September 9 could be a red-letter date on every calendar sold in California.
That’s because it was on this date in 1850 that California became the 31st state of the United States. California’s path to statehood was the fastest. Most states first entered the union as territories, but not California. After being part of the United States for two years, it went directly to statehood, and along the way, it adopted a state constitution with a difference.
