California

===U.S. Conquest and the California Republic===
{{Main|Conquest of California|Bear Flag Revolt}}
[[File:Fremont Raising the Bear Flag (engraved, c. 1860).jpg|thumb|left|The 1846 [[Bear Flag Revolt]] declared the [[California Republic]] and prefaced the [[Conquest of California|American conquest of California]].]]

In 1846, a group of American settlers in and around [[Sonoma, California|Sonoma]] rebelled against Mexican rule during the [[Bear Flag Revolt]]. Afterward, rebels raised the [[Bear Flag]] (featuring a bear, a star, a red stripe and the words "California Republic") at Sonoma. The Republic's only president was [[William B. Ide]],<ref name="William B. Ide Adobe SHP">{{Cite web |title=William B. Ide Adobe SHP |url=http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=458 |access-date=December 25, 2009 |publisher=California State Parks}}</ref> who played a pivotal role during the Bear Flag Revolt. This revolt by American settlers served as a prelude to the later American military invasion of California and was closely coordinated with nearby American military commanders.

The California Republic was short-lived;<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2015 |title=Bear Flag Revolt |url=http://www.history.com/topics/bear-flag-revolt |access-date=June 5, 2015 |publisher=History.com}}{{break}}{{Cite web |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1998 |title=The United States and California |url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cbhtml/cbstates.html |access-date=June 5, 2015 |publisher=Library of Congress |newspaper=The Library of Congress}}</ref> the same year marked the outbreak of the [[Mexican–American War]] (1846–1848).<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1999 |title=The U.S. Mexican War |url=https://www.pbs.org/kpbs/theborder/history/timeline/5.html |access-date=June 5, 2015 |website=The Border |publisher=KPBS}}{{break}}{{Cite book |last1=Matthew Kachur |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=1g2ReKdEZfIC|page=25}} |title=The Mexican-American War |last2=Jon Sterngass |date=July 1, 2006 |publisher=World Almanac Library |isbn=978-0-8368-7290-3 |pages=25–26}}{{break}}{{Cite book |last=Thomas M. Leonard |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=NQugPgduF0kC|page=141}} |title=James K. Polk: A Clear and Unquestionable Destiny |date=2001 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8420-2647-5 |pages=141–143}}</ref>

Commodore [[John D. Sloat]] of the [[United States Navy]] sailed into [[Monterey Bay]] in 1846 and began the [[Conquest of California|U.S. military invasion of California]], with Northern California capitulating in less than a month to the United States forces.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Spencer Tucker (Militärhistoriker) |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=FZVQcZpic-8C|page=55}} |title=The Encyclopedia of the Mexican-American War: A Political, Social, and Military History |date=2013 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-853-8 |pages=55–56}}</ref> In Southern California, Californios continued to resist American forces. Notable military engagements of the conquest include the [[Battle of San Pasqual]] and the [[Battle of Dominguez Rancho]] in Southern California, as well as the [[Battle of Olómpali]] and the [[Battle of Santa Clara (1847)|Battle of Santa Clara]] in Northern California. After a series of defensive battles in the south, the [[Treaty of Cahuenga]] was signed by the [[Californios]] on January 13, 1847, securing a censure and establishing [[de facto]] American control in California.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=3cE1AAAAIAAJ|page=199}} |title=The Quarterly |date=1907 |publisher=Historical Society of Southern California |pages=199–201}}{{break}}{{cite book|first1=Hunt|last1=Janin|first2=Ursula|last2=Carlson|title=The California Campaigns of the U.S.-Mexican War, 1846–1848|url= {{google books |plainurl=y |id=_ImhCAAAQBAJ|page=149}}|date=April 20, 2015|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-2093-0|pages=149–151}}</ref>