It's Just a Rumor!

In September 1842 while President Tyler was negotiating the purchase of California, Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones, an American commander, was aboard his ship in Peruvian waters when he heard a rumor that the United States and Mexico were at war and Britain had claimed California.  Jones went northward immediately, reaching Monterey Bay on October 18.  He  landed a force and seized the capital, raising the Star and Stripes.

Two days later, Jones learned there was no war and the flag was hauled down, apologies were made, and Jones remained in Monterey 32 days protecting the Americans living there, after which he sailed off to Los Angeles. 

In 1845 Texas was annexed to the United States. Americans removed the President, Jose Joaquin Herrera and began preparing for war.  John Slidell, (the new) President Polk's emissary had been authorized to purchase New Mexico and California and settle all outstanding disputes with Mexico. 

All had been ignored. Mexico was in no mood for negotiations...they wanted war!

Next time...Mexico Miscalculates
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Today in Pioneer History:  On April 10, 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by philanthropist and diplomat Henry Bergh.

Ceaseless Propaganda

One of California's most ardent supporters against Mexican rule was a Harvard graduate and self proclaimed doctor named John Marsh.  Marsh arrived from Missouri and became successful in Los Angeles before buying a large tract of land in the San Joaquin Valley in the 1830s. (see his house in left photo!) He believed that American migration would increase the value of his property so much that he began a campaign to convince his friends in Independence about the perfect life in California.

The town's newspapers picked up the story and began to tell of how California was the life for any farmer tired of low prices and high debts.  According to the Marsh's stories, no man need to stoop to manual labor out in California when the Indians could do it for little or no pay.  He wrote, "the only thing we lack here is a good Government.  What we want most is more people.  If we had 50 families we could do exactly as we please without any fear of being troubled."  (California was still under Mexican rule.)

Marsh's propaganda about the "good life" in California was supplemented by sailor and writer Richard Henry Dana, by explorers Joseph Walker, Jed Smith, and James Ohio Pattie.  By 1814 these men had turned a tiny group of traders and merchants into a steady overland migration of farm families from Missouri to California.

By 1842 Monterey, for example, was a small but prosperous shipping center for American hide buyers. Richard Dana called Monterey, "the  most civilized  looking place in California" in 1840.
Some of that original "civilization" stood well into the 20th century...California's first theater, American consul's house, court house, and the royal presidio chapel (which is still standing and the only presidio chapel still in existence in California).

Next time...Ranch life in California
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Today in Pioneer History:  "On November 28, 1520, after sailing through the dangerous straits below South America that now bear his name, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan enters the Pacific Ocean with three ships, becoming the first European explorer to reach the Pacific from the Atlantic

Yankee Mischief

By the 1820s Boston's great mercantile companies had sent ships around the Cape Horn on a regular basis.  To evade Mexican tariffs, and secure trade monopolies, these Boston firms first placed their agents in California to deal with missionaries and ranchers.  From their headquarters in the tiny town of Los Angeles or the capital of Monterey, these "Bostons" as they were known, began to settle along the coast, developing relations with the Mexican community leaders in towns of not more than 3300 (in Los Angeles for example).

One of these Bostons was Abel Stearns (left photo) who arrived in 1829 via Mexico where he had obtained Mexican citizenship.  His dour, homely face earned him the nickname "Horseface" but that didn't keep him from becoming a wealthy hide merchant in LA, nor from marrying the 14 year old daughter of a powerful area family.  In 1846 Abel was working with the US Consul in Monterey, Thomas Larkin, who had been secretly instructed to foster a movement for California expansion by President Polk.

Larkin was a another New England born merchant who made a fortune in California as the owner of a Monterey flour mill.  As a sideline, he wrote florid descriptions of California's beauty and wealth for eastern newspapers.  Most Americans living in California in the 1830s and 1840s made it their job to write back east in hopes of setting off a migration west to join them.  Americans were slowly working their way into the communities of California territory with thoughts of it belonging to the United States...Mexico had other ideas.

Next time...Ceaseless Propaganda
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Today in Pioneer History:  On November 21, 1877, Thomas Edison stumbled on one of his great inventions–the phonograph–while working on a way to record telephone communication at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

Early California Missions

In the spring of 1769 a party of soldiers and settlers under Don Gaspar de Portola began a journey from Lower to Upper California.  Accompanying the expedition were a group of Franciscan monks led by Father Junipero  Serra. (The Jesuits were expelled by King Charles III of Spain in 1767 from Lower California)

After a tough six week journey the party reached present day San Diego and built a mission, San Diego de Alcala.  Early in 1770 Portola and Father Serra founded the mission of San Carlos Barromeo in Monterey.  Here Father Serra spent the remainder of his life until 1784, directing the establishment of religious communities. 

The Indians of the region were hunter gatherers and with the promise of safety and food, thousands came to the missions.  By 1821 there were 21 such missions which were staffed with detachments of soldiers for military protection.

With minimum money and manpower Spain had gained a foothold in California country but could she maintain her presence?  By 1820 the Spanish speaking population in the Southwest was less than 50,000.  The settlers felt less loyalty to Madrid because  of isolation and careless attitude of the Spanish authorities.  They became known as "New Mexicans."  Old Mexico overthrew Madrid rule in Mexico in 1821.  The "New Mexicans" didn't seem to care one way or another by that time.  They were a new breed who would eventually become Americans.

Next time...A day in Mission San Jose
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On this Day in Pioneer History: On June 16, 1884,  the first roller coaster in America opens at Coney Island, in Brooklyn, New York. Known as a switchback railway, it was the brainchild of LaMarcus Thompson, traveled approximately six miles per hour and cost a nickel to ride.