Partition and secession in California

[2] In addition, there have been some calls for the secession of multiple states or large regions in the American West (such as the proposal of Cascadia) which often include parts of Northern California.

The territory that became the present state of California was acquired by the U.S. as a result of American victory in the Mexican–American War and subsequent 1848 Mexican Cession.

At the time, the representation in Congress was too small for such a large territory, it seemed too extensive for one government, and the state capital was too inaccessible because of the distances to Southern California and various other areas.

The bill was signed by the State governor John B. Weller, approved overwhelmingly by voters in the proposed Territory of Colorado, and sent to Washington, D.C., with a strong advocate in Senator Milton Latham.

[14] Writer Ernest Callenbach wrote a 1975 novel, entitled Ecotopia, in which he proposed a full-blown secession of Northern California, Oregon, and Washington from the United States in order to focus upon environmentally friendly living and culture.

"[45] The premise was borrowed / adapted by Starhawk for her novel The Fifth Sacred Thing (1993), which pitted the eco-feminist inhabitants of a future, independent San Francisco against a rival, right-wing polity centered on Los Angeles.

While mostly consisting of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia in Canada, proposals for an independent Cascadia often include portions of northern California.

Common arguments in support of independence are often based on the fact of California having the fifth-largest economy in the world,[47][48][49] and for being home to the global centers of entertainment (Hollywood) and technology (Silicon Valley).

In the wake of Republican nominee Donald Trump's winning the 2016 presidential election, a fringe movement organized by Yes California, referred to as "Calexit"—a term inspired by the successful 2016 Brexit referendum—arose in a bid to gather the 585,407 signatures necessary to place a secessionist question on the 2018 ballot.

[54] In July 2018, the objectives of the Calexit initiative were expanded upon by including a plan to carve out an “autonomous Native American nation”[55] that would take up the eastern part of California, and "postponing its ballot referendum approach in favor of convincing Republican states to support their breakaway efforts.