Bear Flag Revolt
The Bear Flag Revolt was a brief insurrection by American settlers against Mexican rule in California that took place in June 1846. At the time, the U.S. was focused on westward expansion, influenced by the belief in Manifest Destiny, which held that it was America’s divine right to extend its territory across the continent. Settlers in California, who were increasingly anxious about their status under the Mexican government, declared independence after capturing the Mexican garrison in Sonoma. They established the California Republic, symbolized by a flag featuring a grizzly bear and a star, but this republic lasted only 25 days. The revolt was ultimately supported by U.S. military forces, and following the capture of key locations by American troops, California was officially annexed by the United States shortly thereafter. The Mexican-American War, which had begun around the same time, concluded in 1848 with California's transition to U.S. statehood in 1850. The Bear Flag remains a significant cultural symbol in California, with its design influencing the state flag that is still in use today.
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Bear Flag Revolt
The Bear Flag Revolt was a short-lived rebellion by American settlers in Mexican-held California in 1846. At the time, the United States was actively pursuing westward expansion and had its sights set on Mexican territory in the West and Southwest. The rebellion arose from tensions between the American settlers and the Mexican government in California, although US troops in the region encouraged settlers to revolt. The Bear Flag Revolt began in June 1846 in the northern California city of Sonoma and resulted in an easy victory for the settlers. They declared themselves an independent republic and named their revolt after the new California flag, which featured a star and a grizzly bear. Twenty-five days after the revolt began, the United States annexed California, bringing an end to the California Republic and paving the way for its statehood in 1850.
Background
Since winning its independence in the American Revolution (1775–1783), the United States had been slowly growing as it expanded southward and westward. By 1830, the nation consisted of twenty-four states and several territories that stretched from the East Coast to the Pacific Northwest. Much of the West Coast and Southwest was former Spanish territory that was now part of Mexico. Many in the United States felt that it was the nation’s divine right to continue to expand westward until it controlled all the land from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. This idea was known as Manifest Destiny.
In 1835, American and Mexican settlers living in the Mexican state of Texas rebelled against the government and won their independence after a six-month battle. They formed the independent Republic of Texas, which was eventually annexed by the United States in 1845 as the twenty-eighth state.
The annexation of Texas angered Mexico, which did not recognize the new state as a US territory. Furthermore, President James K. Polk, who had assumed office in 1845, was a staunch expansionist and actively supported the idea of manifest destiny. Polk tried to purchase the land from Mexico, but after his efforts were rebuffed, he sent US troops to a disputed border region to ostensibly goad Mexico into starting a war. The ploy worked, and on April 26, 1846, Mexico attacked the US troops in the border area and started the Mexican-American War.
Overview
Like Texas, California was controlled by the Spanish until Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1820. The Mexican state was home to many California-born families of Spanish descent who became wealthy landowners. Prior to the 1840s, few Americans lived in California, but their numbers began to grow as people followed the call of Manifest Destiny and headed west as the decade progressed. By 1845, more than eight hundred Americans had settled in California, enough to cause concern among the local population, who feared a repeat of the situation in Texas.
The Mexican government decreed that Americans could not own land unless they became Mexican citizens and converted to Catholicism, but many simply went along with the requirements to appease the authorities. By 1846, the American settlers feared that they were going to be expelled by the Mexican government, while the government worried that the settlers would incite a rebellion.
With a possible war on the horizon, President Polk sent US Army Captain John C. Frémont to California in December 1845 on a supposed geological surveying mission. However, Frémont was given orders to invade California if the United States and Mexico went to war. Some historians speculate that Polk also ordered Frémont to instigate a war with Mexico in California. In the spring of 1846, Frémont arrived at Sutter’s Fort, near what is today Sacramento, and began encouraging the American settlers in the region to rebel against the local Mexican government.
After war broke out in late April, Frémont met with American settlers near Sonoma, which was then a small Mexican military outpost north of San Francisco. He again encouraged them to rebel, offering his approval of their actions, if not his military support.
On June 14, 1846, a group of about thirty Americans under the leadership of William Ide and Ezekiel Merritt marched on the undermanned Sonoma garrison and captured it without firing a shot. The men surrounded the home of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo and demanded his surrender but were surprised when Vallejo invited them into his home to discuss the situation over breakfast and wine. Vallejo, who was of Spanish descent, actually supported American annexation of California as he felt the Mexican government had abandoned its troops in the region.
After accepting Vallejo’s surrender, the Americans declared California an independent republic, with Ide as its president. Using a white cloth and red paint, they improvised a new flag with a large red star in the upper left, an outline of a grizzly bear to the right, and the words California Republic written underneath. The star was meant to invoke the Lone Star of the Texas flag, and the bear was a symbol of California.
The Americans won several skirmishes against Mexican troops before Frémont took over command of the Bear Flag rebels. For much of the next month, Frémont’s soldiers and a growing force of locals consolidated their control over the area around San Francisco. On July 7, 1846, US Navy Commodore John D. Sloat captured Monterey, the region’s Mexican capital, and declared California US territory. Two days later, military representatives arrived in Sonoma and Sutter’s Fort bearing American flags to replace the Bear Flag. This officially brought the California Republic to an end after twenty-five days.
The leaders of the Bear Flag Revolt had always intended to have their republic join the United States, so they willingly ceded control. Mexico officially turned California over to the United States in 1847, and the Mexican-American War ended in 1848 with a resounding American victory. California was admitted into the Union as the thirty-first state on September 9, 1850.
The original Bear Flag was preserved in a San Francisco museum until it was destroyed by fire following the Great Earthquake of 1906. A revised version of the flag was made the official flag of California in 1911. It was later updated and is still used as the state flag in the twenty-first century.
Bibliography
“Bear Flag Revolt.” California Pioneer Heritage Foundation, 2023, californiapioneer.com/historic-events/bear-flag-revolt/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.
“Bear Flag Revolt.” History.com, 9 Sept. 2020, www.history.com/topics/19th-century/bear-flag-revolt. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.
“Bear Flag Revolt, June 1846.” National Park Service, 6 Sept. 2022, www.nps.gov/goga/learn/historyculture/bear-flag-revolt.htm. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.
“The History of the California State Flag.” State of California, 2023, www.parks.ca.gov/?page‗id=24644. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.
“The Mexican-American War.” National Park Service, 4 Aug. 2022, www.nps.gov/places/the-mexican-american-war.htm. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.
Wood, Stephen. “When California (Briefly) Became Its Own Nation.” History.com, 9 Sept. 2020, www.history.com/news/california-independence-bear-flag-revolt. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.