Tuesday 5 July 2016

By Brian Scott


On June 14, 1846, a small band of settlers marched on the Mexican garrison at Sonoma and took the commandant prisoner. They issued a proclamation which declared California to be a Republic independent of Mexico. This uprising became known as the Bear Flag Revolt (after the hastily-designed flag depicting a grizzly bear and a five pointed star over a red bar and the words "California Republic."

That frontier town was Sonoma, the land was California, and the rebels, American settlers spurred on by promises of help from U.S. Army Captain John Fremont. The rebel standard, the flag of the so-called California Republic, became the California State Flag. It's time California dump that flag, a symbol of blatant illegality and racial prejudice. Like the Confederate cross of St. Andrew, the Bear Flag is a symbol whose time has come and gone.

The California flag depicts a five-pointed star in the upper left corner, a grizzly bear in the center, the words “California Republic” below the bear in gold, sans-serif font, and a red bar stretching along the bottom.

The California state flag was designed to establish California’s separation from Mexico before the “Bear Flag Revolt” in 1846.The single star on California’s flag is a reference to Texas’s Lone Star Flag design as Texas had previously gained independence from Mexico in 1836.

The grizzly bear was a symbol of great strength while the star made reference to the Lone Star of Texas. The flag only flew until July 9, 1846, when it was learned that Mexico and the United States were already at war. Soon after, the Bear Flag was replaced with the American flag. It was adopted as the State Flag by the State Legislature in 1911. The current California State Flag, adopted by the state legislature in 1911, is based on the original Bear Flag raised by pioneering Americans over Sonoma in 1846. The star was taken from the lone star of Texas. The Bear was representative of the numerous Grizzly Bears in the state and the words "The California Republic" testify to the feisty American pioneers who settled in the territory.

There is a barrage of cheap and inferior California flags being imported and sold, that do not comply with the flag statute. This is bad for a number of reasons. Imported flags are cheaply made and more importantly, the designs, materials, colors, and methods of printing do not compare well with the better quality, longer-lasting, and correctly designed flags made by American manufacturers. The Flag Company Inc specialized in flag designs offered a special edition of decals and flags to memorize the history of California flag for the future.




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