2. Chapter 7
• California’s first 40 years as a state included the organization
of political and socioeconomic structures
▫ lay foundation of planned environment
• 20th century brought public works infrastructures
▫ served exponentially growing state population
• In order to make CA Inhabitable by people, a statewide water
system would be necessary to transport water from
precipitation-heavy north to drought-like southern state
▫ 1878 Drainage Act creates state engineers and allocates $100,000
to water industry
• Lux V. Haggin lawsuit from land barons against Kern county
Land and Water Company
• Wright Act 1887 allows communities to divert river water dry
lands for irrigation
3. Ch.7 cont…
• These actions resulted in mass irrigation of the Colorado
River
▫ Charles Robinson Rockwood plans gravity canal to tap river
to flow westward and turn Salton Sink into a reservoir
▫ Ten years and 3 trips to Europe later, plans are underway
▫ 5 months of construction to dig canal
• May 14th, 1901 water goes into the Salton Sink
• Settlers continue to move to southern CA; expands to
form Riverside and San Bernardino counties
• William Smythe believes new “Ultimate CA” was forming
▫ Based on joint-stock company, irrigation, and classic town
hall meetings
4. Ch.7 cont…
• Irrigation is essentially a reorganization of nature, which
bears its own risks
▫ 1904 California Development Company installs a second
canal from western bank of the Colorado River illegally and
for a very small price
▫ Spring 1905 rains overwhelm the canal by 25 to 200 feet
▫ Valley drowned in sea; Feb. 10, 1907 eight foot high levee
complete
• Years later as Europe entered war, architecture from San
Diego and San Francisco was developed that would be
influential in architectural design for many decades.
• California population continues to grow exponentially
into the 1940s.
5. Chapter 8
• Great Depression had lesser effect on CA because its economy was
more diverse:
▫ Agricultural, industrial, entertainment, tourist and service sectors
• However, structural instability of agriculture, militant labor
movements, labor-resistance and dedication to a radical tradition
were also prevalent.
▫ Worker unions and organizations form to fight for better pay and
working hours
• Lawyer Burnette Haskell utilizes more radical strategies to obtain
rights
▫ Violent demonstrations/strikes occur across the nation as groups
demand fair treatment
• Burnette follower Alfred Fuhrman led strike in 1887 for Brewers
▫ 200 employees marched to headquarters and obtained a pay raise and
the right to live outside designated dorms
6. Ch.8 cont…
• Depression of 1893 greatly set back progress made by labor unions
▫ Company strikes; police would escort non-strikers to work
• General Strike of 1901 results in formation of Union Labor Party in
San Francisco; succeeds to win election of two mayors
• San Francisco greatly differed from Los Angeles in union sense
among others
▫ Union opposer Harrison Otis of the LA times was dominant force in city
▫ Times offices bombed in midst of a strike; 20 employees killed and 17
injured
▫ Bombers receive life sentences while 33 of the union members were
charged with compliance of crime
• This event deters progress in union movements for the next 25 years
7. Ch.8 cont…
• 1912 San Diego encounters a dock strike by Industrial
Workers of the World
▫ Goal was to take over CA and establish and industrial
economy
▫ High capacity for physical and rhetorical violence
• Union tensions grew for the next 10 years
• August 30th, 1919 Criminal Syndicalism Act passed to
criminalize the use of violence as a means of changing
industrial or political control
• Violence now begins between capitalists and unions in
1930s
▫ Struggle between republicans and democrats mirrors
conflicts between fascism and communism in Europe
8. Chapter 9
• Military had always been connected to California through bases and naval
fleets
• During WWII their presence upgraded and heavily increased
• “America First” had great support in CA; diminished when Pearl Harbor
was
• Attacked
▫ State goes in to panic
• Japanese submarine surfaces in the Santa Barbara Channel and fires 25
inch shells across Pacific Coast Highway, causing minor damage
• “Yellow Peril” movement sends anti-Japanese message
• “White California” was racism based on jealousy due to success of Japanese
in California
• On the day of the Pearl Harbor attack, FBI began gathering Japanese aliens
for detainment
• February 19th, 1942 President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066
▫ Allows Department of War to remove possibly suspicious people from military
areas
9. Ch.9 cont…
• During trials in San Francisco attorney General Warren
argues to evacuate all Japanese, even if they are citizens
• Lieutenant General de Witt, head of Western Defense
Command, had authority to already declare Japanese
evacuation
▫ “A Jap’s a Jap” when it comes to citizenship
• March 1st, 1942 de Witt issues Proclamation Number One
▫ declares CA, OR, WA military zones and all Japanese must be
removed
• California becomes military state during war; was overtaken
by bases.
• Thousands of troops on leave flooded city streets
• Zoot Suit Riots between young servicemen and young
Mexican Americans
10. Ch.9 cont…
• During WWII, California becomes and industrial culture
▫ Working population becomes non-draftable elderly
▫ Early HMO plan developed
• Aircraft industry is major success in southern state
▫ Manufacturers like Lockheed provide daycare, medical
benefits, food services, and social hours to employees
▫ Women assume authoritative positions by 1944
• Life after wars end:
▫ Many institutions and programs remained
▫ Widespread prosperity
▫ Inexpensive housing
▫ Population grew by 53% by 1950
