On view in “Life, Liberty, Los Angeles” at The Autry Museum of the American West

The engraving on this box quotes the Roman poet Virgil who celebrated Republican values. The words reflected the importance Pío Pico placed on personal liberty.

The American Revolution inspired wars for independence across the Americas. In 1821, rebels in Mexico won Mexican Independence from Spain. Revolutionary fervor also swept the pueblo of Los Angeles. Born at Mission San Gabriel, Pico descended from the multiracial families that were part of Spain’s colonization of California. In his twenties, Pico left the military to launch a political career. He became a spokesman for the belief that citizens, not the military or the church, created a nation.