DBWI: Avoiding Bleeding California?

JJohnson

Banned
Do you think the US could've avoided the whole "Bleeding California" thing? Maybe have one California instead of having it split at 37° into 2 states?

It didn't help to stop the Civil War, but maybe California could've gone from Baja all the way to Oregon, rather than having 2 states. My friend Mike Cleary from Saltillo, Rio Grande, said his ancestors fought in the so-called "War of Two Californias" over there and thinks it's impossible to have had one state so big, with the huge culture clash - the southerners racing across the continent, and everyone else into the north, all looking for gold and land. What do you guys think?
 
Do you think the US could've avoided the whole "Bleeding California" thing? Maybe have one California instead of having it split at 37° into 2 states?

It didn't help to stop the Civil War, but maybe California could've gone from Baja all the way to Oregon, rather than having 2 states. My friend Mike Cleary from Saltillo, Rio Grande, said his ancestors fought in the so-called "War of Two Californias" over there and thinks it's impossible to have had one state so big, with the huge culture clash - the southerners racing across the continent, and everyone else into the north, all looking for gold and land. What do you guys think?

I can say this: if it hadn't been for the continuous machinations of one Nicholas Trist, there wouldn't have been two Californias; as it was, after Baja California was absorbed in 1875, South California was to be cut back down to 35°35° east of the Sierras, and Alta California got the entire San Joaquin Valley(with the exception of a small part), in exchange for San Luis Obispo; the original 37° border simply did not work for a variety of reasons, not the least of which were anti-slavery Yankees in Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, etc.; President Taylor really didn't want to go along with it, but since Oregon and Kansas were already free states, and Maryland was on it's way to eliminating slavery.....he ultimately gave in, despite the protests of the anti-slavery folks at the time. (not that it stopped the Civil War, but at least South California ended up staying in the Union, thanks to the Californios.....)

OOC: Yeah, given that there's been a state of Rio Grande already.....would only make sense that America gets the rest of northern Mexico as well.
 
Last edited:

jahenders

Banned
Impossible, man. Do you think the other states would stand by and allow a single state as large and rich as California to exist forever. Just imagine such a thing, at the rate they were growing, they might eventually be the most populous and richest state. They'd have huge power in Congress and their vote for President could outweigh 10 or more less populous states.

Heck, as one state, they might even have grown so arrogant and powerful that they passed their own standards on autos and other machinery that huge companies, hundreds of miles away, HAD to meet because otherwise the all powerful state wouldn't allow their goods. Imagine the cost to those companies to make a special California version of their goods. Such a thing could never be borne.

It's simple -- California simply had to be split into at least 2 parts for it not to change the whole balance of power between the states. Nothing else makes sense and now it looks like TX is getting populous and rich enough that the same thing needs to be repeated there to avoid the same ills.

Do you think the US could've avoided the whole "Bleeding California" thing? Maybe have one California instead of having it split at 37° into 2 states?

It didn't help to stop the Civil War, but maybe California could've gone from Baja all the way to Oregon, rather than having 2 states. My friend Mike Cleary from Saltillo, Rio Grande, said his ancestors fought in the so-called "War of Two Californias" over there and thinks it's impossible to have had one state so big, with the huge culture clash - the southerners racing across the continent, and everyone else into the north, all looking for gold and land. What do you guys think?
 
Top