The state flag of California

The flag of California originated in the flag of the California Republic, also called the Bear Flag Republic. This 'republic' was the result of a revolt by settlers from the United States on June 14, 1846, in the town of Sonoma against the authorities of the Mexican province of California and encouraged by the US military. The Republic lasted less than a month but eventually became the present-day state of California.
The first official version of the Bear Flag was adopted by the California State Legislature and signed into law by Governor Hiram Johnson in 1911 as the official state flag.

The 1911 statute stated that 'the bear flag is hereby selected and adopted as the state flag of California. ... The said bear flag shall consist of a flag of a length equal to one and one-half the width thereof; the upper five-sixths of the width thereof to be a white field, and the lower sixth of the width thereof to be a red stripe; there shall appear in the white field in the upper left-hand corner a single red star, and at the bottom of the white field the words 'California Republic,' and in the center of the white field a California grizzly bear upon a grass plat, in the position of walking toward the left of the said field; said bear shall be dark brown in color and in length, equal to one-third of the length of said flag.'

In 1953, the design and specifications for the state flag were standardised in a bill signed by Governor Earl Warren. The California State flag is often called the "Bear Flag" and in fact, the present statute adopting the flag, Gov. Code 420, states: 'The Bear Flag is the State Flag of California.'
Monarch the bear is used as a basis for the California flag.

The modern state flag is white with a wide red strip along the bottom. There is a red star in the upper left corner and a grizzly bear facing left (toward the hoist) in the center, walking on a patch of green grass. The bear depicted is a California grizzly bear, a subspecies that is now extinct. The size of the bear is 2/3 the size of the hoist width and has a ratio of 2 by 1. The five-point star is actually taken from the California Lone Star Flag of 1836.
Contrary to what I say in the film about the Californian Grizzly being extinct by the time of the adoption of the flag, the bear on the current Flag of California was modeled on the last Californian Grizzly Bear in captivity. The bear, named Monarch, was captured at Samhain by newspaper reporter Allen Kelley. The bear was subsequently moved to Woodwards Gardens in San Francisco. After the bear's death in 1911, it was preserved at Academy of Sciences at Golden Gate Park.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• California
• bear
• flag
• Hiram
• Johnson
• republic
• Earl
• Warren
• Sonoma
• Monarch

[manoman0]

now, is california still a republic?

[alanheath]

According to its flag it is.

[Bobchai]

The wine barrel company in California I have worked for sells barrels made in Hungary. The deal was set up a few years after the fall of the iron curtain, and the Hungarian guys wanted a California flag to display in front of their offices in Budapest. Imagine their shock when they received the flag. "After 40 years of Soviet domination, you sent us a flag with a red star and a bear on it!"

[alanheath]

good one!!!!

[alanheath]

I also work in the packaging industry. I own a magazine Central and Eastern European Packaging.

[cl7player]

You explained it yourself, Alan, really, in your film of the Santa Barbara Mission. You explained how the bad Mexican gov't expropriated the church land, thereby harming the indigenous native Americans. So the revolt by the settlers against Mexico was really an attempt to free the people from the awful bad Mexican gov't, just like freeing the Iraqis from Saddam. Right? That's how Bush would have explained it. I mean, why can't we Americans just be appreciated for freeing all these people? Geesh!

[alanheath]

That would be one way at looking at it!

[Bobchai]

sl7player: Well, I wouldn't say that the rag- tag army of ruffians who put up the Bear Flag revolt were "liberators", but the Mexican governor saw that union with the United States was inevitable, and his garrison surrendered without a shot. He and his family later held posts in the California legislature.

[dmkavidelly]

@AdvanXer Well Hawaii still has it's monarchy. It holds zero political power but the Feds still recognize it and the Royals still legally hold their titles though having no political power said titles have no privileges associated with them.

[marktsheppard]

...hmmm... so the koo-koo Yankee settlers pist-off the Mexican government... back in the day... HA?! ...hmmm... stupid bears... and their stupid anti-coyote laws... hmmm...

[renrebel13]

I think the red star should be removed or change to a sliver or white star as a State of USA. this is California not Commiefornia

[suryavajra]

@alanheath

your version of history is off there. The original California Republic was set off by Mexican nationals living in California along with the settlers.

also remember one thing. California, Texas and a number of Mexican provinces all went up in rebellion because Mexico was taken over by Antonion Lopez de Santa Anna, who established a dictatorship and annulled the 1826 Mexican Constitution that gave rights to all Mexican provinces.

[AdvanXer]

All states in the Union are republics.

[Bobchai]

Let's be in touch. I'll send you more information about what I do, and my several visits to Hungary.