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Efforts to Split California

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Some historians say that if the Mayflower had landed on California’s coast instead of the eastern seaboard, the state would have been divided into several small states, similar to the New England region.

Consider that it takes longer to drive from California’s northern border to its southern boundary than it does to travel on the opposite coast from Maine through six New England states to Washington, D.C.

There have been at least 26 different proposals to split California.

The issue to divide California first arose when those in the southern part of the state wanted the Capital there, while those in the northern part of the state likewise wanted it.

The location of the Capital, it was believed, would dictate the area that would receive the most political considerations.

Disvisionists first wanted to divide California and locate the capitol either in Monterey, Los Angeles, or in San Diego. Northerners felt they were being overtaxed to pay for Southern California’s education, social programs, and justice system.

Another divisive issue between the north and the south was the matter of water. The south was dependent on the north for its water. Northerners felt the dams and facilities necessary to transport water to the south were causing unwanted geographic and climatic changes. Some felt even the earthquakes, such as one in Oroville in 1975, were a result of the construction of water facilities.

Advocates of dividing the state voiced a common grievance: California was just too big, and, therefore ungovernable.

In 1864, a state-splitting measure was placed on the ballot, approved by voters, signed by the Governor, and sent to Congress. Congress did not approve it.

No state in the U.S. has been split into two or more regions since 1862, when the western part of the state of Virginia opposed Virginia’s secession from the Union in 1861, and Congress recognized it as the state of West Virginia.

Most proposals to divide California would split the state horizontally into two parts, either at the Tehachapi Mountains or at a northern point just above or below Sacramento. There was at least one suggestion, however, that the state be divided vertically into East and West California.

Another suggestion proposed dividing California into three states, North, South, and Central California.

Still another proposal would divide California into a number of small states. This suggestion is deemed to be a tongue-in-cheek suggestion that would Balkanize California into small states lacking adequate resources and virtually no power nationally.

Perhaps the most radical suggestion, and also done facetiously, would make California a separate nation. This proposal was the brainchild of San Jose Mercury newsman Ted Bredt, who noted that California’s resources and financial potential were larger than those of many nations.

In 1849, Jose Antonio Carrillo, a southern delegate to the Constitutional Convention, proposed a split of California at San Luis Obispo. The southern part of the state would become a territory, while the northern part would become a state.

Other delegates at the Constitutional Convention proposed including what is now California, but also Nevada, Utah, and Arizona in the new state. This proposal was rejected out of hand as it would create a state too large.

In 1852, some Californians near the Oregon border expressed their strong dissatisfaction over high taxes, poor mail service, and the lack of military protection against California Indian tribes. They wanted to form the State of Shasta.

There were attempts by one northern California area to separate from California altogether. This was in 1856, when Isaac Newton Roop, the founder of Susanville, and Peter Lassen, the explorer for whom Lassen County was named, sought to form an independent territory.

This territory would be made up by parts of both northern California and of Nevada, which they would call Nataqua, a word meaning woman in the local Indian language.

Later, in 1854, resolutions were drafted to form the State of Klamath, which would include portions of Northern California and of Southern Oregon.

Also in 1854, San Bernardino Assemblyman Jefferson Hunt introduced a bill for the creation of a new state of Columbia, covering the area from Santa Cruz to the Mexican Border.

It is unlikely that California will ever be divided. Any proposal aimed at splitting the state must gain the consent of the legislature, and then be approved by Congress as well.

Still, the state-splitting issue is likely to emerge many times in the future, as it is an easy way for a politician to get space in the press.

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