AGENDA
ITEM
PROCLAMATION NO. 2025-07
WHEREAS, on May 13, 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico to seize Mexican territory, including current-day California, and on February 2, 1848, the United States and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, officially ending the war and ceding vast Mexican territory, including California, to the United States; and WHEREAS, on September 9, 1850, California was admitted to the Union as a free, nonslavery State, becoming the 31st State in the Union; and WHEREAS, the discovery of gold led to a large influx of people, and with it, the need for a government. Californians sought statehood, and debate ensued in the U.S. Congress around the balance of free and slave states; and
WHEREAS, California is home to the largest population of Native Americans and the second-largest number of tribes in the country. Native American tribes have lived, since time immemorial, on the land that is currently the State of California; and WHEREAS, California is the fourth-largest economy in the world and is home to more than 39 million people; and
WHEREAS, California is rich with diverse and awe-inspiring landscapes from the fertile Central Valley to the desert regions, from the peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountain range to the sunset views on our Pacific beaches; and
WHEREAS, California is the leading agricultural producer in the country, the leading State for manufacturing, and is the #1 tourist destination in the United States; and WHEREAS, Gonzales has contributed to California by becoming a major agricultural center in the fertile Salinas Valley, a highly productive region for the State producing significant amounts of vegetables and wine grapes that feed the state and beyond, and by pioneering sustainable energy initiatives like wind and solar power.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mayor Jose L. Rios, on behalf of the City Council of the City of Gonzales, do hereby proclaim September 9, 2025 as California’s 175th Anniversary of Statehood.
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Jose L. Rios, The Honorable Mayor
September 2, 2025