In chapter 2, Economic Growth from the textbook “California: An Interpretive History” by James J. Rawls and Walton Bean, discusses the impressive economic growth the south of California had towards the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century. This phenomenal growth along the southern part of the state was due to the drought that gave way to the discovery of the planation of wheat, the improved fabrication of wine, new agricultural techniques to grow better citrus fruits, the health rush, the irrigation water act, and the urbanization of the cities through the electric transportation.
The water drought of the 1860’s led to the discovery of growing wheat without the need for irrigation. The crop was a phenomenal resource
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Agoston Haraszthy was appointed with the task of improving the wine industry. He was able to tour vine sites of Europe and upon his return; he brought with him 200,000 different rooted vines that would make 1,400 vine varieties. The different wine varieties and the rich soils of the Central Valley contributed to the nation’s mass production of wine.
Similarly to the poor production of wine, oranges were not so tasty. They had very thick skin and lacked sweetness. After the agricultural improvements of the making of oranges, Southern California produced more than two-thirds of the country’s citrus fruits production with 90% being lemons.
Not only did agriculture production increased, but after the “health rush” of 1870, Southern California’s population gave way to a larger number of people. People began moving to southern California in the hopes that its climate would cure tuberculosis and other illnesses. Unfortunately, this was all a lie and the health alleged superstitions continued but under a different illusion, “the land of the handsome.” Again making people believe that southern California’s climate made better looking
The changes in American agriculture was molded by three key factors, economic change, government policy and technology, in the period of 1865-1900.Technology helped facilitated production of good as well as their transportation. Farmers were able to produce more goods, yet they overproduced and it resulted in economic hardship for them. They could not afford to export goods through the rail roads high rates, and led to clashing with the government, for the lack of support. Such factors resulted in change of American agriculture.
2. Cherny, Robert W., Gretchen Lemke-Santangelo, and Richard Griswold Del Castillo. Competing Visions: A History of California. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, 2014. Print.
With the economic system, the south had a very hard time producing their main source “cotton and tobacco”. “Cotton became commercially significant in the 1790’s after the invention of a new cotton gin by Eli Whitney. (PG 314)” Let alone, if they had a hard time producing goods, the gains would be extremely unprofitable. While in the North, “In 1837, John Deere patented a strong, smooth steel plow that sliced through prairie soil so cleanly that farmers called it the “singing plow.” (PG 281).” Deere’s company became the leading source to saving time and energy for farming as it breaks much more ground to plant more crops. As well as mechanical reapers, which then could harvest twelve acres a day can double the corn and wheat. The North was becoming more advanced by the second. Many moved in the cities where they would work in factories, which contributed to the nation’s economic growth because factory workers actually produced twice as much of labor as agricultural workers. Steam engines would be a source of energy and while coal was cutting prices in half actually created more factories, railroads for transportation, and ships which also gave a rise in agricultural productivity.
The California Gold Rush was discovered accidently. Most of the world’s gold is deep underground and embedded in hard rock. Unlike anywhere else in the world at that time the gold in California was easy to dig up, free for the taking and required little tools to acquire any gold. All that was requires was a pick or shovel and a pan to shift out the gold from the rock, sand and debris. The Gold Rush affected not only California but the outcome of the nation. It created the expansion of our nation into Western America and California. The rush brought hundreds of thousand Americans and foreigners to the Sierra Nevada’s with the hopes of sticking it rich. This impacted the social life and the economy while effected the rest of the country. The
The rich dark soil of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado—an area also known as the Great Plains—formed from thousands of years of soil forming factors in action (Surviving the Dust Bowl). From the beginning of human populations living in the area, the soils, for the most part, remained untouched and unscathed by the plow. Thick prairie grasses covered the area and held the soils in the ground even during the periodic times of drought. This area of land was suitable for grazing practices and it was in this area that the large cattle ranches flourished. Little did the newly arrived farmers realize that this seemingly plentiful land followed a pattern of several years of rain followed by several years of drought and high winds.
Entrepreneurial success and welcomeness is what defines california. Before the gold rush started california was not very promising, so much so that the united states did not know what to do with the land. The american government did not see a bright future for california. Other than the natives the population was less than three thousand people, Its economy was
The California Gold Rush in 1849 was the catalyst event for the state that earned them a spot in the U.S. union in 1850. This was not the first gold rush in North America; however, it was one of the most important gold rush events. The story of how the gold was discovered and the stories of the 49ers are well known. Men leaving their families in the East and heading West in hopes of striking it rich are the stories that most of us heard about when we learn about the California Gold Rush. Professors and scholars over the last two decades from various fields of study have taken a deeper look into the Gold Rush phenomena. When California joined the Union in 1850 it helped the U.S. expand westward just as most Americans had intended to do. The event of the Gold Rush can be viewed as important because it led to a national railroad. It also provided the correct circumstances for successful entrepreneurship, capitalism, and the development modern industrialization. The event also had a major influence on agriculture, economics, and politics.
