Overview
Choose any two of the following to answer as fully as possible and identify which question(s) you are addressing. (5 points each). This assignment requires critical thinking/evaluation. Please do not reproduce textbook analysis. I am looking for your interpretation!
- Write an essay about the hide-and-tallow trade in which you examine why it was so vital to California’s economy, where it took place, and which countries were involved.
- Write an essay in which you discuss the class structure of Mexican California. What factors determined who was in what class? What ties bound certain classes together?
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3. Why was it so easy for American emigrants to settle in Mexican California? What did the Mexican government think about this?
4. Describe the main events in California from 1846 to 1848 that led to California’s annexation by the United States.
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5. In what ways were Dame Shirley’s attitudes towards Indians, miners, and mining communities typical of people of her class at that time? In what ways were they different?
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6 . Compare the advantages and disadvantages for Americans of traveling to the California gold fields by the two main sea routes or by traveling overland. What were the main problems and dangers of each method?
7. How did the white miners treat “foreigners” like Hispanics, Indians, and Chinese in the gold mining areas? How did the whites justify their actions?
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8. What were the major controversies surrounding mining in the early decades of California statehood? How were they addressed?
9. What role did vigilantes play in the early years of the state of California? What does this show about the inability and/or unwillingness of the state government to impose a uniform and fair system of justice?
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10 How did competing and conflicting local, state, and federal laws and court rulings complicate the situation in Mussel Slough?
11. The Settlers’ Grand League was instrumental in the Mussel Slough controversy. Write an essay in which you discuss the formation of the organization, its membership, and its important actions
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12. What were the key provisions of the Pacific Railway Act of 1862? Why did they make it difficult for the Central Pacific Railroad to complete its portion of the transcontinental railroad? What changes in the Pacific Railway Act of 1864 benefitted the Central Pacific Railroad?
13. Write an essay in which you examine the pros and cons of the Big Four’s actions both in building and running their railroad empire and in the way they used their vast fortunes.
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14. Write an essay in which you examine the development and diversification of California agriculture from 1870 to 1900. What early factors and forces limited California agriculture? Why was it thriving by 1900?
15. The constitution of 1879 made major changes in California. What were the most important changes? Why can the 1879 constitution be considered a flawed document?