Flag Of California

By Nock Long


On June 14, 1846, a small band of settlers marched on the Mexican garrison at Sonoma and took the commandant prisoner. They issued a proclamation which declared California to be a Republic independent of Mexico. This uprising became known as the Bear Flag Revolt (after the hastily-designed flag depicting a grizzly bear and a five pointed star over a red bar and the words "California Republic."

That town was Sonoma, the area was California, and the agitators, American pioneers impelled on by guarantees of assistance from U.S. Armed force Captain John Fremont. The agitator standard, the banner of the California Republic, turned into the California State Flag. Like the Confederate cross of St. Andrew, the Bear Flag is an image whose time has gone back and forth.

When the Legislature voted to adopt the rebel standard as the state flag in 1911, California was in the grip of a racist, jingoistic fever. The measure was sponsored by Sen. James Holohan from Watsonville, a member of the Native Sons of the Golden West. The obvious intent of the measure was to glorify the Bear Flaggers, who were hailed as wholesome patriots. But that was far from the truth.

The California state flag was designed to establish California’s separation from Mexico before the “Bear Flag Revolt” in 1846.The single star on California’s flag is a reference to Texas’s Lone Star Flag design as Texas had previously gained independence from Mexico in 1836.

William Todd, who designed the flag, came from a family of Kentucky slave owners (his aunt was Mary Todd, Abraham Lincoln's wife). The group's first lieutenant, Henry L. Ford, was a U.S. Army deserter who had impersonated his brother to escape detection. Sam Kelsey, the second lieutenant, along with his brother Ben, was a genocidal maniac who killed hundreds of Pomo Indians in Clear Lake. The once common California grizzly bear (also official state animal) portrays strength, the star represents sovereignty, the red color signifies courage, and the white background stands for purity.

There is a barrage of cheap and inferior California flags being imported and sold, that do not comply with the flag statute. This is bad for a number of reasons. Imported flags are cheaply made and more importantly, the designs, materials, colors, and methods of printing do not compare well with the better quality, longer-lasting, and correctly designed flags made by American manufacturers. The Flag Company Inc specialized in flag designs offered a special edition of decals and flags to memorize the history of California flag for the future.




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