The other posters pretty well covered the question. I just have to correct the Sergeant - California was "the Bear Republic" from late 1848 until September 9, 1850, when the state was admitted to the Union. Californians won their independence from Mexico, too. . . In both California and Texas, this was done largely by "filibusters," people who came from out-of-state, linked up with recent American immigrants to the territory, and then fomented rebellion. There really wasn't much difference between them and that bunch of French mercenaries that tried the same thing on some East African coast island states some years back. But in Texas and California, the attempt to steal the territories from Mexico succeeded - the Frenchmen all went to prison. Legend made heroes of the rebellious people from the two states, but fact is they were not especially heroic - just greedy rabble rousers who got lucky.. . In addition, most of the Southern states that seceded were for brief periods independent sovereign entities until joining the Confederacy - at least in their views. Louisiana was one, for about a month, from later January to late February, 1861.. . As for Texas, it is absolutely a state of mind. An unbalanced one.