Introduction

California often gets overlooked through United States history. California did not even become a state until 1850 when the gold rush turned a random territory on the other side of the country into a place worth traveling for. With thousands of unknown miles between California and the capital, it seemed California making a difference was nigh impossible. In reality, that could not be further from the truth. California contributed to the split of the United States immensely. California’s shaky induction to statehood, the rumblings over who got to be the terminus of the California railroad, and what the common California man thought about slavery are California’s strongest relations to the coming of the Civil War. California was no average territory. It was different, it was valuable, and it had an impact. While California was on the other side of the country from the capital, the Civil War would not have happened if it was not for California.

Statehood

California was bound for statehood. However, introducing a new state into the union, especially as state number thirty-one, was a tough challenge. The government was currently even, with both fifteen free and slave states, leading to the slavery issue getting swept under the rug. No other territory was on the verge of statehood, and California was unwilling to split, leaving the government with an ultimatum. California was to be a free state, leaving half the union in tears, but only the South half. Never had the country been so split based on geography, and it was not a happy split. The South half could not be placated. A nation built on compromise was taking irreconcilable positions. The country had never seen this level of discord as literal weapons were brandished during a government session. The courthouse got tense, and it only got worse when Georgia representative Robert Toombs stated, “… If by your legislation you seek to drive [slave-owners] from the territories of California and New Mexico… and to abolish slavery in this District, thereby attempting to fix a national degradation upon half the States of this Confederacy, I am for disunion.” The first utterance of a secession muttered over the admittance of California as a free state. Henry Clay calmed the stormy waters through the Compromise of 1850, but Toombs planted the seed of a schism, and the seed had sprouted. The first whispers of a break are the most important, and California’s introduction as a state brought them to the forefront.

The Railroad

California needed a railway to bring people in and wealth out. The railroad’s launch area would be a huge boon to the state controlling it, making it a high priority in government. Whether California was going to be a conduit to the North or South came down to the railroad. A commission was established to evaluate the root, but it was obviously biased in favor of the 32nd parallel going through Texas. In a minority report on the commission’s results, Virginia Democrat Zedekiah Kidwell wrote what most people thought in saying that the 32nd parallel “had no chance of passing. It was just too far south and too controversial, and it infuriated too many rival interests.” He wrote that Jefferson Davis’ “commission failed the entire nation”, including the South. The solution to the problem was the Kansas-Nebraska act by Stephan Douglas. This behemoth of an act “solved” the railroad problem by forcing concessions from both sides and combining the railroad with a conglomeration of other issues. High-pressure conversation and bribes eventually finagled the act into passing. This debacle increased the growing sectionalism in congress tenfold and made a confrontation seem inevitable. The railroad ruckus factored magnificently into North-South sectionalism and the coming of the Civil War, and California was at the center (or west side) of it. Congress was up in arms, but the general population did not share the same passion until California changed everything.

Mindset

The common white man had no reason to care about a problem so far away until the mining industry boomed. Mining was dignifying work and a respectable living for a free white man, and slavery threatened to upend that. Slavery was someone else’s problem until California gave the common man a reason to mobilize against it. Slaves were the dregs of society, and the common miner soon realized slaves would taint their hard work. Twenty-six-year-old Henry Tefft spoke for the common man in California when he stated, “No new state in the union has ever had a population so enterprising and intelligent in character. They are working willingly… will this class of population continue to work cheerfully and willingly if you place them side by side with the negro?” The common man in California could not compete with corporations driven by slaves, and the California dream emphasized a sense of honor and fairness in getting rich that monopolies did not possess. Bringing colored persons into new states was not an ethical issue for the common man. It was about competition. The American ideal was to give the common white man a fair chance of success and riches, and slavery did not facilitate that. Once California popularized the threat slavery had to white Americans, Slavery became a problem people could not ignore. Now the average Joe had a stake in the outcome, which mobilized the general population to pick a side and fight for their beliefs. War is nothing without people to fight it. Because of California’s expansion on what it truly meant to be American, the coming Civil War now had people to fight in it.

Closing

No one moment or one state can be responsible for starting the Civil War. The Civil War was many years in the making and was an amalgamation of different United States problems. Keeping this in regard, California still played a large part in the coming of the Civil War. There are many areas in which California made a difference in the Civil War like direct monetary donations along with manpower, but these are California’s three most vital contributions to the Civil War. California’s introduction as a state brought murmurs of disunion in government. The creation of the railroad to California opened fatal wounds in the unity of the government. Lastly, the California lifestyle gave the common man a reason to care. California was the spark behind the Civil War in three vital points. It was responsible for the first thoughts, the creation of irreconcilable differences, and the mobilization of the people. Anyone looking over California’s contributions to the Civil War would be remiss to ignore its statehood, railroad, and mindset, as they are the crown jewels of California’s impact on the coming of the Civil War.

All evidence and influences on the article are courtesy of Leonard Richards, The California Gold Rush and the Coming of the Civil War (New York: Vintage Books, 2008)