background information of union square especially with regards to the civil war

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hi, i found out union square got its name from the support of the civil war, and i was wondering if you can provide me with more information in that area. any help would be appreciated, thanks

-- Leo Li (yhleon@hotmail.com), February 16, 2004

Answers

Union Square apppears on maps as early as 1850. Many years before the Civil War. The term "Union" in the 1850s merely meant "The Union" At the very least the connotation is "Statehood" as opposed to the "Bear Flag Republic".

At the outset of the Civil War, Union Square was the site of Anti- Southern rallies.

Good luck in your research.

-- Kurt Iversen (iversenk@aol.com), February 16, 2004.


As the United States approached Civil War, some California political leaders wanted to secede from the U.S. and become an independent public, others wanted to join the Confederacy. Thomas Starr King arrived in 1860 to be the new Minister of the Unitarian Church (now First Unitarian Church). He worked tirelessly for Republicans (anti- slavery, pro-north) politicians to be elected, including Abe Lincoln (who won California in 1860 by 711 votes) and Leland Stanford, who won the governorship.

He also led rallies on the square giving spell binding speeches to thousands in favor or preserving the United States. California did not secede, it stayed in the Union, thus Union Square. I have not yet an official date for the naming of the square, but it might have been in 1864.

-- Peter Moylan (pmoylan@pacbell.net), April 19, 2004.


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