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

By Monika Trobits

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 years, San Francisco's population skyrocketed from eight hundred to thirty thousand, making it an "instant city" where tensions between transplanted Northerners and Southerners built as war threatened the nation. Though seemingly isolated, San Franciscans took their part in the conflict. Some extended the Underground Railroad to their city, while others joined the Confederate-aiding Knights of the Golden Circle. Including a directory of local historic sites and streets, author Monika Trobits chronicles the dramatic and volatile antebellum and Civil War history of the City by the Bay.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Nov 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9781625849601

Monika Trobits

Monika Trobits has lived in San Francisco for more than thirty-five years. She is a New Yorker by birth and a San Franciscan by choice. Monika earned a BA in political science/history from San Francisco State University. In addition to her work in the corporate world, she was a docent for historically based organizations and local tour operators for more than twenty-five years. In 2011, Monika established her own tour company, San Francisco Journeys ,and is the author of Antebellum and Civil War San Francisco.