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California History
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, California
was inhabited by many distinct
groups of Native Americans.
The Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo reached
San Diego Bay in 1542,
and claimed the area for
Spain. From 1565, Spanish traders are known to have
made visits to the area, and the English explorer, Sir Francis Drake visited the region in 1579.
Spain began to colonize the territory beginning in 1769, with the establishment
of fortresses (presidios) and missions.
When
Mexico became independent from Spain as a result of
the Mexican War of Independence (1810 to 1821), the territory became part
of Mexico.
Following a brief revolt by US settlers (the Bear Revolt - from which California
gets its
flag) in 1846, California first became
an independent republic, and then soon after was annexed by the United States.
In 1849, gold was discovered in the region, a huge number of immigrants
arrived. California was admitted as the 31st state of the Union on
September 9th,
1850. Following the establishment of transcontinental railroads and highways,
migration to California continued and accelerated,
a pattern that has to the present day, making the state into the most populous in the Union.
California played a relatively minor role
in the American Civil War (1861 to 1865). While it is true that the state was home
to some Confederate sympathizers, they were not allowed to organize and their newspapers
were closed, and hence the state remained peaceful. The main involvement of California
during the war, was that California Column, a force of 2,000 Union volunteers who marched
across
New Mexico and
Arizona (at that time both part of the New Mexico Territory)
into western Texas, engaged in some skirmishes with the Confederates,
and spent most of the war fighting Apaches.
In the 20th century, California continued to grow both in
population and economic important. When oil was discovered in southern
California it was, for a time, the most important industry in the state.
California also became an important center of movie-making and
the entertainment industry more generally. During World War II, the state produced massive amounts of
armaments for the Allied war effort. In more recent years, California
became a key location in the new computer and high technology industries.
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By Kevin Starr
Starr, Kevin
Released: 2007-03-13
Paperback (416 pages)
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California has always been our Shangri-la–the promised land of countless pilgrims in search of the American Dream. Now the Golden State’s premier historian, Kevin Starr, distills the entire sweep of California’s history into one splendid volume. From the age of exploration to the age of Arnold, this is the story of a place at once quintessentially American and utterly unique.
Arguing that America’s most populous state has always been blessed with both spectacular natural beauty and astonishing human diversity, Starr unfolds a rapid-fire epic of discovery, innovation, catastrophe, and triumph.
For generations, California’s native peoples basked in the abundance of a climate and topography eminently suited to human habitation. By the time the Spanish arrived in the early sixteenth century, there were scores of autonomous tribes were thriving in the region. Though conquest was rapid, nearly two centuries passed before Spain exerted control over upper California through the chain of missions that stand to this day.
The discovery of gold in January 1848 changed everything. With population increasing exponentially as get-rich-quick dreamers converged from all over the world, California reinvented itself overnight. Starr deftly traces the successive waves of innovation and calamity that have broken over the state since then–the incredible wealth of the Big Four railroad tycoons and the devastating San Francisco earthquake of 1906; the emergence of Hollywood as the world’s entertainment capital and of Silicon Valley as the center of high-tech research and development; the heroic irrigation and transportation projects that have altered the face of the region; the role of labor, both organized and migrant, in key industries from agriculture to aerospace.
Kevin Starr has devoted his career to the history of his beloved state, but he has never lost his sense of wonder over California’s sheer abundance and peerless variety. This one-volume distillation of a lifetime’s work gathers together everything that is most important, most fascinating, and most revealing about our greatest state.
