When California Was Its Own Nation for 25 Days

In the 19th century, a vast portion of the Southwest United States was under Mexican rule. This included California, which was a province called Alta California. In 1835, a revolt started in Texas, also a Mexican province. Americans such as Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston led the rebellion and created an independent nation known as the Republic of Texas. Texas stayed independent for almost a decade until it became the 28th U.S. state in 1845. That triggered the Mexican-American War. The U.S. president at the time, James K. Polk, sent John C. Frémont on an expedition to the Sierra Nevada mountains in Eastern California. In addition, Polk allegedly secretly instructed Frémont to further expand U.S. control of California by making use of any unrest that could occur....