Talk:California Republic/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Magic♪piano 03:06, 23 December 2010 (UTC)

I find that this article quick-fails, for several reasons:

Sourcing

• the article is inadequately cited (tags were added after its nomination to point out some places where citation is obviously inadequate)
• sources claimed to be used disagree with the article content on at least one point: the reason for Frémont's presence in California. Harlow, for example, describes his mission in somewhat different terms.
• Since the listed sources are never used in citation, it is impossible to assess how they were used.
• Bancroft is, unfortunately, a somewhat difficult source. According to Hubert Howe Bancroft, it is difficult to assess which of the writings attributed to him are reliable and which are not; I would consequently prefer the use of more recent sources.
• Citations that refer to books are lacking page numbers.
• A brief series of searches in Google Books reveals more sources that could be used to expand this article, including works like this one

Content

• The article is lacking in adequate background. Why were there Americans in California to begin with? What motivated them to be anti-Spanish?
• The context of Mexican-American relations and the incipient war is sketchy, and should be consolidated and expanded at the start of the article.
• I would expect a more expansive account of the republic's brief existence, including more detailed accounts of the Spanish response to Ide's proclamation and Frémont's assertion of US authority.
• The content of the proclamation should be on Wikisource, not here; its meaning should be discussed here.

-- Magic♪piano 15:56, 23 December 2010 (UTC)

aTrue the articlle could be larger, but it stands on its own. Add references if you want.Slx03 (talk) 21:29, 4 November 2011 (UTC)