Question

.Once upon a time, before I was a U.S. state, some of my people declared independence from Mexico. They named me the 'Bear Flag Republic.' What state am I?

Answer 1

California. Their Flag shows a bear with a star on the top-left corner, with the words California Republic.

Answer 2

California is your answer.

California, as well as most southern-west US (all the way to Texas) used to be under Mexico's rule, and following the Mexican-American War California was able to gain independence. This led to Californian's voting for and successfully joining the Union as a free state, and became part of the US.

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