Starr section

CALIFORNIA BY KEVIN STARR

Melinda Snapp

History 141

May 12, 2010

The Great Depression

Came late to CA: Tourism Entertainment Agriculture Industry

Resulted in social upheaval Tradition Labor-resistance Labor movement

The Gold Rush

Many earned wealth through work of hands: Carpenters Launderers teamsters

Several unions formed Socialism in Chicago

and San Francisco studied- later caused disputes.

Great laborers: Chinese

Formation of Unions

1927- Confederation of Mexican workers

Imperial Valley Worker’s Union Cannery and Industrial

Worker’s Union (CAWIU) 1934 SF Teamster’s Union,

Boilermakers and Mechanists, Sailor’s Union of the Pacific, Pacific Union, Ship Wiper’s Association, Cooks and Steward’s Association, Waterfront Employer’s Union

Unionism led to strikes, which brought government defense.

Diversity

Diversity of people increased (70-80 ethnic groups)

Jim Crow Laws- Mexican, African, and Japanese Americans, and “Okies”

WWII- hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Iran, Vietnam, Southeast Asia, Bangladesh, the Soviet Union

End of 20th century- more than eighty languages spoken in LA.

1963- Rumford Act- to eliminate discrimination

Riots

1965- Watts riots A.A. man arrested by

white police officer for drunk driving

Followed by 5 days of riots

Left 34 dead and 1000 injured.

1992- Los Angeles riots White policeman beat a

A.A. man 56 times. Uprising started when

police was acquitted 1995- O.J. Simpson trial

Melting Pot 1960s reform of immigration laws 1990s:

Public aid to illegal immigrants Prop 187 withdraw funds except for

medical care, immunizations, and emergency disaster relief

Affirmative Action principle that people were who they were

because of race, ethnicity, gender, class, etc.

Ward Connery- acted to stop this ideology at UC schools

Bilingual education- Prop 227: 1 year emersion into English

2000s: Antonio Villaraigos elected mayor in

L.A. 34.8% Caucasion, 43.8% Hispanic,

9.6% Asian, 6.7% African American, .5%American Indian and Alaskan Native, .1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders in U.S. census

Sources

Starr, Kevin. California. New York: Modern Library, 2005. Print(Chapters 8

and 12)