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46-673: The discovery of gold in 1848 and California's declaration in 1849 that it intended to become a free state were catalysts for free Blacks to migrate to California in search of gold. After finding gold in Brown's Valley, six African American men organized the Sweet Vengeance mine company to work the claim. The partners included Gabriel Simms, Fritz James Vosburg, Abraham Freeman Holland, Edward Duplex , James Cousins, and M. McGowan. Moses Rodgers , an African American engineer and metallurgist whose services were highly in demand, also became

92-658: A Jesuit expansion into California was funded and the Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó was established that same year. Plans in 1715 by Juan Manuel de Oliván Rebolledo resulted in a 1716 decree for extension of the conquest (of Baja California) which came to nothing. Juan Bautista de Anssa proposed an expedition from Sonora in 1737 and the Council of the Indies planned settlements in 1744, although these plans did not take action. Don Fernando Sánchez Salvador researched

138-435: A republican government in 1824, Alta California, like many northern territories, was not recognized as one of the constituent States of Mexico because of its small population. The 1824 Constitution of Mexico refers to Alta California as a "territory". Resentment was increasing toward appointed territorial governors sent from Mexico City, who came with little knowledge of local conditions and concerns. Laws were imposed by

184-539: A Citizens' Limited Constitutional Convention , when read together would have amended the mechanism of calling a constitutional convention. Specifically the Citizens' Constitutional Convention Act "shall specify a fair method for selecting or electing citizens to be delegates to a constitutional convention". The Call for a Citizens' Limited Constitutional Convention would have three types of delegates: Assembly district, County, and Tribal. There would be 240 delegates from

230-475: A ceasefire was arranged. After an unsettled period, Alvarado agreed to support the 1839 constitution, and Mexico City appointed him to serve as governor from 1837 to 1842. Other Californio governors followed, including Carlos Antonio Carrillo , and Pío Pico . The last non-Californian governor, Manuel Micheltorena , was driven out after another rebellion in 1845. Micheltorena was replaced by Pío Pico, last Mexican governor of California , who served until 1846 when

276-594: A convention to revise the Constitution. If the majority vote yes on that question, within 6 months the Legislature shall provide for the convention. Delegates to a constitutional convention shall be voters elected from districts as nearly equal in population as may be practicable." (ARTICLE XVIII AMENDING AND REVISING THE CONSTITUTION SEC. 2) Two proposition petitions circulating in 2010, 09-0066 Citizens' Constitutional Convention Act and 09-0067 The Call for

322-500: A full year to finalize (March 1878 to March 1879) and has been described as "the perfect example of what a constitution ought not to be". Multiple calls for a third state constitutional convention have been raised during the past quarter-century, but none has thus far gained widespread political momentum . The Monterey Convention of 1849 was the first California Constitutional Convention to take place. Bvt. Brig. Gen. Bennett C. Riley , ex officio Governor of California, issued

368-537: A partner in the Sweet Vengeance Mine. In 1919, historian Delilah L. Beasley wrote, “Judging from the title, it would seem to indicate that they were bent on proving to the world that colored men were capable of conducting successfully a mining business, even in the pioneer days in California.” Although there was an "atmosphere of equality" among miners, in the competition for gold, there was also

414-662: A petition to the governor in 1782 which stated that the Mission Indians owned both the land and cattle and represented the Ohlone against the Spanish settlers in nearby San José. The priests reported that Indians' crops were being damaged by the pueblo settlers' livestock and that the settlers' livestock was also "getting mixed up with the livestock belonging to the Indians from the mission" causing losses. They advocated that

460-453: A proclamation on June 3, 1849 calling for a convention and a special election on August 1 where delegates to the convention would be elected. The memorial presenting the proposed constitution to Congress claimed it banned slavery not because of anti-slavery sentiment, but just unanimous agreement (including convention delegates originally from slave states ) that California's climate and soil were not suitable for slave labor. It also described

506-429: A tendency for White miners and claim jumpers to try to drive out non-Whites. The Sweet Vengeance miners were subjected to repeated attempts to drive them away. On one occasion, Vosburg was attacked by a gang of White claim jumpers, and stabbed their leader with a long knife. The Liberator newspaper reported that he had acted in self-defense. The partners owned and operated the mine profitably through 1854. According to

