Southern California Creation of Colorado Territory "Pico Act" Measure (September 1859)
| California Creation of Colorado Territory "Pico Act" Measure | |
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| Topic Statehood |
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| Type Legislatively referred state statute |
Origin |
The Southern California Creation of Colorado Territory Measure, also known as the Pico Act, was on the ballot in six southern counties of California—Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, and Tulare—on September 7, 1859. Voters approved the ballot measure. A two-thirds (66.67%) vote was required.[1]
A "yes" vote supported granting consent for the southern counties of California to establish a separate government, to be called the Territory of Colorado or another name. |
A "no" vote opposed granting consent for the southern counties of California to form a separate government, keeping them as part of California. |
Overview
The legislation for the ballot measure was known as the Pico Act, named for state Assemblymember Andrés Pico (D) of Los Angeles County.[2] According to historian William Henry Ellison, Asm. Pico viewed California as "too large and diversified for one state" and that "uniform legislation was unjust and ruinous to the south." U.S. Sen. Milton Latham (D), writing to Congress on January 12, 1860, said, "They [southern Californians] are an agricultural people, thinly scattered over a large extent of country. They complain that the taxes upon their land and cattle are ruinous—entirely disproportioned to the taxes collected in the mining regions; that the policy of the State, hitherto, having been to exempt mining claims from taxation, and the mining population being migratory in its character, and hence contributing but little to the State revenue in proportion to their population, they are unjustly burdened."[3]
According to the California State Library, Congress did not take action on the Pico Act due to the Civil War.[2] Patt Morrison, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, said, "More than a few civic leaders and military men were pro-Dixie, like L.A.'s Civil War-era mayor Damien Marchesseault, who wanted southern California to follow the Confederacy into secession."[4]
Election results
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California Creation of Colorado Territory "Pico Act" Measure |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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2,447 | 74.72% | ||
| No | 828 | 25.28% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Creation of Colorado Territory "Pico Act" Measure was as follows:
| “ | For a Territory. Against a Territory. | ” |
Path to the ballot
The California State Legislature approved legislation, titled Assembly Bill 223, for the ballot measure on March 25, 1859.[5] Governor John B. Weller (D) signed the bill on April 18, 1859.[1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 California State Library, "An Act of the Legislature of California," accessed September 2, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 California State Library, "Attempts to Divide California: A Timeline," accessed September 2, 2025
- ↑ Ellison, W. H. (1913). The movement for state division in California, 1849–1860. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 17(2), 101–139.
- ↑ Governing, "Why Hasn’t California Been Split Into Smaller States Yet?" September 21, 2021
- ↑ California State Library, "Assembly Bill 223," accessed September 2, 2025
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