CALIFORNIA

Alexis Gibson

History141

CHAPTER 1. “PLACE & FIRST PEOPLE”

California had a lot of incentives for people, the main one being its abundance in gold

Hernan Cortez and his people found the “island” of California and hoped they would strike it rich.

Queen Calafia ( from which the name CA is from) was a mythical woman who ruled over this Island.

To their surprise California was a peninsula and not an island.

CHAPTER1 CONTINUED…(THE CREATION OF CA) CA was formed by the

collision of the North American and Pacific tectonic plates.

The coastlines, harbors, canyons and mountains of CA were created by:

* lava flow from eruptions of various volcanoes

*Detachment & reattachment of land masses

*Bulldozing glaciers

CHAPTER1 CONTINUED…(CLIMATE) There are mainly two seasons in California due to its

location. Wet and Dry. During October through March CA experiences most of its

rain. This can be narrowed down to mainly December through February.

The rest of the year is sunny. One location where the temperature is uncomfortably Dry is

Death Valley. This is the lowest point on the continent which is 272 feet below sea level.

CHAPTER 8 “LABOR THROUGH THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND BEYOND”

California was never fully dependent on one source of income in their economy. They had developed industrially, agriculturally, and also some of their money came from the entertainment businesses and tourism.

The Gold rush was a gain in personal labor Because of this, it took California longer than

most other states to be fully hit by the Great Depression.

CHAPTER8 “LABOR THROUGH THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND BEYOND”(LABOR UNIONS) In 1859 California started

investing in labor unions. The first two were built in San

Francisco, CA Labor unions are a collection

of workers who form a union in order to protect their rights.

One union was called “The union iron works of SF” they were very successful and built many naval ships.

This Union gave jobs to thousands of unemployed.

Many unions were looked down upon by Californians because they were seen as communists.

CHAPTER8 “LABOR THROUGH THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND BEYOND”(THE AGRICULTURE DEPRESSION)

San Francisco had developed agriculturally and in 1870 the depression destroyed it’s economy.

There were many angry unemployed workers.

It took about 5 years to recover

CHAPTER11 “ART & LIFE ON THE COAST OF DREAMS”(MOTION PICTURES) Film started in the East Coast

during the 20th century. The costs and the unpredictable weather had movie producers searching for an alternate place to shoot their outdoor scenes.

After shooting many outdoor scenes in Los Angles, producers started realizing that the conditions were much better there than in New York.

The first completed movie shot in 1908 in LA was called “The Sultan’s Power.”

Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and many others formed “The United Artists”

Motion pictures brought people together especially during War.

Sound wasn’t introduced until the late 1920s

CHAPTER11 “ART & LIFE ON THE COAST OF DREAMS”(PHOTOGRAPHY)

During the late 1920s photography was very abstract. A group of photographers called the F/64 took

photography to a deeper level. This group was led by photographer Ansel Adams who was very successful by the age of 15.

A photographer named Dorothea Lange was able to capture the city of San Francisco during the depression. Some of her photographs are very famous today.

CHAPTER11 “ART & LIFE ON THE COAST OF DREAMS”(MUSIC)

Music began as very conservative. In 1876 many opera houses were built in San Francisco and in the West it was mostly choral music.

In the 1900’s orchestra music became popular in LA which made its way into the film industry.

When sound was available in motion pictures it created space for careers for composers.

Many films had symphony music such as Walt Disney’s “Fantasia” in 1940.

The West coast had different genres of music forming. Some listened to Jazz, others listened to what was the fusion of pop and modernism (made famous by Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys) and the workers, mechanics and other Californians preferred country music.