Peter H. Burnett

The Letters of Peter H. Burnett: Realism and the Roots of California

The work will appeal to history enthusiasts and to a broad audience for information about 'manifest destiny' and the roots of modern California. If a reader's background rests on the general literature there may be many surprises. For example, the initiative to bring Federal peace and a measure of justice to the warring Indians came from Burnett. Burnett was raised in a family with slaves but he was one of the earliest to call for an end to the 'peculiar institution,' and his Archy decision essentially reversed California's slide to being a de facto slave state.