Zusammenfassung der Ressource
History Essay Q's
- From indigenous California to the State of California, people with diverse cultures, religions, and legal
systems shared (in varying degrees of peacefulness) this space. Drawing from three examples that
span pre-1769 to poststatehood, frame early California history in response to these questions.
- Is early California history the story of triumph/domination by those with greater power and
devastation over those with lesser power?
- Example 1: Mission system
- Spanish power dominated the Indigenous population
- enforcing of Catholicism
- forced labor in mission systems designed to order the Ind.
- dampened traditional culture, implemented strict political systems, shifted gender roles (i.e. Wappo)
- mission systems >> violance, taking control of land,
- ability to control rights despite emancipation and secularization
- Example 2: Judicial power = dominant force over immigrants
- despite CA const. , slavery still found legal
- i.e. kidnapped children viewed as "family members"
- women sex slaves as wives
- 14th ammendment not
protecting immigrants despite
looking inclusive
- Is early California history the story of how these waves of interactions created hybrid cultures,
religions, and legal systems? OVERALL ARGUMENT: With interactions, CA faced extreme difficulty in indentifying itself and constructing its identity.
- Example 1: missions and Catholicism >> hybrid of religions
- Chumash
- told Catholic narratives through Chumash perspective
- i.e. representation/painting of Archangel Raphael
- able to keep dance rituals and
traditions despite the prevalance of
Catholcism
- Example 2: Redrressing of Chumash >> hybrid of culture
- dressing based on social status
- Enuropean dress for those of higher status
- Example 3: Legal systems shaped by
immigration/interactions between culturally/etnically/racially
diverse people
- Gold Rush era
- immigration of Chinese to mines
- Foreign Miners Tax
- Anti-Chinese sentiment
- fear that Chinese would take
opportunity from white men
- belief of all Chinese men as coolies and women as prostitutes
- Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
- Historians of California use particular methods and theories to create narratives and arguments that
add to or even challenge the work of those before them. Sometimes, they are very clear both about
the method/theory they rely on and how they frame their historiographic contributions.
- Drawing on three examples from the readings or lecture, describe and evaluate the use of theory
and method in California history through the time period covered by the midterm.
- Heidenreich
- understanding the mission
system from a singular tribe of
Ind. where she personally lives
- deeply understand how political/legal
structure changed with mission
systems
- contrasting her religion to Wappo Kukso religion
- Smith
- the darkness of the gold rush, different narrative from the
glamorization of CA being a place of freedom and opportunity
- gold rush
- slavery, traficking, murder, violence
- racism, exlcusion
- lack of equal opportunity
- Foreign Miners Tax
- immigration restrictions
- everything in favor of making the white man rich
- Reconstruction of CA not as a place of equal
opportunity, but limited to white men
- Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
- Page Act
- restriction of rights despite outline of constitution
- Haas
- focuses on Chumash culture to understand
shifts and effects of the mission system on
society as a whole. detailed and comprehensive analysis
- Chumash painting of Archangel Raphael
- redressing
- how culture persisted despite violence
- Chumash still believed in supernatural forces,
had different account of violenece
- despite secularization
and emancipation,
many Chumash chose
to stay in missions
- choosing to stay meant staying w families = culture