1. PART 2 CALIFORNIA
AND THE CIVIL WAR
Patricia Fonseca
April 7, 2012
History 141 31136
History of the Americas Since 1800
Professor Arguello

2. PART 2
CALIFORNIA AND THE CIVIL WAR
• Slavery was an issue that needed to be addressed
once Texas and the American Southwest was
consumed by the United States.
• Pennsylvania’s Congressman David Wilmot
submitted his “Proviso” which stated that slavery and
any involuntary servitude would never be allowed in
any of this region. It was virtually supported by all
representatives of both parties at this level in the
South. Southern senators in the 15 slave states and
the 15 free states blocked the Proviso.
• In the 1850’s, Utah and New Mexico (encompassing
what would eventually be Nevada and Arizona)
legalized slavery.
• Many settlers, representatives, and senators
supported slavery in California.

3. PART 2
CALIFORNIA AND THE CIVIL WAR
• When President Polk announced “extraordinary”
amount of gold was discovered in California, a flood
of immigrants from Chile, China, Mexico, Australia,
France and other countries traveled to California.
• With a lack of official government in California, the
miners proposed a state constitutions declaring
California as a free state due to the fact that the
miners did not want to compete with slave labor.
• The Democratic Party in California was dominated
by a group of Southern-born politicians known as the
“chivalry.” William Gwin belonged to the group and
served as senator for over a decade. He voted in
favor of every measure of slavery. The group’s main
focus was to infiltrate slavery into California.

4. PART 2
CALIFORNIA AND THE CIVIL WAR
• It was proposed to split California into two regions.
Northern California would remain free, including San
Francisco and the gold-mining region, while Southern
California could own slaves. The hope was to have
slaves work cotton, sugar, and rice fields in Southern
California. This bill did not make it past the House in
Congress due to the fact that the Republicans were now
the largest party.
• The Polk administration was looking to add Cuba to the
United States, with their 400,000 slaves.
• After Spain refused to sell Cuba, the Amerians tried to
invade twice.
• During the first attempt, the soldiers were driven back to
their ships. During the second invasion, 200 were killed
while the rest were captured.

5. PART 2
CALIFORNIA AND THE CIVIL WAR
• 51 of the prisoners of the second invasion faced a firing
squad. Filibuster attempts were made throughout the
1850’s. Actual invasions failed, however, the balance of
power tipped in favor of the North, which in turn favored
those who clamored for disunion.
• California played a pivotal role that led to the Civil War.
The duel between David Terry and David Broderick
which empowered the Republican Party was a large
contributing factor.
• In 1889, David Terry had a dispute with Stephen J. Field,
senior justice of the United States Supreme Court. Field
jailed Terry and his wife for contempt and Terry swore
revenge on Field. Field’s hired bodyguard killed Terry
when Terry slapped Field in a railroad station. The shot
that killed Terry is credited as being the last shot of the
Civil War.