General Vallejo and the Advent of the Americans

General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo was one of California's most distinguished citizens in the mid-nineteenth century, A frontier cosmopolitan and visionary, Vallejo owned vast ranchos in northern California and wielded enormous political power throughout the province. While serving as military governor during Mexican rule, he established an open immigration policy that encouraged and facilitated the American entrada to northern California. Dissatisfied with the remoteness of Mexican sovereignty, Vallejo believed that only the United States could unleash California's untapped economic potential.