INTRODUCTION: The Continental South

As the nation careened toward civil war, a pair of curious tunes rang through the streets and saloons of Los Angeles. “We’ll Hang Abe Lincoln to a Tree” and “We’ll Drive the Bloody Tyrant from Our Dear Native Soil” were not composed in California, but they quickly found favor with the town’s rebellious element in the spring of 1861. Through these songs, white Angelenos taunted the region’s outnumbered Unionist population and gave voice to their deep-seated southern allegiances. Over the coming years, California’s would-be rebels demon-strated their secessionist sympathies through an array of related activi-ties. They paraded Confederate symbols through public