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552-650: The Baja California peninsula , it had previously comprised the province of Las Californias , but was made a separate province in 1804 (named Nueva California ). Following the Mexican War of Independence , it became a territory of Mexico in April 1822 and was renamed Alta California in 1824. The territory included all of the present-day U.S. states of California , Nevada , and Utah , and parts of Arizona , Wyoming , and Colorado . The territory

598-672: The Franciscan friar Junípero Serra and Gaspar de Portolá in San Diego in 1769. Similar to the site of this mission, subsequent missions and presidios were often founded at the site of Indigenous villages. Mission San Gabriel Arcángel was founded at the Tongva village Toviscanga and the Pueblo de Los Ángeles at the village of Yaanga . The first settlers of Los Angeles were African and mulatto Catholics, including at least ten of

644-533: The Presidio of San Diego at the site of the Kumeyaay village of Kosa'aay , which became the first European settlement in the present state of California. At first contact, the villagers provided food and water for the expedition, who were suffering from scurvy and water deprivation . The first Alta California mission was founded that same year adjacent to the village Mission San Diego de Alcalá , founded by

690-532: The 1768 naval expedition of Pyotr Krenitsyn and Mikhail Levashov alarmed the Spanish government and served to justify Gálvez's vision. The Portolá expedition was the first European land-entry expedition into the area that is now California. The missionaries and soldiers encountered numerous Indigenous peoples of the area , who became the primary subjects of the expanding Jesuit and Franciscan missions that were already established in Baja California and Baja California Sur . The expedition first established

736-460: The 1769 Portola expedition first established a military/civil government, and the local political structures were unchanged. The friction came to a head in 1836, when Monterey-born Juan Bautista Alvarado led a revolt against the 1836 constitution, seizing control of Monterey from Nicolás Gutiérrez . Alvarado's actions nearly led to a civil war with loyalist forces based in Los Angeles, but

782-521: The Assembly districts: three delegates elected by, and among, a randomly selected pool of 50 eligible persons from each Assembly district. There would be one County delegate for every whole fraction of 175,000 persons residing in each County, provided that there would be at least one County delegate for each County. According to the 2010 census, there would have been 217 County delegates. One delegate would be selected by federally recognized tribes in each of

828-737: The Californios. In 1846, following reports of the annexation of Texas to the United States, American settlers in inland Northern California took up arms, captured the Mexican garrison town of Sonoma, and declared independence there as the California Republic . At the same time, the United States and Mexico had gone to war, and forces of the United States Navy entered into Alta California and took possession of

874-537: The Great Basin , and the Pueblo peoples in the establishment of Alta California. Evidence of Alta California remains in the numerous Spanish place names of American cities such as Las Vegas , Los Angeles , Sacramento , San Bernardino , San Diego , San Francisco , San Jose , Santa Ana , and Santa Rosa . Father Eusebio Kino missionized the Pimería Alta from 1687 until his death in 1711. In 1697,

920-604: The Indigenous people be allowed to own property and have the right to defend it. In 1804, due to the growth of the Spanish population in new northern settlements, the province of Las Californias was divided just south of San Diego, following mission president Francisco Palóu's division between the Dominican and Franciscan jurisdictions. Governor Diego de Borica is credited with defining the border between Alta (upper) and Baja (lower) California 's as Palóu's division , while

966-512: The Sweet Vengeance Mine. California Constitutional Conventions The California Constitutional Conventions were two separate constitutional conventions that took place in California during the nineteenth century which led to the creation of the modern Constitution of California . The first, known as the 1849 Constitutional Convention of Monterey , held in September and October 1849 in advance of California attaining U.S. statehood

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1012-630: The U.S. military occupation began. In the final decades of Mexican rule, American and European immigrants arrived and settled in the former Alta California. Those in Southern California mainly settled in and around the established coastal settlements and tended to intermarry with the Californios. In Northern California, they mainly formed new settlements further inland, especially in the Sacramento Valley , and these immigrants focused on fur-trapping and farming and kept apart from

1058-425: The United States and Spain, established the northern limit of Alta California at latitude 42°N, which remains the boundary between the states of California, Nevada and Utah (to the south) and Oregon and Idaho (to the north) to this day. Mexico won independence in 1821, and Alta California became a territory of Mexico the next year. Mexico gained independence from Spain on August 24, 1821, upon conclusion of

