republic · North America and Oceania
California Republic
Origins
In June 1846, as war between the United States and Mexico began, American settlers in the Sacramento Valley feared expulsion by Mexican authorities in Alta California. Encouraged by the explorer John C. Frémont, about 30 of them seized the town of Sonoma on 14 June and took the local commander, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, prisoner.
Rule and society
The rebels proclaimed a California Republic, with William B. Ide as their leader, and raised a flag with a grizzly bear, a star and the words 'California Republic', painted by William Todd. The republic had no real institutions and controlled little beyond Sonoma and the Sacramento Valley. Frémont took command of its forces, the California Battalion, in early July.
Decline and legacy
On 7 July 1846 Commodore John Sloat raised the American flag at Monterey, and the Stars and Stripes replaced the Bear Flag at Sonoma on 9 July. The republic dissolved into the American occupation. California became a state in 1850, adopting a version of the bear flag in 1911.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →More states of North America and Oceania →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). California Republic. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/california-republic
- MLA
- “California Republic.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/california-republic. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “California Republic.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/california-republic.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘California Republic’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/california-republic (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