From the Hardcover edition. |
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By Ronald Genini
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Paperback (626 pages)
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With its borders spanning almost the entire western coast of the United States and its size dominating most other states in the country, it’s no wonder California has long fascinated pioneers and scholars alike. With such a long history, it could feel overwhelming to try to gain a comprehensive understanding of the state’s full history—until now. California: On the Edge of American History is a stunning survey of a state many people call home, yet few truly understand. Based on masterly historical research, this is a book that immerses you in the full evolution of one of the country’s most electrifying places. This book approaches some of the most important parts of California’s story with honesty, compassion, and rigorous research. Whether you hope to gain more insight into the native tribes of the state, the Mexican War of Independence, the Donner Party, or what life was like during World War II, California: On the Edge of American History fearlessly exposes every light moment and every dark shadow with astute vision. A place of innovation, cultural immersion, and geographical beauty, California has stories hiding in every shadow of her landscape. With this book, you can learn them all. |
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By Benjamin Madley
YALE
Paperback (712 pages)
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The first full account of the government-sanctioned genocide of California Indians under United States rule
Between 1846 and 1873, California’s Indian population plunged from perhaps 150,000 to 30,000. Benjamin Madley is the first historian to uncover the full extent of the slaughter, the involvement of state and federal officials, the taxpayer dollars that supported the violence, indigenous resistance, who did the killing, and why the killings ended. This deeply researched book is a comprehensive and chilling history of an American genocide.
Madley describes pre-contact California and precursors to the genocide before explaining how the Gold Rush stirred vigilante violence against California Indians. He narrates the rise of a state-sanctioned killing machine and the broad societal, judicial, and political support for genocide. Many participated: vigilantes, volunteer state militiamen, U.S. Army soldiers, U.S. congressmen, California governors, and others. The state and federal governments spent at least $1,700,000 on campaigns against California Indians. Besides evaluating government officials’ culpability, Madley considers why the slaughter constituted genocide and how other possible genocides within and beyond the Americas might be investigated using the methods presented in this groundbreaking book. |
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By James J Rawls Instructor of History
McGraw-Hill Education
Paperback (576 pages)
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Now in its tenth edition, this best-selling text continues to provide an up-to-date survey of California history and offers original interpretations of the major challenges faced by the nation’s most populous and economically powerful state. |
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By H. W. Brands
Anchor
Released: 2003-10-14
Paperback (592 pages)
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Click Here | - Paperback with scene of pioneers and hills. 4x 10 inces
Product Description:
The California Gold Rush inspired a new American dream—the “dream of instant wealth, won by audacity and good luck.” The discovery of gold on the American River in 1848 triggered the most astonishing mass movement of peoples since the Crusades. It drew fortune-seekers from the ends of the earth, accelerated America’s imperial expansion, and exacerbated the tensions that exploded in the Civil War.
H.W. Brands tells his epic story from multiple perspectives: of adventurers John and Jessie Fremont, entrepreneur Leland Stanford, and the wry observer Samuel Clemens—side by side with prospectors, soldiers, and scoundrels. He imparts a visceral sense of the distances they traveled, the suffering they endured, and the fortunes they made and lost. Impressive in its scholarship and overflowing with life, The Age of Gold is history in the grand traditions of Stephen Ambrose and David McCullough. |
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By Andrew Rolle
Wiley-Blackwell
Paperback (456 pages)
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The eighth edition of California: A History covers theentire scope of the history of the Golden State, from before firstcontact with Europeans through the present; anaccessible and compelling narrative that comprises thestories of the many diverse peoples who have called, and currentlydo call, California home. - Explores the latest developments relating to California’simmigration, energy, environment, and transportation concerns
- Features concise chapters and a narrative approach along withnumerous maps, photographs, and new graphic features to facilitatestudent comprehension
- Offers illuminating insights into the significant events andpeople that shaped the lengthy and complex history of a state thathas become synonymous with the American dream
- Includes discussion of recent – and uniquely Californian– social trends connecting Hollywood, social media, andSilicon Valley – and most recently "Silicon Beach"
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By Derek Hayes
University of California Press
Hardcover (256 pages)
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Using nearly five hundred historical maps and many other illustrations―from rough sketches drawn in the field to commercial maps to beautifully rendered works of art―this lavishly illustrated volume is the first to tell the story of California's past from a unique visual perspective. Covering five hundred years of history, it offers a compelling and informative look at the transformation of the state from before European contact through the Gold Rush and up to the present. The maps are accompanied by a concise, engaging narrative and by extended captions that elucidate the stories and personalities behind their creation. At once a valuable reference and an exhilarating adventure through history, the Historical Atlas of California, featuring many rare and unusual maps, will be a treasured addition to any library. Distilling an enormous amount of information into one volume, it presents a fascinating chronicle of how California came to be what it is today.
