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West Coast figures discussed an independent Pacific republic during the Civil War.

The Claim

During the American Civil War, political figures and residents of California, Oregon, and Washington Territory considered establishing an independent Pacific Republic separate from the United States.

Verified by Lenz ·

The Short Version

Historical scholarship confirms that officials, political activists, newspapers, and residents in California, Oregon, and Washington Territory discussed separating from the United States to form a Pacific republic. Such proposals appeared around the 1860–1861 secession crisis and continued into the Civil War period. The idea was considered but never achieved broad enough support to be implemented.

Caveats

  • Support for a Pacific republic was limited and did not represent a regional consensus.
  • The proposals were not a single cohesive movement and varied in motives and territorial scope.
  • Some organizing and discussion began in 1860, before the Civil War formally started, although it continued during the war period.

The Receipts

  1. A Pacific Confederacy – AHA

    historians.org

  2. A frontier apart: identity, loyalty, and the coming of the civil war on the pacific coast

    hdl.handle.net

  3. The Brittle West: Secession and Separatism in the Southwest Borderlands during the Civil War Era

    doi.org

  4. The Gilded Coast: California and the American West During the Civil War

    hdl.handle.net

  5. UC Riverside

    escholarship.org

  6. Los Angeles During the Civil War

    journals.calstate.edu

  7. The Bear Wars - The New York Times

    archive.nytimes.com

  8. 'We Have Been and Are Yet Secessionist' – Los Angeles When the Civil War Began | Lost LA | Food & Discovery | PBS SoCal

    pbssocal.org

  9. To Resign or Not: Southern Officers in Washington Territory on the Eve of the Civil War - HistoryLink.org

    historylink.org

  10. Left arm of the Republic: The Department of the Pacific during the Civil War

    researchrepository.wvu.edu

+ 22 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

American Civil WarCaliforniaOregonPacific RepublicUnited StatesWashington Territory

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