John McDougal

John McDougal
2nd Governor of California
In office
January 9, 1851 – January 8, 1852
LieutenantDavid C. Broderick (acting)
Preceded byPeter H. Burnett
Succeeded byJohn Bigler
1st Lieutenant Governor of California
In office
December 20, 1849 – January 9, 1851
GovernorPeter H. Burnett
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byDavid C. Broderick
Personal details
Bornc. 1818 (1818)
Union, Ohio, U.S.
Died (aged 47–48)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
PartyIndependent Democrat
SpouseJane McDougal
Children5

John McDougal[1] (c. 1818 – March 30, 1866) was an American politician who served as the second governor of California from January 9, 1851, until January 8, 1852. Prior to this, he served from 1849 to 1851 as the first lieutenant governor of California.

Born to a political family in Ohio, McDougal migrated to California in 1849 aboard the S.S. California after serving in the Mexican–American War. After participating in the California Gold Rush, McDougal entered early California politics as an attendee of the 1849 constitutional convention in Monterey. Elected lieutenant governor in 1849, he succeeded to the governorship following the early resignation of Peter Hardeman Burnett.

As governor, McDougal presided over the creation of the Mariposa Battalion, a state militia unit that killed over 40 Indigenous Californians during the California Indian Wars. McDougal signed legislation to move the state capital from San Jose to Vallejo in Solano County. After failing to secure the nomination of the California Democratic Party in the 1852 election, McDougal left office and never served in a political capacity for the rest of his life.

Biography

McDougal was born in Union, Ohio ca. 1818 to John McDougall, an Ohio state representative from 1813 to 1815,[2] and Margaret Stockton.[3] The family produced four other sons: William Creighton McDougall, married to abolitionist Frances Harriet Whipple Green McDougall;[4] Dr. Charles McDougall, also known as Charles Dougall, surgeon in the U.S. Army;[5] Admiral David McDougal, commander of USS Wyoming during the Battle of Shimonoseki;[6] and George P. McDougal, California and Colorado pioneer.[4] The family later moved to Indianapolis.

In 1846 McDougal joined the Indiana Volunteer Infantry as a lieutenant in the 1st Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment and served in the Mexican–American War. He was soon elected as captain of Company H.[7] He later re-enlisted in the 5th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

In 1848, after the Mexican–American War, McDougal moved to California, arriving in 1849 aboard S.S. California with his wife Jane and their daughter Sue.[8] He worked as a miner and then a merchant during the gold rush. Shortly after his arrival, he entered into the new territory's politics, attending the first constitutional convention in Monterey in 1849. McDougal was one of the original signers of the Constitution of California. During the convention, McDougal was nominated for lieutenant governor, whereupon he remarked, "I reckon I'll take that. I don't believe anyone else will have it."[9] After defeating five other contenders for the office, McDougal was sworn in as the state's first lieutenant governor in December 1849, along with Peter Burnett as the state's first governor.

Governorship

Due to widespread discontent with his administration by the California State Legislature and press, Burnett resigned from the governorship in early January 1851. McDougal assumed the post on January 9.[10] He had limited prior experience in elected office. In one of his first acts, McDougal signed legislation sponsored by state senator and former Mexican general Mariano Vallejo on February 4 to move the capitol from San Jose to Vallejo.[11] The legislature convened in Vallejo in January 1852 but found no usable capitol had been built; after twelve days it relocated to Sacramento for the remainder of the session, and the capital ultimately moved to Benicia in 1853 before settling permanently in Sacramento in 1854.[12]

In the first weeks of his governorship, McDougal was pressured by miners and residents in Mariposa County to intervene in a growing conflict later known as the Mariposa War, with the local Miwok, Chowchilla, and Yokuts tribes opposing encroachment on their land.[13] In late January, he authorized the creation of the 200-man Mariposa Battalion, a state militia unit, to tackle natives he believed were in open rebellion against the state government. In the ensuing conflict, which left an unknown number of Indigenous people and several militiamen dead,[13] the Mariposa Battalion became the first documented non-indigenous people to enter Yosemite Valley, reaching it around March 21, 1851.[14]

While McDougal continued the Burnett administration's policies of violent action against California Native Americans and support for exclusion laws barring African Americans from the state, he favored Chinese immigration as a source of agricultural labor, declaring in his January 7, 1852, address to the State Legislature that the Chinese "were one of the most worthy classes of our newly adopted citizens, to whom the climate and the character of California were peculiarly suited."[15][16] His successor, Governor John Bigler, reversed this position within months, calling on the legislature in April 1852 to restrict Chinese immigration.

McDougal's popularity peaked in the early days of his administration. Known for his earthy personality, McDougal's demeanor connected well with Sierra Nevada miners and Mexican–American War veterans. However, recurring drinking, gambling with assembly and senate members, and frequent quarrels over minor bureaucratic matters hurt his political career.[17] McDougal's political mannerisms were also a source of popular amusement. McDougal issued so many proclamations beginning, "I, John McDougal," that the governor was soon known throughout the state as "I John".

