THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR
Background:
The Californias (comprising of
Alta and
Baja California) were a region that saw very little activity during the colonization of the Americas. It was charted and explored, and claimed as Spanish domain since the early 17th century, but was scarcely settled. A majority of the settlements in the Californias during its time under New Spain were the result of religious missions (mostly Jesuits and Franciscans), a trend that continued until the recognition of Mexico's independence by Spain. From then on, the Californias was administered as a territory of Mexico, where the populace was misrepresented by governors chosen by Mexico City. These governors tended to focus mainly on the major populated areas -- the couple cities of which a majority of the sparsely populated territory's population resided.
By the 1840s, settlements had begun to appear throughout the coast of California, spurred by the concept of better representation in light of increased urbanization: as such, former missionary settlements seemingly exploded with population overnight. There was an exodus of persons from the interior of the territory to the Pacific Coast, and with that came new settlements among the rivers of California.
In 1851, a team of laborers were working on constructing yet another house in yet another settlement that would soon be abandoned. One of these men, relaxing by a river in the shade for a quick break, saw something glisten in the water. He quickly waded through it, and grabbed some gold sitting in the river bed. This, probably fictitious, account is often stated as being the beginning of the
California Gold Rush.
The Scent of Gold:
American advertisement for a clipper ship to California for gold.
The discovery of gold in California led to a massive exodus of Mexicans and Americans wishing to make a fortune off of the supposedly large sources of untouched gold in the territory. However, Americans soon became frustrated by the process of entering California -- if one wanted to travel safely, they would have to by sea, a process which would take months and thousands upon thousands of miles (a trip from New York City to San Francisco could take as long as thirteen thousand miles before the Nicaragua Canal's completion). Further, there were lengthy legal processes in this emigration that made such trips undesirable. In the cases of private companies breaking the law, and sending travelers out to smaller settlements to sneak through the legal processes (called "Sneak Cities" or, occasionally, "vacuum villages"), these companies charged high rates that were generally undesirable. The only other methods were across land, across so-called "Gold Trails" which were brutal and often deadly.
The Declaration:
Davy Crockett, first President of the Republic of California
The first Americans to reach the shores of California were oftentimes wealthy or otherwise important -- some of these including military men or even politicians. Among these were Davy Crockett, the King of the Frontier. Seemingly always on the quest of new land and new adventures, he eventually explored his way to California. A charismatic man with many stories to tell, he eventually climbed his way through the social ladder in
Alta California and formed the American Society, a group of American emigrants who proposed the ascension of California into the United States. On the Fourth of November, 1853, the Society issued
The Californian Declaration of Independence (and Proclamation of Statehood), a several-page pamphlet urging the people of California to "unilaterally recognize the faults of the Mexican government in the administration of the Californias, and further recognize that the government of the United States of America would let the people of California live a free, prosperous life that is well-represented within the legislature, and well-understood by said legislature."
These arguments did have some effects. Despite the majority of the
Statehood Regiments being White Americans, there was a substantial minority of
Californios who also took up resistance against the Mexican government. Whether or not the United States would react to the California War of Independence was an unknown, but it was a risk that the Society was willing to take.
---
This is just Part 1. Part 2 will be about the war itself, including some basics about the political system (including the three major parties --
Nativist Party, Whig Party, and the Radical Party -- deriving from the Federalist, Dem-Rep, and abolitionist independents, respectively), War Hawks (including Lewis Cass and John Frémont), Sumner's Beating and the Northern Refusal, and Crockett's decision to revoke his proposals for statehood. It was taking too long to write everything so I decided to split it up. Feel free to add changes you'd make and also potential political parties -- I'm not too attached to a "Nativist Party" and all that.