Flag of California
The flag of California, known as the Bear Flag, is the official flag of the U.S. state of California. The precursor of the flag was first flown during the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt and was also known as the Bear Flag. A predecessor, called the Lone Star Flag, was used in an 1836 independence movement; the red star element from that flag appears in the Bear Flag of today.
Current flag
Law and protocol
The 1911 statute stated:In 1953, the design and specifications for the state flag were standardized in a bill signed by Governor Earl Warren and illustrated by Donald Graeme Kelley of Marin County, California. The Californian state flag is often called the "Bear Flag" and in fact, the present statute adopting the flag, , states: "The Bear Flag is the State Flag of California."
Pursuant to , the regulations and protocols for the proper display of the flag of California is controlled by the California Adjutant General:
When the flag is displayed vertically, it is rotated 90 degrees clockwise such that the bear and star face upward and red stripe is on the left.
The flag is also used as the state ensign.
Design
The first official version of the Bear Flag was adopted by the California State Legislature and signed into law by Governor Hiram Johnson in 1911 as the official state flag.The contemporary state flag is white with a wide red strip along the bottom. There is a red star in the upper left corner and a California grizzly bear facing left in the center, walking on a patch of green grass. The size of the bear is two-thirds the size of the hoist width and has a ratio of 2 by 1. The grass plot has a ratio of 11 to 1. The five-point star is taken from the California Lone Star Flag of 1836. The hoist of the flag is two-thirds the fly.
The bear on one 1911 version of the flag is claimed to have been modeled on the last California grizzly bear in captivity. The bear, named "Monarch", was captured in 1889 by newspaper reporter Allan Kelly, at the behest of William Randolph Hearst. The bear was subsequently moved to Woodwards Gardens in San Francisco, and then to the zoo at Golden Gate Park. After the bear's death in 1911, it was mounted and preserved at the Academy of Sciences at Golden Gate Park.
While the bear flag was adopted in 1911, until 1953 the image of the bear varied depending on the flag manufacturer. In 1953 the bear image was standardized by Donald Greame Kelley, he based it off the 1855 watercolor by Charles Christian Nahl. The 1953 law includes an official black and white rendering of the bear as well as the plot of grass and brown tufts. This drawing and other specifications that define the flag's colors and dimensions are identified as "54-J-03".
The Californian flag is one of two U.S. state flags to depict a bear, along with Missouri.
In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed its members on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, U.S. territorial, and Canadian provincial flags and ranked the flag of California 13th out of 50 U.S. states, and the best flag that contains words, specifically the state's name.
Colors
The 1953 legislation defined the exact shades of the California flag with a total of five colors relative to the 9th edition of the Standard Color Card of America. It is one of only four US state flags not to include the color blue, along with Alabama, Maryland, and New Mexico.| Color | Cable no. | Pantone | Web color | RGB values |
| White | 70001 | Safe | #FFFFFF | |
| Old Glory Red | 70180 | 200 | #BA0C2F | |
| Maple Sugar | 70129 | 729C | #B58150 | |
| Seal | 70108 | 462C | #5C462B | |
| Irish Green | 70168 | 348 | #00843D |
- Seal is used for the dark shading of the bear, the 12 darker tufts in the plot of grass, the border of the plot and the lettering "CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC".
- Maple Sugar is the base color for the bear.
- Old Glory Red is used for the star, the bear's tongue and the red stripe at the bottom of the flag.
- Irish Green is used for the grass plot.
- The bear's claws are also accented with white. The left front and rear paws have four white claws while the right rear claw displays three. The front right paw does not contain highlighting.
