California joined the union as a free state 171 years ago today. How to celebrate
California was admitted to the United States, joining the union as a free state, on Sept. 9, 1850.
On Thursday, Sept. 9, the California Black Agriculture Working Group will host an all day event at the State Capitol on 1100 L Street.
The event will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., registration is free. Breakfast will be served to those who purchase a $25 ticket, at the Sacramento Hyatt Regency on 1209 L Street. Tickets and free registration is available here.
All ages and backgrounds are welcome, as the history of California is taught to Sacramentans and visitors who attend the event. The Admission Day is being utilized to teach the history of California which includes an equitable and inclusive background, as a free state.
Despite contradicting beliefs about California as a free state, under the the control of the United States, the state participated in slavery in its earlier existence until the end of the Civil War.
Many enslaved Americans traveled west for a chance to experience their own manifest destiny and escape the treacherous living in the midwest and south. Some were caught and enslaved.
Enslavers would travel with their slaves to California, in search of gold. Slave owners continued to participate in slave trading and trafficking.
“We were not human beings, we were chattel or slaves” said Michael Harris, board member of the Sacramento Historical Society. “The Supreme Court said you can keep your property, so people sold their slaves on the auction block (in present-day Old Sacramento).”
Slave owners arrived as early as 1848 and looked to build a fortune from mining gold at the expense and labor of their slaves. In some cases, enslaved miners rushed for gold to purchase their freedom.
For example, it took pioneer Edmond Edward Wysinger nearly a year to earn the wages to purchase his freedom. He arrived in 1849. He paid $1000 for his freedom, which translates to $34,512.18 in 2021.
Wysinger mined in places such as Mokelumne, Murphy’s Camp, Diamond and Mud Springs, Grass Valley, and even Negro Bar, which is now a state historic park in Folsom.
“People that wanted slavery were willing to bring gangs of slaves or individual slaves to work claims that they had. And that was already going on in certain mining in certain areas of California,” said retired historian, Clarence Caesar.
In 1849, the California state legislature held a convention in Monterey to determine whether California should be a free state to balance out the Union. It was unanimously agreed upon as a free state and the documentation was sent to Congress.
By 1850, there were 962 Black people either free or formerly enslaved in California, according to the U.S. Census.
Whether free or enslaved, many Black Californians managed to maintain entrepreneurial mindsets which some say helped grow the state of California by owning businesses and land that contributed to the economy.
They found gold, bought land, and built wealth. Those who were enslaved rose to prominence after purchasing freedom.
They became educators, cooks, barbers, washermen, restaurant and coffee house owners, boarding house owners, and blacksmiths, according to the 1850 U.S. Census.
Both free and enslaved persons helped contribute to the economical growth of California leading to the territory joining the U.S.
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 1:01 PM.
