What is "the States?"

The States is the USA

The United States of America.

California reached statehood 09 Sep. 1850.

The image presented is from the chapter/writer(?) Stuyvesant, from the book, The Shirley Letters, from the California Mines, 1851–1852 (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, ...

http://typophile.com/node/52275
The States are referring to the United States. Maybe the writer of that letter did not accept California's entrance into the US. Then again, maybe it was written before the state's entry as the date of the letter isn't cited.

Much appreciated.