1104-543: The age of two. The precolonial Indigenous population of California is estimated to have numbered around 340,000 people, who were diverse culturally and linguistically. From 1769–1832, at least 87,787 baptisms and 63,789 deaths of Indigenous peoples occurred, demonstrating the immense death rate at the missions in Alta California. Conversion to Christianity at the colonial missions was often resisted by Indigenous peoples in Alta California. Many missionaries in

1150-628: The central government without much consideration of local conditions, such as the Mexican secularization act of 1833 , causing friction between governors and the people. In 1836, Mexico repealed the 1824 federalist constitution and adopted a more centralist political organization (under the " Seven Laws ") that reunited Alta and Baja California in a single California Department ( Departamento de las Californias ). The change, however, had little practical effect in far-off Alta California. The capital of Alta California remained Monterey, as it had been since

1196-478: The decade-long Mexican War of Independence . As the successor state to the Viceroyalty of New Spain, Mexico automatically included the provinces of Alta California and Baja California as territories. Alta California declared allegiance to the new Mexican nation and elected a representative to be sent to Mexico City. On November 9, 1822, the first legislature of California was created. With the establishment of

1242-502: The division became the political reality under José Joaquín de Arrillaga , who would become the first governor of Alta California. The cortes (legislature) of New Spain issued a decree in 1813 for at least partial secularization that affected all missions in America and was to apply to all outposts that had operated for ten years or more; however, the decree was never enforced in California. The Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, between

1288-671: The earlier proposals and suggested the area of the Gila and Colorado Rivers as the locale for forts or presidios preventing the French or the English from "occupying Monterey and invading the neighboring coasts of California which are at the mouth of the Carmel River ." Alta California was not easily accessible from New Spain: land routes were cut off by deserts and Indigenous peoples who were hostile to invasion. Sea routes ran counter to

1334-550: The first African American mayor in California. The Sweet Vengeance Mine became known as a "big producer" in Browns Valley. It was the site of one of the first stamp mills in California, installed by a French company. The mine's previous owners were Spanish and had been milling using a primitive arrastra . In 1935, Engineering and Mining Journal reported that Aladdin Gold Mining had started unwatering operations at

1380-786: The flag of the State of California. After the United States Navy's seizure of the cities of southern California, the Californios formed irregular units, which were victorious in the Siege of Los Angeles , and after the arrival of the United States Army , fought in the Battle of San Pasqual and the Battle of Domínguez Rancho . But the Californios were defeated in subsequent encounters, the battles of Río San Gabriel and La Mesa . The southern Californios formally surrendered with

1426-460: The following year, adopted the state's original constitution. This document maintains jurisdiction along with the current constitution which was ratified on May 7, 1879, following the 1879 Constitutional Convention of Sacramento . Article 3 Section 2 of the current Constitution references the original boundaries as stated in the 1849 Constitution at Article 12. The result of Progressive mistrust of elected officials, this later constitution took

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1472-464: The four federal judicial districts of California. This plan would have provided total of 461 delegates, each having one vote. 231 would have been required to propose amendments to the electorate, but broad consensus would have been highly encouraged. Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as Nueva California ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with

1518-538: The four Congressional district elected 8 delegates. The new California Constitution produced by the Convention was voted for on May 7, 1879, and adopted by a vote of 77,959 to 67,134. Present language in the Constitution of California : "The Legislature by rollcall vote entered in the journal, two-thirds of the membership of each house concurring, may submit at a general election the question whether to call

1564-522: The journal kept by Vosburg, Holland, and Simms, the Sweet Vengeance Mine was especially profitable between April and May 1852, when they noted that they had found "rich dirt". The men went on to use their profits from the mine to become entrepreneurs. Gabriel Simms opened the Franklin Hotel on First Street in Marysville, Yuba County . Edward Duplex went on to open a barbershop and later became

1610-630: The missions until they were secularized, beginning in 1833. The transfer of property never occurred under the Franciscans. As the number of Spanish settlers grew in Alta California, the boundaries and natural resources of the mission properties became disputed. Conflicts between the Crown and the Church arose over land. State and ecclesiastical bureaucrats debated over authority of the missions. The Franciscan priests of Mission Santa Clara de Asís sent