The California Gold Rush is traced back all the way to the Mexican War, which was fought from 1846 to 1848. The cause to the war was a dispute over Texas, between Mexico and America. However, by the end of this America didn’t only end up with Texas, but also Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and California. During the middle of the 19th century, America was expanding and its transportation was improving too. Once gold was discovered in California huge waves of gold hungry people came from all over the world to California, impacting California’s economy, social life, and especially its population. The Gold Rush of 1849 was a historical event in which local populations such as San Francisco drastically increased in population within a couple of days. An analysis of the social and historical significance of San Francisco, California reveals that the city played an important role in drastically increasing its population during The Gold Rush of 1849.
First of all, in this piece of text it is shown what living in America was like during a historic event called the”Dust Bowl”, “The areas hit hardest by the drought- Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and parts of Colorado and Texas-were devastated, as farms and crops and ultimately
California has many famous Universities, such as UC Berkley, UC Davis, UC San diego, and UC Los Angeles. Especially in Los Angeles, University of California, Los Angeles and University of Southern California are quite famous. University of Southern California is a private university established on Octorber 6, 1880 and it is located near the downtown of Los Angeles. Also, this university has four thousand students, and the campus size is 227 acres. Based on its academic achievements and contributions, University of Southern California is ranked in number 23 of the list of top educational institutions in the world. In my following paragraphs, I will discuss about the weaknesses and strengths of University of Southern California. To the strengths,
This paper aims to explore the extraordinary physical features of the Golden State, California. The Golden State is defined as, “a state on the W coast of the US: the third largest state in area and the largest in population; consists of a narrow, warm coastal plain rising to the Coast Range, deserts in the south, the fertile central valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, and the mountains of the Sierra Nevada in the east; major industries include the growing of citrus fruits and grapes, fishing, oil production, electronics, information technology, and films” (California). The state of California not only has a large population, it contains a variety of features that makes the state very diverse. These features vary from trees, mountains, National Parks, Coast Ranges, Valleys, deserts, basins, earthquakes and a diverse climate. In the next pages we will describe and show why these features makes the Golden State one of a kind.
California's became highly associated with the Gold Rush, that as a result it became known as the "California Dream." It was perceived as a place of new beginnings that would bring you happiness and prosperity. It offered great wealth to those who were lucky and worked hard. This opened many doors to anybody around the world that wanted to explore and see this land that gave you all the things a person would want. The way people went foolish that got involved into the gold fever because of the terrible conditions they lived in. This really impacted California in becoming the industrial and powerful state it is today. The people that came to California brought business and there opportunities that helped the state grow more than you could imagine.
One particular interesting fact was that the Central Valley was a barren desert during the 1930’s. However today, the Central Valley is one of the leading producers of fruits and vegetables. One way that farmers are able to make this once barren desert so fertile is through the use of the Shasta Dam. In order to make this system work, the agriculture industry needs a vast amount of resources and “monumental infrastructure” (Kwon). The Central Valley is known as the world’s largest greenhouse. Another interesting fact was that there is corn in almost everything consumed today. More than 100 pounds of corn are produced each year. Furthermore, corn is also genetically modified to fight pest such as the European corn borer. This troublesome little pest can cause farmers to lose a significant amount of corn
The area, much like most of California, was fertile enough to produce abundant crops, nutritious grass to feed thousands of cattle, and had access to high quality water via the Santa Ana River (Gustavo Arellano, 2008). Orange Country was known for walnut groves, sugar beet crops, lima bean fields, and of course citrus, the export that allowed most of the county’s farmers to become rich (Gustavo Arellano, 2008). With the rise of refrigerated railroad cars, citrus exports, particularly oranges, allowed Orange County farmers to amass a great amount of wealth, making up almost 35% of the county’s agricultural profits. In turn, the financial success stories, as well as the adoption of the name “Orange County,” attracted immigrants from both inside the country and out (Gustavo Arellano,
The history of the modern strawberry had begun. This was now the time of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Individuals of these times were growing corn, potatoes, tobacco, tomatoes, and cotton and unbeknown to them the ...