Junta Democrática: Californios and Reconstruction in California.

This article examines the role of elite Californios—Mexicans of mixed-race descent granted citizenship by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo—in shaping California’s political landscape during the Civil War and Reconstruction Era. Focusing on Antonio Coronel, a prominent Californio politician, it argues that these elites allied with Anglo American Democrats to maintain regional power by supporting racially restrictive policies that ultimately rejected federal Reconstruction efforts aimed at biracial democracy. While Californios initially preserved local influence through this cooperation, they were gradually excluded from full citizenship rights as whiteness, not their gente de razón status, became the standard for political inclusion. The article also highlights how Black Californians organized for suffrage and civil rights during this period, but faced legislative obstruction supported by Californios and Democrats, contributing to California’s rejection of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and the entrenchment of white supremacy in the state.