Description
Book SynopsisThe fully-revised second edition of the bestselling textbookan original interpretation of the entire span of California history
The rich history of California can best be told through its connection with the Pacific Basin. From the geological origins of the land and its earliest seafaring inhabitants, to current economic trade relationships and remarkably diverse cultural influences, the factors that continue to shape the Golden State are inseparably linked to the vast ocean to its west. Pacific Eldorado is a comprehensive exploration of the entire sweep of California's past in relation to the maritime world of the Pacific Basin. Offering a bold and original interpretation of the history of the region, prominent historian Thomas J. Osborne enables readers to view the state's development through a Pacific-focused lens.
Now in its second edition, this acclaimed textbook reflects new scholarship, places greater emphasis on environmental topics,
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations xiii
Foreword xviii
Janet Fireman
Preface xx
Acknowledgments xxiii
1 Beginnings: From Fire and Ice to Indian Homeland 1
Timeline 1
Landforms 2
Climates 6
Plants and Animals 7
First Peoples and Their New Homeland 9
Tribal and Linguistic Groupings 12
Material Culture 12
Religion and Social Practices 16
Pacific Profile: Anthropologist Alfred L. Kroeber 18
The Chumash: Pacific Coast Mariners and Traders 19
Other Possible Early Voyagers to California 20
Transpacific Connections: Canoeing from Hawai’i to California 22
Summary 22
Review Questions 23
Further Reading 23
2 Spain’s Greater California Coast 26
Timeline 26
A Name, a Dream, a Land 27
Cabrillo’s Coastal Reconnaissance 28
Globalization Begins: The Manila Galleon Trade 31
Drake, Nova Albion, and Cermeno 33
The Spanish Pacific, Vizcaino, and Monterey 34
Colonizing California: Missions, Indians, and the Sea 36
Ranchos, Presidios, and Pueblos 42
Gender and Sexuality in a Frontier Society 44
Pacific Profile: Alejandro Malaspina, Mariner–Explorer 46
The Transpacific Fur Trade 47
Hippolyte de Bouchard’s Pirate Raids 49
Summary 50
Review Questions 51
Further Reading 51
3 A Pacific‐Oriented Mexican Province 53
Timeline 53
Mexico’s Misrule of California 54
Secularization of the Missions 56
Hides, Tallow, and Rancho Society 59
Fur Trappers 64
Early Settlers and Overland Emigrants 66
Pacific Profile: Alpheus B. Thompson, China Trader 70
“Thar She Blows”: New England Whalers 71
The Charles Wilkes Pacific Expedition 72
Summary 75
Review Questions 75
Further Reading 76
4 War and Gold: America’s West Coast Eldorado 78
Timeline 78
California and the Pacific Squadron 80
Jumping the Gun at Monterey 81
Polk, the Pacific, and the Outbreak of War 84
California and the Mexican War 88
Gold, Ships, and Wagon Trains 91
Pacific Profile: William H. Aspinwall, President of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company 95
The World Rushed In 96
Transpacific Connections: Gold Rushes in California and New Zealand 97
Life in the Diggings 98
The Gold Rush’s International Economic Impacts 101
Summary 102
Review Questions 102
Further Reading 103
5 National Crisis, Statehood, and Social Change 105
Timeline 105
A Constitution, a Legislature, a State 107
Land Disputes and Independence Movements 110
Vigilance Committees and Untamed Politicians 112
Pacific Filibusterers 116
California, the Pacific, and the Civil War 118
Ocean Crossings: The Chinese on Sea and Land 120
Pacific Profile: Norman Asing, Chinese American Restaurateur 123
Californios and Other Spanish‐Speakers 124
Indians: A People under Siege 125
African Americans: Up from Bondage 127
Summary 128
Review Questions 130
Further Reading 130
6 Pacific‐Bound Rails, Hard Times, and Chinese Exclusion 132
Timeline 132
A Transcontinental Railroad, California, and Pacific Commerce 133
Theodore Judah, the Big Four, and the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 135
Chinese Laborers and the Push Eastward 140
The Southern Pacific Railroad and the American West 142
Pacific Profile: Seafaring Journalist Charles Nordhoff 146
Transpacific Steamers 147
Depression and the Anti‐Chinese Movement 148
The Constitution of 1879 152
Halting Chinese Immigration 152
Summary 153
Review Questions 154
Further Reading 155
7 Eldorado’s Economic and Cultural Growth 157
Timeline 157
Water, Land, and Rural Development 159
Commercial Agriculture 161
Transpacific Connections: Planting California Trees in New Zealand 162
Black and White Gold 165
Interurban Railways and Southern California’s Rise 167
California’s Maritime Economy 170
Pacific Profile: David Laamea Kalakaua, King of Hawai’i and Visitor 175
California and the Spanish–American–Cuban–Filipino War 175
A Cosmopolitan Culture 177
Summary 182
Review Questions 183
