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In my paper, “Conquerors of California,” I will be looking at the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846 and the men who had the most influence on the unfolding of the revolt itself and on the events that followed in its wake. These men are President James Knox Polk and Colonel John Charles Fremont who led the small band of Americans in the revolt at Sonoma. I intend to utilize a top-down approach in analyzing this event, focusing on both Polk and Fremont’s motives and methods. I intend to discover how historians’ perceptions of these two men has changed over time. I also want to track the historiographical treatment of the revolt itself, seeing how historians have come to interpret the event through the passage of time.
In focusing on this event, I seek to answer a few key questions. The Bear Flag Revolt is often marginalized and discussed in the wider context of the Mexican-American. It is often briefly discussed as the casus belli of the full-blown war between the two nations. However, the actual personalities, actions, and motives by those involved in the revolt are not so clear-cut. In looking into the various primary and secondary sources available, a convoluted and at times confusing picture comes into focus. The question that can then be asked is who actually conquered California? Was it really a small ragtag band of adventurous Americans acting alone? Or did the United States have a direct involvement in instigating the rebellion as a means of touching off the wider war with Mexico? This would serve as a means of fulfilling Polk’s great ambition to double the geographic size of the United States. Another question is what role did Archibald Gillespie, a young Marine officer, play in the revolt? Was he a major player or a puppet of the Polk administration? Another question that I would like to answer is what was the Mexican response and reactions to the revolt? Finally, we can ask what the Bear Flag Revolt can tell us about wider American desires to move westward, and how far the United States was willing to go in order to fulfill those desires.
Although oftentimes discussed as part of the Mexican-American War, a bevy of primary sources specifically regarding the Bear Flag Revolt are at the disposal of historians. The diary of President Polk is one such source, while multi-volume works of Fremont’s journals and diaries exist as well. Another intriguing source, though one that will require caution and care in using it, is a biography of William B. Ide, a leader of the Bear Flag Revolt and the only president of California, written by his brother Simeon Ide. The journal of one Marius Duvall, who was a young navy surgeon serving in California and interacted with the Bear Flaggers could also provide some perspective on the revolt. A further primary source is the multi-volume collection of the correspondences of Thomas Oliver Larkin, the first and only U.S. consul to Alta California. These letters are between Larkin and nearly every important figure involved in the revolt, including some addressed to Mexican leaders. In the end, I hope to shed a new light on an important event in my native state of California’s history.