California's history dates back many years and has evolved in many ways. California is a well-populated state that, being multicultural but also rich in various resources, attracts the masses. There was plenty of room for capital, job opportunities, and land expansion, and Californians made sure to take full advantage of it. The unlimited freedom enacted by California has allowed for many opportunities that have flourished or failed, but tons of people have continued to flock to the state regardless of the outcome even today. I will discuss in depth the five most important events that took place in California history: the Bear Flag Riot, the Gold Rush, railroads, agriculture, and transportation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The Bear Flag Riot (June 1846), which led to California's independence from Mexico, was the result of a number of factors. These include the detachment of Texas from Mexico in 1836 following the arrival of American immigrants. In 1845, when it was annexed by the United States, Texas became part of the United States after nearly nine years as an independent nation. Mexican officials in California, including General Vallejo, governor of Northern California, predicted that the same thing would happen in California when the Americans began to reach the West. Congress failed to establish clear policies for the administration or financial support of the territories, leaving them in a state of confusion and misery. 'Consequently, one of these territories, California, during the quarter century following Mexican independence in 1821, underwent many changes as different peoples struggled to gain control of the region, politically and economically. Different groups of Californians of the time, Spanish-speaking Catholics, immigrants, the Mexican government in California, and finally Americans, would cause conflict. By the mid-1830s, Mexicans outnumbered Americans in Texas by about ten to one. Mexico sent reinforcements in 1835 to take control of Texas, resulting in several conflicts including the Alamo. American forces referring to Americans who had gone to Texas to settle in April 1836, which was not the United States Army, nor were they approved by the United States government, defeated the Mexican general Santa Ana and forced him to relocate in Texas. This created an independent nation, the Lone Star Republic, until it became a state in 1845. Then there was a border dispute on the southern Texas border between the United States and Mexico. It was still the Nueces River, but the United States insisted it was the Rio Grande River. This would be one of the sparks that led to the war between Mexico and the United States. Polk and the expansionists also wanted California (this is pre-gold) for its ports. In addition to California and the New Mexico Territory, the United States has offered $32 million to resolve the border dispute with Texas. Despite Mexico's decline, during the Mexican-American War, the two countries went to war in 1846 (Rice, p.). The discovery of gold in California on January 24, 1848, led to the famous Gold Rush of Forty-Nine the following year, and in 1850 California was admitted to the Union as the 31st state. So many important events have occurred throughout California's history that I will talk about a few of them. The extraordinary adventure and fortune drama that forever fixed the state's reputation as a land of dreams. California, however, softensand pluralizes the symbolism, moving away from images of harsh men in a harsh land, presenting itself as gentle and therapeutic. The Gold Rush accelerated California's development and compressed its history. Hundreds of thousands of Argonauts flooded the region, instantly providing a predominantly American population permeated by both the desire for wealth and a sense of entitlement known as "manifest destiny." In just over a year, the newcomers bypassed the nation's traditional territorial period to make California the 31st state. Mining has radically transformed the economy: the manufacturing sector provides tools and other essentials; financial institutions to manage expected wealth; commercial and transportation facilities to distribute money and goods; and agriculture to feed a hungry population. The pull of the mines created a unique and diverse population that quickly turned the early Indian and California settlers into minorities. Meanwhile, the Gold Rush revealed one of the ugliest aspects of the American psyche, a sense of racial and cultural domination that often resulted in racist words and just as often acts of violence. The speed of events has taken a heavy toll on immigrants' traditions, including their legal and judicial institutions. Energetic gold diggers exploited mercilessly. The secret to all this was the immediate growth of the region, the true prosperity that California achieved in the gold rush years. Around 1848-1853, a quarter of a million immigrants poured into California, eliminating all but existing residents. In 1848, as far as the fur and tallow trade was concerned, California had been a sleepy port of call. Two years later, with one hundred thousand new residents and one of the busiest ports in the world, California became the youngest state in the United