California Bear, Natural History Museum – Los Angeles, California

The bear has a deeply symbolic meaning in California. I didn’t know much about California’s history until I read a little before this post. Many people in the U.S. know that there is a big bear on California’s state flag. But the symbolism goes deeper than that.

In 1846 a breakaway state north of San Francisco formed the California Republic or Bear Flag Republic. Though unrecognized by Mexico, this unofficial state was under military control for 25 days. Soon after, it became part of the United States.

I knew California was a separate “country” but didn’t realize it was that short. Texas was also a republic that broke away from Mexico. Though Texas was a separate country for 10 years. The Republic of Texas existed from 1836 to 1846 until it became part of the United States.

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