California adopted the common law by statute in 1850 over civil-law objections

Evidence

California was not so close a case. The gold rush brought a cataclysmic inflow of population. The new residents were mostly Americans, all totally ignorant of civil law. Spanish-​Mexican law had its spokesmen—​members of the existing San Francisco bar vigorously defended it; but the majority, with far more influence, felt otherwise. The “Common Law of England” (insofar as not “repugnant” to the U.S. Constitution and the laws and constitution of California) was formally adopted in 1850 as the “rule of decision in all the Courts of this State.” — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 2128

Categorization

• XREF: Reinforces the ch22 claim that American officials deliberately replaced civil law with common law in Missouri; California extends the same pattern to the Pacific coast. — connects to: American courts adopted only the English common law applicable to local conditions — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process: Basic Problems in…, 972