States, the only one west of Missouri. This was just the beginning. This immediate state also asserted a sophisticated economy based not only on mining but on a dynamic urban sector that eventually provided financial and commercial services to jump-start the growth of the rest of the West. And it also started with political force: Congress would discuss building a transcontinental railroad within ten years (Gregory). Railroads became America's largest industry. Railroads were the nation's first big business (Rice). New forms of banking, management, labor relations, trade and government regulation'. Railways could be built almost anywhere, used year-round (as opposed to canals which froze in winter), and carried more goods than any form of transportation. They were critical to America's industrial growth, impacting many other industries. With the discovery of gold in California a more efficient way to transport people and goods to California and the gold east was needed. This gave rise to the idea of creating a transcontinental railroad, resulting in an amazing engineering marvel. The U.S. Congress was torn between a southern or northern route to build the railroad to California. The North would control Congress with the start of the Civil War in 1861, the session of the Southern states, and the departure of most of their representatives in Congress. Congress passed in 1862 and President Lincoln signed the revised Pacific Railroad Act under the Pacific Railroad Act of 1864 which authorized a northern transcontinental railroad. Two railroads built the railroad; California's Central Pacific Railroad using Chinese workers moving eastward and the Union Pacific Railroad using Irish workers heading west fromNebraska. In 1869 they met in Utah. The two railways had to finish the railway in one race. They would be compensated based on each mile of track laid, so it was one mile less than the other railroad would be per day for each track laid. The visionary was the young engineer Theodore Judah. As expected, raising money was his most difficult problem. He tried several ways and failed. Ultimately he would be interested in what will be the Big Four. Stanford, a businessman with railroad training, Hopkins/real estate, Crocker/banker and Huntington. Stanford had a lot of influence (and would become a U.S. Senator) over California politics. In passing laws to benefit the Central Pacific, this was important. Part of the rail payment would be on land; for the sake of the railroad, Hopkins was a real estate agent so he could use his expertise and contacts to make the most of the property. Crocker was capable of managing money as a businessman, and Huntington had experience with the railroad. Before the railroad was completed, Judah would die. The Big Four, all from wealthy families and earning their own money, borrowed everything to build the railroad. Using the cut-throat tactic, they became fabulously wealthy and profited from their later influence on Western railroads. Unlike their predecessors, Carnegie and Rockefeller, their enormous wealth and business practices made them very famous. The Central Pacific Railroad would cross the Sierra mountain range, using largely Chinese labor. Winter snows were an annual obstacle. In May 1869, at Promontory, Utah, the Central and Union Pacific railroads met, connecting the country by rail. With the Southern Pacific Railroad, the Big Four would consolidate their control over rail traffic in California. Cities would compete for lines that would connect to markets that would lead to the development of many of the state's current cities. The rivalry between San Diego and Los Angeles was of particular importance. Los Angeles sparked the city's explosive growth, but it also slowed San Diego's growth for decades. Although shipping would continue to be a major source of freight, the state's growth would be dominated by gold and railroads. California became the nation's leading example of industrialized agriculture, and the new business structure of the 1920s was particularly evident. In 1930, the traditional family farm was replaced by “field factories.” The state's agriculture was dominated by large farmers, manufacturers, shippers, and bankers. Closely linked to the scientific community through the College of Agriculture of the University of California, through the powerful California Farm Bureau Federation, formed in 1919, they exercised their political strength (Rice, 2017). Land ownership became increasingly concentrated; in the 1930s only 4% of state-owned companies controlled 62% of all agricultural land. Agriculture had become agribusiness in California. With the formation of the Kern County Land Company in 1903, which took over 350,000 acres of Kern County land from James Ben Ali Haggin and his associates, the agricultural giant grew. Built on one of the largest and most successful farms in the world. In the 1920s, Miller and Lux, the Newhall Land and Farming Company, the Irvine Company, and the California Standard Oil Company also operated agricultural businesses, among many others. (Rice, 2017). California agriculture has been dominated for decades by the citrus industry, but a growing fruit and vegetable market.
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