The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 30, July 1926 - April, 1927 Page: 83

THE
SOUTHWESTERN HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
VOL. XXX OCTOBER, 1926 No. 2
The publication committee and the editors disclaim responsibility for views expressed by
contributors to THE QUARTERLY
CALIFORNIA AND THE NATION, 1846-1869: A STUDY
OF THE FEDERAL RELATIONS OF A FRONTIER
COMMUNITY*
JOSEPH ELLISON
INTRODUCTION
A large part of the history of a country with a federal govern-
ment like that of the United States centers around the relations
of the several states of the Union to the central government. Yet,
books on American history, generally, deal either with purely
national affairs, or with purely local events, usually of the more
picturesque type. For instance, in none of the histories of the
United States or of California do we find an account of the con-
troversies between California and the federal government with
regard to the civil fund, public lands, and the mineral fields. The
present paper is a brief summary of a detailed study of the federal
relations of California during her frontier period, from the time
of the overland migrations of the American settlers into California
in the forties, to the completion of the transcontinental railroad in
1869. This quarter of a century marks the "storm and stress"
era of California's history, the period when California had to
grapple with a number of vital problems. It was also a period
when the relations of California to the federal government were
of paramount importance, since most of the problems which con-
fronted the state called for federal legislation.
*Acknowledgments are due to Dr. Herbert E. Bolton for valuable sug-
gestions in the preparation of this paper.