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The eighth edition of California: A History covers the entire scope of the history of the Golden State, from before first contact with Europeans through the present; an accessible and compelling narrative that comprises the stories of the many diverse peoples who have called, and currently do call, California home.
* Explores the latest developments relating to California's immigration, energy, environment, and transportation concerns
* Features concise chapters and a narrative approach along with numerous maps, photographs, and new graphic features to facilitate student comprehension
* Offers illuminating insights into the significant events and people that shaped the lengthy and complex history of a state that has become synonymous with the American dream
* Includes discussion of recent - and uniquely Californian - social trends connecting Hollywood, social media, and Silicon Valley - and most recently "Silicon Beach"
List of contents
List of Illustrations vii
Preface xi
Chapter 1 California's Distinctiveness 1
Chapter 2 The Native Americans 9
Chapter 3 Exploring Baja and Alta California 21
Chapter 4 Colonizers of the Frontier 32
Chapter 5 Missions, Presidios, and Pueblos 40
Chapter 6 California and Its Spanish Governors 47
Chapter 7 Exploration and Foreign Interference 51
Chapter 8 Arcadia 58
Chapter 9 Mexican California 65
Chapter 10 Infiltration and Revolt 73
Chapter 11 On the Eve of American Rule 79
Chapter 12 Trappers, Traders, and Homeseekers 85
Chapter 13 American Conquest 98
Chapter 14 Gold 107
Chapter 15 Approaches to Statehood 120
Chapter 16 Social Ferment 125
Chapter 17 A New Culture at the Golden Gate 133
Chapter 18 Post-Gold Rush Commerce 141
Chapter 19 The Messy Land Problem 150
Chapter 20 California and the Union 156
Chapter 21 Ships and Rails 165
Chapter 22 Agricultural and Urban Growth 171
Chapter 23 Discrimination and Accommodation 182
Chapter 24 Crushing or Saving the Indians? 191
Chapter 25 Labor, the Farmers, and the New Constitution 202
Chapter 26 California Culture, 1870-1918 207
Chapter 27 Progressive Politics 221
Chapter 28 Material Urban Growth 232
Chapter 29 Water, Conservation, and Agriculture 245
Chapter 30 Labor in an Industrial Age 254
Chapter 31 The Depression Years 261
Chapter 32 Twentieth-Century Culture 273
Chapter 33 Sports and Leisure 293
Chapter 34 Wartime Setbacks and Gains 301
Chapter 35 World War II and Its Aftermath 310
Chapter 36 The Beleaguered Sixties 322
Chapter 37 Environmental Realities 333
Chapter 38 From Reagan Conservatism to "Governor Moonbeam" 347
Chapter 39 A New Ethnicity 354
Chapter 40 From the Great Recession to the Rise of Silicon Beach 363
Chapter 41 Glowing Past Versus Troubled Future 369
Appendix The Governors of California 380
Index of Authors in Selected Readings 386
Subject Index 399
About the author
Andrew Rolle is the Cleland Professor Emeritus of History at Occidental College and a Research Scholar at the Huntington Library. He has written more than twenty books on California, the American West, ethics, and psychohistory. One of his books, The Immigrant Upraised (University of Oklahoma, 1970), won the Commonwealth Award for nonfiction. Arthur C. Verge is Professor of History at El Camino College, Torrance, where he was the recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award. He has written extensively on California culture. Among his works is Paradise Transformed: Los Angeles During the Second World War (Kendall Hunt, 2001).
Summary
The eighth edition of California: A History covers the entire scope of the history of the Golden State, from before first contact with Europeans through the present; an accessible and compelling narrative that comprises the stories of the many diverse peoples who have called, and currently do call, California home.