Copub: Douglas & McIntyre |
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By Katy S. Duffield
Chicago Review Press
Paperback (144 pages)
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The story of California is the story of dreamers—explorers, gold miners, immigrants, ranchers, moviemakers, farmers, and everyday Americans who headed west for a fresh start. The first native inhabitants arrived 9,000 years ago, ancestors of the tribes who would greet the Spanish in the 1700s. Father Junípero Serra later established a chain of missions along the coast, expanding European and Mexican influence. But when gold was discovered in 1848, the rush was on, and two short years later California became a state. After the gold ran out, other rushes followed, from agriculture to industry, Hollywood to Silicon Valley. California History for Kids includes a time line of significant events, a list of historic sites to visit or explore online, and Web resources for further study. And to get a better idea of the scope of California history and the lives of its citizens, readers can: * create a Chumash rock painting * play the Miwok Hoop-and-Pole game * bake and eat hardtack like a gold miner * design a cattle brand * decode a railroad cipher * immortalize their handprints in plaster * assemble an earthquake preparedness kit * and more Author Katy Duffield tells the rich story of the men and women who, despite challenges and occasional hardships, settled and built the vibrant cities and bountiful farms, ranches, and orchards of the Golden State. |
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By Jared Farmer
W. W. Norton & Company
Released: 2013-10-28
Hardcover (592 pages)
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From roots to canopy, a lush, verdant history of the making of California.
California now has more trees than at any time since the late Pleistocene. This green landscape, however, is not the work of nature. It's the work of history.
In the years after the Gold Rush, American settlers remade the California landscape, harnessing nature to their vision of the good life. Horticulturists, boosters, and civic reformers began to "improve" the bare, brown countryside, planting millions of trees to create groves, wooded suburbs, and landscaped cities. They imported the blue-green eucalypts whose tangy fragrance was thought to cure malaria. They built the lucrative "Orange Empire" on the sweet juice and thick skin of the Washington navel, an industrial fruit. They lined their streets with graceful palms to announce that they were not in the Midwest anymore.
To the north the majestic coastal redwoods inspired awe and invited exploitation. A resource in the state, the durable heartwood of these timeless giants became infrastructure, transformed by the saw teeth of American enterprise. By 1900 timber firms owned the entire redwood forest; by 1950 they had clear-cut almost all of the old-growth trees.
In time California's new landscape proved to be no paradise: the eucalypts in the Berkeley hills exploded in fire; the orange groves near Riverside froze on cold nights; Los Angeles's palms harbored rats and dropped heavy fronds on the streets below. Disease, infestation, and development all spelled decline for these nonnative evergreens. In the north, however, a new forest of second-growth redwood took root, nurtured by protective laws and sustainable harvesting. Today there are more California redwoods than there were a century ago.
Rich in character and story, Trees in Paradise is a dazzling narrative that offers an insightful, new perspective on the history of the Golden State and the American West.
32 pages of illustrations. |
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By Thomas J. Osborne
Wiley-Blackwell
Paperback (434 pages)
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Osborne's work is the first history text to explore the sweep of California's past in relationship to its connections within the maritime world of the Pacific Basin.- Presents a provocative and original interpretation of the entire span of California history
- Reveals how the area's Pacific Basin connections have shaped the Golden State's past
- Refutes the widely held notion among historians that California was isolated before the onset of the American period in the mid-1800s
- Represents the first text to draw on anthropologist Jon Erlandson's findings that California's first human inhabitants were likely prehistoric Asian seafarers who navigated the Pacific Rim coastline
- Includes instructor resources in an online companion site: www.wiley.com/go/osborne
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