California Statehood - September 9, 1850

Today marks the 161st anniversary of California's admission to the Union, as part of the Compromise of 1850. The Compromise of 1850 was an attempt to deal with our Nation's attempts to deal with the issue of slavery. More information can be found on the National Archive's page: Struggles over Slavery: The Compromise of 1850.

A transcription of the 1849 Constitution of the State of California can be found on the California Secretary of State's website. The opening paragraph reads:

We, the people of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings, do establish this Constitution.

The original Bear Flag was destroyed in 1906, but here is a photo of it which dates from 1890:

Photo of Original Bear Flag, public domain image,
Wikimedia Commons, accessed 9 Sep 2011

And a final tribute to California:

Source:  George Wharton James, editor, The California birthday book, prose and poetical selections from the 

writings of living California authors, with a brief biographical sketch of each

(Los Angeles, California: Arroyo Guild Press, 1909); 

Google Books (http://books.google.com/ebooks?id=PpcOAAAAIAAJ : 

accessed 9 September 2011), Front Cover, page xiv. 

© 2011 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research