History
Flag of Moctezuma
In 1823 the Spanish left California and all of the land was given to Mexico. Soon many of the locals felt neglected by the new government. In 1827 Governor José María de Echeandía proposed to change the name of the province from Alta California to Moctezuma, after the Aztec emperor Moctezuma I. He said that they should lower the Mexican flag and raised a new flag to show support for independence. The flag was described as: "...a white field with a blue oval in the center, with an Indian inside wearing a feathered headdress and carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows, stepping across the Bering Strait...The Oval would be supported by an olive tree...and a oak tree..." The moment ended when Mexico approved their Territorial Deputation.Lone Star of California
In 1836, a coup led by Juan Alvarado declared Alta California's independence from Mexico. Alvarado declared himself governor of the territory and raised a banner with the inscription: "FEDERATION OR DEATH." Alvarado soon recruited U.S. frontiersmen led by Isaac Graham, to support him. The rebels easily captured the capital Monterey, but were unable to convince southern leaders such as Juan Bandini and Carlos Antonio Carrillo to join the rebellion. Faced with a civil war, Alvarado and the other Californios negotiated a compromise with the central government wherein California's leaders accepted its status as a "department" under the "Siete Leyes" Mexican constitution of 1836, in return for more local control. Alvarado was appointed governor the next year.The Lone Star Flag of California, associated with Alvarado's rebellion, contained a single red star on a white background. It was raised on December 18, 1836. One last original flag is archived at the Autry National Center.
In January 1837 a small army led by Alvarado was heading through the town of Santa Barbara when he got the idea of making a flag. He ordered his men to bring him a Mexican flag and in the white stripe he wrote "Independence for California." The flag was given to Father Duran of the local Mission to be blessed. A year later it was carried by Alvarado's men in the Battle of San Buenaventura and raised over the Mission after the affair. During the Battle of San Juan Capistrano Captain Salvador Vallejo carried with him a massive white flag with a large red scroll with the inscription: "IF OUR ENEMIES DO NOT SURRENDER, I SHALL HAVE THEM BEHEADED!"
Original Bear Flag
The original grizzly bear flag was created by Peter Storm. A version of this bear flag, designed by William L. Todd, was raised in Sonoma, California, in June 1846 on a date between the 14th and the 17th, by the men who became known as the "Bear Flaggers", including William B. Ide. The exact creation date is at least somewhat unclear. However, U.S. Naval Lieutenant John Missroon reported the flag's existence as of June 17, 1846.William L. Todd was a cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln. According to the book Flags Over California, published by the California Military Department, the star on the flag recalled the 1836 California Lone Star Flag. Todd, in an 1878 letter to the Los Angeles Express, states that the star was drawn using blackberry juice and in recognition of the California Lone Star Flag. The bear was designed to be a symbol of strength and unyielding resistance.
According to the Sonoma State Historic Park, the construction of the flag was described as such:
The original Bear Flag and the republic it symbolized had a brief career, from about June 14 until July 9. On July 7, 1846, Commodore John Drake Sloat of the United States Navy's Pacific Squadron first raised the 28-star American flag at Monterey, the capital of Alta California, and claimed the territory for the United States.
Two days later, on July 9, 1846, Navy Lieutenant Joseph Warren Revere arrived in Sonoma and hauled down the Bear Flag, running up in its place the Stars and Stripes. The Bear Flag was given to young John E. Montgomery, who would later write in a letter to his mother "Cuffy came down growling"—"Cuffy" being his nickname for the bear on the flag.
The Bear Flag given to young Montgomery returned with USS Portsmouth to the east coast of the U.S. in 1848, but in 1855 was returned to California. The flag was given to California's two senators, John B. Weller and William M. Gwin. This flag was donated to the Society of California Pioneers on September 8, 1855, and was preserved at the Society's Pioneer Halls in San Francisco until it was destroyed on April 18, 1906, in the fires that followed the great San Francisco earthquake. Today, a replica hangs on display in the Sonoma Barracks, or El Presidio de Sonoma. There is also a statue in the plaza at Sonoma, California, commemorating the raising of the flag, the Bear Flag Monument.
Other Bear Flags
There are many accounts of other bear flags being made during the revolt. Each flag has a different design, most with a bear as the central figure either in brown or black. Some having a standing bear while others had it on all fours. Almost all having a star either in purple, red, brown or black. Most of the accounts were made years afters the revolt.A year after the revolt American settlers in Sacramento Valley wanted to celebrate the 4th of July by raising a national flag. The party did not have one, so they started gathering material to make an improvised American flag. It was described as: "...small square of heavy cloth, light blue in color, upon which is pasted a white paper star of eight points, while a piece of paper is pasted along the top bar with the following motto written upon it: " California is ours as long as the stars remain."