April 27, 2007
At the end of the Part One of this two part series, Abraham Lincoln had been elected president, the Civil War had broken out, and the question of California’s loyalty to the Union was in grave doubt. The youthful Unitarian minister from Boston was a newcomer to the scene, but his powerful voice had been quickly recruited to the Union cause.
His impact would be immense and wide-ranging, and not just as a peerless advocate for the Union. From his proto-environmentalist writings on Yosemite to his contribution to a California culture of philanthropy, Starr King made his short time in our state count. Lincoln himself thought of Starr King as “the Man Who Saved California for the Union”, and at the beginning of the previous century most Californians felt the same, selecting King to represent the state in the form of a statue back in Washington D.C.
But this story doesn’t end in the past. In August of 2006, a resolution was rushed through the California legislature to evict Starr King from his place of honour and replace him with a statue of ex-president Ronald Reagan. There was no public discussion.
King’s statue is still standing, but his days are numbered. Can it be right to erase such a potent symbol of our collective past? Well… listen to the podcasts, digest some of the background material below, and then make up your own mind. It seems to me that King is the right guy for that job back east — if you agree, click the link below to locate your California State Representative and let your opinion be heard.
For further edification:
» Find your California State Representative — www.leginfo.ca.gov
» Starr King and the California Civil War (pt.1) — sparkletack
» Starr King statue — National Hall of Statuary
» “Debate Urged on Starr King Eviction” — San Francisco Chronicle 11/25/06
» “Saving Starr King” — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 10/15/06
» “A Vacation among the Sierras: Yosemite in 1860” — Thomas Starr King
» “Roots of the American Red Cross” — Unitarian Universalist World
- #5: San Francisco Fireworks – On The Air
- book review — “River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West”
- San Francisco Timecapsule: 05.04.09
- #66: Alma de Bretteville Spreckels
- SFist — mark twain torched lake tahoe?
musical support:
Thanks to Aaron Derington for “Green Forest”, Devin Anderson for “Trifles – A Play in One Act”, George Wood for “Slack Jaw”, and Commander Yo for “420 Improvisation”. This week’s music courtesy of PodSafeAudio.com.
printed bibliography:
“Thomas Starr King” — Robert Monzingo
“Apostle of Liberty” — Arnold Crompton
“SF, You’re History!” — J. Kingston Pierce
“Americans and the California Dream — Kevin Starr
“Starr King in California” — William Day Simonds (online edition — Project Gutenberg)
linking policy: books in print available through your local independent bookstore; out of print books through abebooks.com
11 responses to “#60: Starr King and the California Civil War (pt. 2)”
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Pingback from Timecapsule podcast — San Francisco, October 20-26 » Sparkletack - the San Francisco History Podcast
October 20, 2008 at 1:01 am[…] A more significant telegram, and the one that actually made history, was sent later that day — assuring president Abraham Lincoln that California was loyal to the Union. […]
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Pingback from Timecapsule podcast: San Francisco, October 27-November 2 » Sparkletack - the San Francisco History Podcast
October 27, 2008 at 7:51 am[…] and a half telling Starr King’s Civil War-era story in a pair of podcasts (numbers 59 and 60), I don’t need to dwell on his years of tireless devotion to the pro-Union cause. I will […]
April 27, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Perfect timing for the end of a Friday! Glad to hear another episode is up and great job!
By the way, congrats on the interview.
Cheers
April 29, 2007 at 10:27 pm
Great episode, keep em coming….
Hopefully you wont mind if I ask an unrelated question.
Do you have any idea why your feed reloads in bloglines almost every day ? It isnt the end of the world but is kinda annoying.
April 30, 2007 at 9:27 am
Hi Miles,
What a pain! I’m not sure why that would be. I did have a bit of site-related trouble over the weekend, but it sounds like you’re experiencing an ongoing thing. Thanks for letting me know, and I will look into it.
Anybody else having similar issues?
July 18, 2007 at 4:40 pm
Thanks Richard for another enlightening story. I’d never heard of Starr King before and it seems he influenced more for California and the U.S. in his time than Reagan ever did in ours (referring to the current issue you mentioned in Washington DC).
I’ve passed by that church on O’Farrell and Franklin many times in my car and wondered about it but never once stopped. Now I know I will.
February 6, 2011 at 7:15 pm
Hello Richard, I was a late bloomer to your podcasts, finding them in early 2010 but have since listened to them all at least twice each, Just curious if you miss doing them as much as fans miss listening. And how do you compare your Oregon Soujourn to your true love San Fran? Whatever youre doing we wish you continued success.
November 18, 2011 at 2:58 pm
Do you have a photo of the plaque at the base of the Thomas Starr King statue? It has been stolen and we need a picture of it to give to the police.
Thanks, Sonnie
November 27, 2011 at 12:16 pm
@ Aloy: I do miss doing them, but my life has changed to the point that it’s just not possible. And I absolutely love living in Portland – thanks for asking. :)
@ Sonnie: I don’t have a close-up photo of the plaque, but it is visible in this shot. Hope that helps!
July 5, 2012 at 9:52 am
what a great lesson!
July 10, 2012 at 2:05 pm
Is there a picture of the original Star King Church which was located on Stocton Street in about 1852 – I believe the AME Zion Church purchased the building and it was subsequently destroyed in the earthquake of 1906. Any information you may have on this church is appreciated