PETER BURNETT
1807 - 1895
Peter Burnett was an American politician and the first elected governor of California, serving from December 20, 1849, to January 9, 1851, and the first to resign from office. Burnett's legacy is largely mixed. While regarded as one of the fathers of modern California in the state's early days, his racist attitudes towards blacks, Chinese, and Native Americans have tarnished his name today. Burnett's period in the Oregon Provisional Legislature helped facilitate the exclusion of blacks from the state until 1926.
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