Antebellum and Civil War San Francisco: A Western Theater for Northern & Southern Politics

When Americans migrated westward, they took their politics with them, making San Francisco a microcosm of the nation as the Civil War loomed.

Spurred by the promise of gold, hungry adventurers flocked to San Francisco in search of opportunity on the eve of the Civil War. The city flourished and became a magnet for theater. Some of the first buildings constructed in San Francisco were theater houses, and John Wilkes Booth's famous acting family often graced the city's stages. In just two y...