert Cleland, published by Knoff in 1944.

EDIT: Here's another source: California, by John W. Caughey-Professor of American History, UCLA. Published by Prentiss-Hall in 1940.

What's your source of info?

 

It is amazing what one can learn about California history in a Ford truck forum. I think I learned more here, then in all my school history classes put together.

 

There are many sources if you take a look at the Mexican American war 1846-1848. Here is one http://www.nps.gov/archive/fosc/mexican.htm

Pretty much the entire west became a western territory. I guess it could be argued that the area covered more than just California, However California was part of that US territory.

 

It is a fine legal point, but important. California was controlled by the US Military Forces, but never became an official "Territory". Oregon did - Congress appointed a Territorial Governor, and provided civil administration, including a working system of Courts.

California was administrated by the Military - who appointed Military Governors, and the only courts were military hearings. It was silly - at one point Fremont, Stockton, and US Army General Kearny each claimed to be the Provisional Governor of California. Each faced disciplinary action after the war. Fremont's official court martial makes for an interesting read.

The super important thing was land ownership and mining claims. Oregon had the Homestead Act under which most of the west was settled. A man could claim 360 acres of land and, if he proved up on it, owned it free and clear after 5 years.

California was not covered by the Homestead Act. It had over 1000 very large Mexican land grants which had to be recognized as part of the treaty that ended to war.

This is why Oregon was settled by individuals wanting to farm and ranch, while California was settled by land companies that broke up these land grants and sold lots to groups of immigrants they transported from the east.

Congress granted Oregon territorial government in the spring of 1849, but refused an amendment that would have added California to the Oregon territory. Congress, still bitter over the War with Mexico, argued that "native born" Oregon should not be shackled to territories "peopled by Mexicans and half-Indian Californians."

California citizens held a constitutional convention in October of 1849. They worked out a state constitution, which was approved by the voters in November. With a working constitution they petitioned the US Congress for statehood.

By then congress recognized the wealth of gold that had been discovered, and granted statehood on September 9, 1850. Therefor California never was a US Territory, having moved directly from a military occupation to statehood.

A lot of shortcuts were taken, with big money involved, and the honesty and sincerity of many people questioned. It was a ball of worms, and the stuff legends are made of. Reading about it now is like reading about the JFK assassination - who knows what really happened. But the end result can not be argued.

 

According to what I just read (earlier today-to refresh my memory-necessary for arguing purposes ) in the book "California" which I cited above, CA would have become a US state right after the Mexican War ended.

But...because of wrangling over where the borders were supposed to start/stop between Texas, NM territory (which included AZ) and Deseret, and the issues pertaining to slavery, it took the Compromise of 1850 to get CA into the Union..as a Free State.

Deseret = What Brigham Young named the vast territory the Mormons occupied. (btw: Ide was a Mormon).

Deseret = from the Book of Mormon = honey bee.

CA was administered by the US Military (sort of) from the end of the war till 9/9/1850. It was never an official US territory, however.

Why did the Mexican War involve CA?

Because US President James K. Polk incited it.

He was aware (as were Jackson and Van Buren) of the British trying to get the Mexican Gov't to sell CA to them, something the US didn't want to occur.

The Mexican Gov't owed Great Britain over 50 million dollars, and the Brits were willing to cancel most of that debt to acquire CA.

btw: Fremont was tried and convicted of mutiny, but was pardoned by Polk because his military service during the Mexican War.

 

Maybe California should become a country.

By some estimates, it's ranked as high as 7th as an economy.

And it could be named.................................California.

 

Interesting thing about Brigham Young and the Mormons as they were making thier way "Out West", they came across the (now known as) Great Salt Lake, and thought they'd hit the Pacific Ocean, so settled in Utah.

Okay...about all I can add to this discussion

 

I think they realized that they did not hit the Pacific. The whole purpose of the trek was to find and establish a Utopia for the church members. Brigham declared that area to be the place, when they reached the valley.

The town of Genoa, NV (Originally named Mormon Station)started as a Mormon post on the way to California. In fact, it is home to the oldest continually operating 'Watering Hole' in the state of Nevada.

 

It took them some time to realize they hadn't hit the Pacific, trust me...I got the scoop from a realiable source

My mom's side of the family is LDS, the majority still settled in Utah, and I've read countless diaries frmo the "tavelers" who all spoke of the same thing..."We have now come to the end of our journey at the Ocean"...well, shouldn't be in quotes, should actually be a paraphrase, but you get the gist.

There were also many who didn't think it was the Pacific and kept on trecking West, in fact (I'm not sure and would have to verify) I think they changed up in the religion...instead of being called LDS/Mormon, they chose something different...

So could be what was set up in Nevada, but would have definitely been some time after they settled in Utah.

 

Salt Lake was established in 1847 and Mormon Station was established in 1851, so the time frame, given the traveling conditions and circumstances, was not that long.

Some of the members were later called back to Salt Lake a few years later.

Though not good at adhereing to Doctrine and Covenants, I am LDS.