Theme 7. californiappoint 141
- 1. Theme 7. California Patricia Bigler History 141
- 2. Chapter 4-The establishment of an American State February 28, 1848 U.S and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo California as an American territory would have remained part of the federal government, but congress did not want to grant California territorial status. Northern states wanted California to be free of slavery while southern states wanted at least part of California to be open to slavery. Unable to come to a compromise there were no territorial provisions made by congress—so the military provided civil administration and Mexican California provided a workable system of local law under its “Alcade” system of governance.
- 3. The establishment of an American State (cont) Alcade law was based more on military rather than on a separation of powers—it functioned as judge, jury, and chief executive in the community.
- 4. Chapter 4 (continued) California was not highly developed, but with the arrival of several entrepreneurs Ca had a chance to be a “…forward looking, money making, American place.” Vallejo, Larkin, Sutter, Charles weber, Samuel Branson, William Leidesdorff were just a few of the entrepreneurs. Samuel Branan-was a mormon elder who helped develp a flour mill, The California Star newspaper, and a hardware business. 224 Mormon immigrants arrived in Ca on July 31,1846. This contributed greatley to manuel skills and social solidarity. James William Marshall- Discovered gold on January 24,1848 while inspecting the mines. The start of the Gold Rush started shortly after. A lot of employees abandoned their jobs to search for gold. President Polk announced the gold rush as official in 1849. Within the next two years Native American population grew tremendously. The Gold rush brought a mass migration of mostly younger men from all parts of the world hoping to strike it rich.
- 5. Chapter 5. Regulation,Railroad and Revolution California reinvented itself through politics, law, institution, building, urbanization, agriculture and the construction of the trans-Sierra railroad.
- 6. Land grants and disputes (ch.5) Land grants were questioned and in August 1850 riots broke out. There was confusion on who owned land and disputes over land grant titles from the Spanish and Mexican eras. It took about two decades for each landowner to argue his claim before the fedral district court or the Supreme court. The majority of cases were confimed (604 out of 813) but it could take as long as seventeen years for a single case to move through the process. During this time, lawyers made a lot of money and many were paid in land or revenue. Very few of the original grantees had come through the process with all of their land and assets The land owners in California started to doubt the state and whether or not they could survive there. The constitution had begun to be drafted but a number of people led by Jose Antonio Carrillo, wanted a separate territory (an area south of San Luis Obispo). Southerners in the Senate argued to form a separate territory and bills to divide the state were introduced in 1851, 1852, 1853, 1855, 1858, 1859. California was seperated into four distinct areas: the Central Valley, the Far North, The Bay area, and southern California.
- 7. Chapter 5 (continued) Religion was not absent, it helped to provide a way for the newly arrived settlers to organize themselves. 1851-Jesuit missionaries founded a college at Mission Santa Clara. 1852-Methoddists opened California Wesleyan College in San Jose 1855-Jesuits opened a second college. 1862- in San Fransisco a state school for the training of teachers was established. 1854 the first cell block at San Quentin was ready for occupancy. Agrigulture employed more people than the gold rush in 1869, and became the leading element of the California economy by 1879 Mid 1860s- the construction of a transcontinental railroad had begun. More than 30,000 miles of track linked the cities of the East and Midwest.
- 8. Chapter 8-Making it Happen Labor through the Great Depression Because California was more diversified with agriculture, industry, entertainment and tourists, the Great Depression came later to California and didn’t hit as hard as other parts of the country. But it did hit California by the early 1930’s and the instability of the agricultural workforce contributed to the social strife.
- 9. Chapter 8 Continued . 1870’s- a nationwide depression destroyed the local economy. San Francisco had many angry unemployed railroad construction workers. General strike of 1901- led to the formation of the Union Labor Party in San Francisco. October 1, 1910 the headquarters of the Times was bombed, killing 20 employees and injuring 17. A private detective was hired by Mayor George Alexander who accused three men: Ortie McManigal (a radical), James McNamara, and his brother John. Ultimately they confessed, and served life sentences for their crimes. 1912- San Diego faced a dock strike lead by the Industrial Workers of the World. April 30, 1919- The criminal Syndicalism Act passed, making it a felony to advocate or in any other way to “…promulgate violence as a means of accomplishing a charge in industrial ownership or control or effecting any political changes.”
- 10. Chapter 8 (continued) Californiahad more than 300,000 agricultural workers during the Great Depression. By the middle of 1934 there were 142 workers for every 100 agricultural jobs. Wages dropped by more than 50%. August 1931- the CAWIU organized a strike of more than 2,000 cannery workers in the Santa Clara Valley. Cotton pickers strike of 1933 , became one of the larges single agricultural stikes in the history of the nation. 10,000 strikers across a five hundred mile area. 300 strikers were arrested in October. Local government had cooperation with the growers, and the sheriff even encouraged growers to pour castor oil down the throat of any organizer that came onto their rance. The sheriff off Kern County deputized more than three hundred growers. October 10, 1933 a caravan of 40 armed vigilantes drove into the town Pixley they aproached with weapons drawn. Two strikers were killed and 8 others were wounded. Ended inconclusively. July 5, 1934 “bloody Thursday”- Battle atop Rincon Hill. Two dead, 30 suffered gunshot wounds, and 43 were gassed, clubbed or hit with projectiles. A general strike on July 15, 1934 was the response, which shut down most of the city.