All Aboard, Whistle Stop Tour ~ Station 102 ~ California Admission Day

All Aboard, for our our “Whistle Stop ~ Farm to Fork Celebration” of the birth of California, as we prepare to reopen Station 102, a historic railroad dining and entertainment experience in Roseville, California.

Today, we reconsider and reflect deeply upon the importance of teaching future generations how and why California became the 31st state, as part of the Compromise of 1850 by the US Congress.

In 1821, Mexico became independent from the Spanish Empire and on September 16, 1829, the Second Mexican President, Vicente Guerrero announced an official decree, ending slavery throughout the young Republic of Mexico. In 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico and at the dawn of the Mexican American War in 1846, the doctrine of Manifest Destiny by expanding the United States from “sea to shining sea” sharpened the political divide over chattel slavery in the vast open lands of Mexican Alta California.

The California Gold Rush of 1848 helped facilitate a delicate economic and political balance during the California Constitutional Convention in 1849 required for an official petition the US Congress for statehood. The Compromise of 1850 resolved a contentious debate of rapid expansion throughout the western frontier by offering a delicate balance of support for “America’s Peculiar Institution.”

Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky successfully brokered a multipronged Congressional legislative package, with the support of Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, that allowed California to become the 31st state, strengthen the U.S. Fugitive Slave Act, establish the Utah territorial government, settled a boundary dispute between Texas and New Mexico, while beginning an end to “chattel slave trade” within the District of Columbia, Washington.

Our 167th California Admission Day Celebration suggests a purpose to renew historical examination of the documented debates and discussions by delegates during the California Constitutional Convention at Colton Hall, Monterey. The election of first California Governor, Peter Burnett and his inaugural message is fundamental to restoring educational value and purpose to annual celebrations of California Admission Day.

Together, we can quantify ongoing impacts of early systemic disenfranchisement and exclusion by early California Legislative, Judicial and Executive authority, making essential corrections’ as we “form a more perfect union.”

Our esteemed California State Librarian Emeritus, Dr. Kevin Starr, shared a detailed and elevated notion of inclusion and diversity essential for appreciating our unique California mosaic tapestry worthy of elevated scholarship and historic preservation.

Why not also include the heritage and significant contributions made by people of African ancestry throughout the California experience beginning prior to Spanish exploration and conquest in 1535, Mexican Independence in 1821 and the California Bear Flag Revolt in 1846 on the journey to California statehood? Together, we can “seize the day,” and request official collaboration between our libraries and archives to showcase delicate official State of California records and rare source documents.

We must highlight the promise of inclusion and diversity or repeat costly lessons from our past history. Together, we can maximize opportunities expanding our competitive advantage throughout our “Farm to Fork Capitol of America.”