Towards the end of 1851, McDougal quarreled with the growing vigilante movement in San Francisco. In a gubernatorial proclamation, he openly condemned the movement's lynching of two criminals that year, citing its complete disregard of the city's municipal authorities.[17] State law enforcement was still in its infancy, however, and his proclamation was ignored. Bureaucratic frustration with San Francisco's vigilante movement returned during the administration of Governor J. Neely Johnson five years later.

During the 1851 state general elections, the Democratic Party refused to renominate McDougal as the party's choice for governor. Instead, state Democrats nominated Assembly Speaker John Bigler as their party's nominee.

Post-political career

McDougal left office on January 8, 1852, after completing the single two-year term left vacant by previous Governor Burnett. At the time, California governors served two-year terms, a limit that did not change until the governorship of Leland Stanford in the early 1860s. Just four days after leaving the state's highest office, McDougal was involved in a pistol duel with A.C. Russell, editor of The San Francisco Picayune. Russell's hand was injured in the duel. After attempting to start yet another duel with another individual who had insulted the ex-governor, McDougal was arrested by the San Francisco police. As governor, McDougal had opposed state legislation that would have outlawed dueling, remarking duelers were not fit to live and would eventually kill each other off.[9]

Never taken as a serious political candidate again, McDougal fell out of public view after 1852. The former governor increasingly turned to alcohol as he sank into depression. According to some accounts, McDougal attempted suicide on several occasions.[18] McDougal died of apoplexy in San Francisco on March 30, 1866, at approximately 48 years of age.[19] Along with J. Neely Johnson, he is one of the youngest California governors to die after leaving office. He was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in San Francisco, sharing a plot with his brother David McDougal. When San Francisco ordered the closure of its cemeteries and the removal of remains between 1939 and 1941, his remains were transferred to the Laurel Hill Mound at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, California, dedicated in 1954.

John Eldredge was cast as Governor McDougal in "The Blonde King," a 1959 episode of the syndicated anthology series Death Valley Days, hosted by Stanley Andrews. In the storyline, James D. Savage (Lane Bradford) has made many friends among Indians of the Yosemite region. When John Trask (Brad Johnson) threatens to disrupt the peace, Savage must stop him. Robert Brubaker played Major Warren.[20]

References

  1. ↑ "The Governors' Gallery". California State Library. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  2. ↑ Ohio General Assembly (1917). Legislative Manual of the State of Ohio. p. 258.
  3. ↑ Johnson, Rossiter; Brown, John Howard (1904). The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Vol. II. Boston: Biographical Society. OCLC 600014896. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  4. 1 2 O'Dowd, Sarah C. (2004). A Rhode Island Original: Frances Harriet Whipple Green McDougall. University Press of New England. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Historical Databases". Ruth Lilly Medical Library. Indiana University School of Medicine. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Naval Movements.; PROGRESS OF LOCAL MEN OF WAR. Published: April 30, 1864". New York Times. April 30, 1864. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  7. ↑ Holloway, William Robeson (1870). Indianapolis: A Historical and Statistical Sketch of the Railroad City. Indianapolis Journal Print.
  8. ↑ Myres, Sandra L. (1980). Ho for California! Women's Overland Diaries from the Huntington Library. Huntington Library Press. ISBN 0873280482.
  9. 1 2 California State Library. "Governor John McDougall of California". State of California. Archived from the original on April 21, 2007. Retrieved May 9, 2007.
  10. ↑ Bandini, Helen Elliott (1908). History of California. American Book Company. p. 292. ISBN 978-1-4219-2750-3. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  11. ↑ California's State Capitols (PDF) (Report) (2nd ed.). California State Assembly, Office of the Chief Clerk. May 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2007. Retrieved May 9, 2007.
  12. ↑ "Previous Capitals of California". California State Library. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  13. 1 2 Smith, David A. "California and the Indian Wars: The Mariposa War". The California State Military Museum Foundation. Retrieved May 9, 2007.
  14. ↑ Bunnell, Lafayette H. (1892). Discovery of the Yosemite, and the Indian War of 1851 Which Led to That Event. New York: Fleming H. Revell.
  15. ↑ Barth, Gunther Paul (1964). Bitter Strength: A History of the Chinese in the United States, 1850–1870. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. OCLC 242460.
  16. ↑ "Governor John McDougal's State of the State Address, January 7, 1852". California State Library. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  17. 1 2 Grenier, Judson A. (2003). "'Officialdom': California State Government, 1849–1879". California History. 89 (part 3): 137–168. doi:10.2307/25161703. JSTOR 25161703. OCLC 108243065.
  18. ↑ Hittell, Theodore H. (1898) [1885]. History of California. Vol. IV. N. J. Stone. pp. 87–88.
  19. ↑ "John McDougal". California State Library, Governors of California. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  20. ↑ "The Blonde King on Death Valley Days". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
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