1656-552: The northern port cities of Monterey and San Francisco. The forces of the California Republic, upon encountering the United States Navy and, from them, learning of the state of war between Mexico and the United States, abandoned their independence and proceeded to assist the United States forces in securing the remainder of Alta California. The California Republic was never recognized by any nation and existed for less than one month, but its flag (the "Bear Flag") survives as

1702-471: The original 1849 constitution. It took place in Sacramento, California from March 1878 to March 1879. The Convention was composed of 152 delegates. A series of districts were apportioned 88 delegates. Some of the districts were composed of a single county, some composed of several counties, and others operated as floterial districts . The electorate of the State at-large elected 32 delegates. Each of

1748-723: The proposed eastern boundary as a compromise between those who wished to include all of former Mexican Alta California (including today's Nevada, Utah, and Arizona) and a committee-proposed eastern boundary at 116° (including the western half of Nevada but excluding the Lower Colorado River Valley and Imperial Valley ), and denied having considered north–south division at the Missouri Compromise Line (south of Carmel and Fresno ), saying Southern Californians had no interest in division. The Sacramento Convention of 1878–79 amended and ratified

1794-596: The province wrote of their frustrations with teaching Indigenous people to internalize Catholic scripture and practice. Many Indigenous people learned to navigate religious expectations at the missions with complex social behaviors in order to maintain their cultural and religious practices. In 1784, the Spanish established the first rancho, Rancho San Pedro , as a 48,000 acre site for cattle grazing . Nine ranchos were subsequently established before 1800. Spanish, and later Mexican, governments rewarded retired soldados de cuera with large land grants, known as ranchos , for

1840-461: The raising of cattle and sheep . Hides and tallow from the livestock were the primary exports of California until the mid-19th century. Similar to the missions, the construction, ranching and domestic work on these vast estates was primarily done by Indigenous peoples , who learned to speak Spanish and ride horses. Under Spanish and Mexican rule, the ranchos prospered and grew. Rancheros (cattle ranchers) and pobladores (townspeople) evolved into

1886-565: The recently re-discovered Los Pobladores . Mission San Juan Capistrano was founded at the Acjachemen village of Acjacheme . Mission San Fernando was founded at Achooykomenga . As the Spanish and civilian settlers further intruded into Indigenous lands and imposed their practices, ideas of property, and religion onto them backed by the force of soldiers and settlers, Indigenous peoples formed rebellions on Spanish missions and settlements. A major rebellion at Mission San Gabriel in 1785

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1932-622: The southerly currents of the distant northwestern Pacific. Ultimately, New Spain did not have the economic resources nor population to settle such a far northern outpost. Spanish interest in colonizing Alta California was revived under the visita of José de Gálvez as part of his plans to completely reorganize the governance of the Interior Provinces and push Spanish settlement further north. In subsequent decades, news of Russian colonization and maritime fur trading in Alaska, and

1978-638: The union as the 31st state . The El Camino Real trail established by the Spanish extended from Mexico City west to Santa Fe , and California, as well as east to Florida . To the southeast, beyond the deserts and the Colorado River , lay the Spanish settlements in Arizona . Spanish soldiers, settlers, and missionaries invaded the homelands of the Indigenous peoples of California , people of

2024-504: The unique Californio culture. By law, mission land and property were to pass to the Indigenous population after a period of about ten years, when the Indigenous people would become Spanish subjects. In the interim period, the Franciscans were to act as mission administrators who held the land in trust for the Indigenous residents. The Franciscans, however, prolonged their control over the missions even after control of Alta California passed from Spain to independent Mexico, and continued to run

2070-539: Was re-combined with Baja California (as a single departamento ) in Mexico's 1836 Siete Leyes (Seven Laws) constitutional reform, granting it more autonomy. That change was undone in 1846, but rendered moot by the outcome of the Mexican–American War in 1848, when most of the areas formerly comprising Alta California were ceded to the U.S. in the treaty which ended the war . In 1850, California joined

2116-557: Was led by the medicine woman Toypurina . Runaways from the missions were common, where abuse, malnourishment, and overworking were common features of daily life. Runaways would sometimes find shelter at more distant villages, such as a group of runaways who found refuge at the Vanyume village of Wá'peat , the chief of which refused to give them up. Many children died young at the missions. One missionary reported that 3 of every 4 children born at Mission San Gabriel died before reaching

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