| Get your Conquest paper. Read through the paper and be sure you know for what you are reading. Read this entire web page and then complete the paper. You may refer back to the web page as needed to complete the paper. Use full sentences, good spelling, proper capitalization and punctuation on your paper. |
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Wagon trains were how Americans traveled to California beginning in the 1840's |
| Beginning in 1841, with John Bidwell's wagon train, Americans had been emigrating to California. The land belonged to Mexico, but the United States encouraged young families to travel west and settle land. The United States wished for their country to stretch from one coast to the other coast. John C. Fremont, an officer in the United State army, had been exploring Californian. Fremont described the American River in his journals in 1844. The Mexican authorities did not like Fremont traveling in California, making notes and drawing maps, so they asked him to leave. He took his group to Monterey where he stayed for a while. The Mexican military found out he was there and was ready to force Fremont out. He headed to Oregon, but received word from the United States government to keep an eye on California. Fremont returned to California to do just that. |
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| During the summer of 1846, the settlers in California began to fear that the Mexican government was going to force them to leave. The settlers organized the Bear Flag revolt on June 14, 1846. They took General Mariano Vallejo prisoner at his fort, and they declared that California was its own country giving it the name Independent Republic of California. Vallejo was taken to Sutter's Fort where he was held prisoner until August. Many felt that Vallejo was actually a good friend to the American people. |
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Mariano Vallejo |
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War had broken out between Mexico and the United States. Most of it was fought in Texas. On July 14, 1846, the American flag was raised at Monterey and four days later, it was raised over Sutter's Fort. It was stated that Americans were going all over California raising the American flag and no one protested. An actual enemy in the "war" couldn't be found in California. When the "war" began in California, John Fremont was camping along the American River, likely where the Howe Avenue bridge is now. He quickly took command of Sutter's Fort. Sutter was later given command of his fort back.
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For John Sutter, 1847 was a good year for him. Many people began moving into the valley, and Sutter was going to provide them with the lumber to build their homes and the food to feed them. The American River would be important to Sutter. Hides were being delivered to Sutter on the banks of the river. He created a flour mill just upriver from the fort. That mill would provide enough wheat for the Sacramento Valley.
Sutter needed a place to create lumber. He entered a partnership with James Marshall to build a sawmill. Marshall found a place for the mill on the South Fork of the American River at a place known as Coloma. The hope was to cut the logs and float the wood down the river to be used in the valley. The building of the mill changed California forever and had an impact across the world. |
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Sutter's Sawmill |
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The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo gave the land known as the Mexican Cession to the United States when the war with Mexico ended. |
James Marshall