Further Reading 183
8 Anti‐Railroad Politics, Municipal Graft, and Labor Struggles 186
Timeline 186
The Battle of Mussel Slough 187
An Angry Widow Sues: The Colton Letters 189
Pacific Gateway: Locating a Harbor in Los Angeles 190
Pacific Profile: Phineas Banning, Port of Los Angeles and Santa Catalina Promoter 192
Debt Dodging Denounced 192
The Southern Pacific Political Machine 194
The “Queen City of the Pacific:” Boss Ruef ’s San Francisco 195
Foiled Reform: The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Graft Trials 197
Maritime and Factory Labor 200
Field Work and the Wheatland Riot 205
Summary 207
Review Questions 208
Further Reading 209
9 Governor Hiram Johnson and Pacific‐Oriented Progressivism 211
Timeline 212
The Beginnings of Reform 213
An “Aggressive Advocate” and the 1910 Election 215
Regulating the Economy 217
Democratizing Politics, Subsidizing Education 219
Women’s Suffrage and Public Morals 220
Water: Cities in a State of Thirst 223
Pacific Profile: George Freeth, Southern California Surfer Extraordinaire 226
San Francisco, Transpacific Racial Tensions, and Angel Island 227
African Americans, Hispanics and Filipinos, Sikhs, and Indians 230
Maritime Trade and the Panama Pacific Exposition 233
The Twilight of Progressivism 234
Summary 236
Review Questions 237
Further Reading 237
10 Good Times and Bad in a Pacific Rim Super State 239
Timeline 239
Mass Entertainment: Hollywood Movies, Pacific Fun Zones, and the Olympics 240
Extending California’s Water Infrastructure 243
Agribusiness and Banking 246
The 1920s Oil Boom 248
Maritime Enterprises 249
Transportation: Automobiles and Airplanes 251
Pacific Profile: Charles Kingsford‐Smith’s Transpacific Flight 253
Conservatism Restored 253
Religious Awakenings and Developments 255
Freedom‐Minded and Other Women 256
The Great Depression: Strikes and Panaceas 257
Cultural Expression of a High Order 261
Summary 264
Review Questions 265
Further Reading 265
11 America’s Pacific Bulwark: World War II and Its Aftermath 268
Timeline 268
Military Installations: Forts, Naval Bases, and Airfields 270
The Wages of War: Shipyards, Aircraft Plants, and Universities 271
Opportunities and Prejudice: Women and Minorities 275
Japanese Imprisonment 279
Pacific Profile: Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, Manzanar Inmate and Writer 282
Tinsel Town Goes to War 283
The Postwar Military‐Industrial Complex and International Relations 285
Population Growth, Housing, and Discrimination 287
Green Gold: Agribusiness and Labor 289
Governor Earl Warren: Progressive Republican 291
Richard Nixon and the Anti‐Communist Crusade 292
Summary 294
Review Questions 295
Further Reading 295
12 Pacific‐Edge Liberalism at High Tide 297
Timeline 298
Prosperity, Suburbanization, and Consumerism 299
Entertainment Media, Sports, and Amusement Parks 302
The San Francisco Renaissance and the Arts 305
Politics: Goodwin Knight, Pat Brown, and Reforming Government Operations 307
Enhancing the Pacific Super State: Water, Transit, and Universities 309
Students in Dissent, Campuses in Revolt 312
Pacific Profile: S.I. Hayakawa, San Francisco State College President 315
Minorities and Women 316
Coastal Counterculture in the 1960s 320
Summary 322
Review Questions 323
Further Reading 324
13 “Gold Coast” Conservatism and the Politics of Limits 326
Timeline 327
From Ultra‐Right‐Wingers to Mainstream Suburban Warriors 329
Ronald Reagan: The “Cowboy” Governor 331
Governor Jerry Brown: The Zen of Politics and Frugality 334
Crime and Racial Tensions 337
Business and Labor 340
Pacific Profile: Jerry Yang, Co‐founder and Former CEO, Yahoo! Inc. 344
Protecting the Environment and Supplying Energy 344
Governor George Deukmejian’s Right Turn 349
Voter Resentment, Term Limits, and Wedge Politics 350
Governor Pete Wilson and a Roller‐Coaster Economy 352
Architecture and Fine Arts, Sports, and Entertainment 354
Summary 357
Review Questions 358
Further Reading 358
14 The Ongoing Pacific Shift 361
Timeline 362
Immigration, Diversity, and the Politics of Multiculturalism 364
Transpacific Connections: California and Vietnam 366
Pacific Profile: Novelist Isabel Allende 371
Governor Gray Davis: An Able Moderate under Fire 372
The “Governator”: Arnold Schwarzenegger 373
Infrastructure Matters: Schools, Transportation, Health Care, and Prisons 376
The High‐Stakes Gubernatorial Election of 2010 379
Governor Brown 2.0 and California’s Comeback 380
An Economic and Political Colossus 382
The Environment and Energy: Challenges and Responses 391
The Pacific, the U.S. Military, and California 396
California’s 2018 Blue Wave Election and 2019 Promise 397
Still the Pacific Eldorado 399
Summary 399
Review Questions 401
Further Reading 401
Appendix: Governors of California, 1768–2019 404
Index 407
