California Constitution

1 . In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ending the Mexican-American War what did the United States promise about Mexican citizens held captive "by any savage tribe (Indians ) with the limits of the United States

As soon as the United States government is notified that there are Mexicans being held captive by Indians on their territory , the United States promises to rescue these captives and bring them home , or hand them over to an official representative of the Mexican government (Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Article XI ?3

How did the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo define

the boundary between Upper California (our state ) and Lower California (Mexican territory ) at the end of the war

The boundary that separates the Upper and Lower California is defined in the treaty as a straight line that begins in the center of Rio Gila where it connects with the Colorado River . That line ends at a point on the coast of the Pacific Ocean , distant one marine league due south of the southernmost point of the port of San Diego (Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Article V ?2

3 . Did the United States have the right to use the Gulf of California and the Colorado River to reach U .S . territory , even though that meant going through Mexican territory ? Cite the article in which the Treaty discusses this point

The United States has the right to access the Gulf of California and the Colorado River as long as it is not by land . According to the treaty , the vessels and citizens of the United States shall , in all time , have a free and uninterrupted passage by the Gulf of California and by the river Colorado below its confluence with the Gila , to and from their possessions situated north of the boundary line defined in the preceding article it being understood that this passage is to be by navigating the Gulf of California and the river Colorado , and not by land , without the express consent of the Mexican Government (Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Article VI ?2

4 .How many members of the U .S . House of Representatives were allotted to California in the 1850 "Act for the Admission of California to the Union

According to the 1850 Act for the Admission of California to the Union the state of California was assigned to have two representatives in Congress ( Compromise of 1850

5 .What is an initiative and how does it become law

The initiative is the power of the electors to propose statutes and amendments to the Constitution and to adopt or reject them (California Constitution Article 2 Section 8a . The initiative measure is proposed through the presentation of a petition to the Secretary of State . That petition should include the signatures of the electors . If a statute is being proposed , the signatures should be equal to five percent . If an amendment is being proposed , the number of signatures should be equal to eight percent . These percentages refer to number of votes for all gubernatorial candidates in the...