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Immigration
and Settlement of California
The settlement of California was a varying phenomenon
due to the size of the state, the location, and
the Gold Rush. Gold Rush cities were usually founded
by speculators and turned into mining towns, or
they were mining camps that later grew into towns.
As these towns grew, they drew merchants, businessmen,
and immigrants, creating urban-esque towns in the
wilderness. The Gold Rush brought thousands of immigrants
from across the entire world. There were three different
phases of Gold Rush immigration, beginning with
the first mining season of 1848, when surface gold
was abundant. The second phase lasted from 1849
to the early 1850s, and the third began after 1852,
when mining became industrial.
The first wave of Gold Rush immigrants consisted
mainly of Hawaiians, Mexicans, Chileans, Peruvians,
and Americans from Oregon. More foreigners than
Americans came to California in 1848, and of the
Americans who did come, the majority were from Oregon.
There were an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 Mexicans
who came to California during the first mining season
of 1848. Most of the Mexican immigrants came from
Sonora; smaller numbers came from Sinaloa, Chihuahua,
and Durango. In 1849, over 6,000 Mexicans from Sonora
came to California, though half returned after the
mining season.
Americans and Europeans comprised the second wave
of immigration. Called 49ers, the Americans and
Europeans dominated the immigration starting in
1849. By 1860, 41% of California's population was
born in another state, and 38.6% were born in another
country. Of all of the Californians who had come
from another state, the majority, 26.9%, had come
from the Middle Atlantic region of the United States.
New England produced 20.7% of California's population
from other states, and the east north central region
of the United States provided 19.1%. New York was
the state leader in California migrants from 1860
to 1900.
Thousands of people from Europe were drawn to California
with the hopes of striking it rich in the gold mines.
French immigrants began to arrive in late 1849.
The French immigrants tended to intermingle with
Latin Americans because they were also Catholic.
The German immigrants who came to California were
referred to as Dutch, which was a mispronunciation
of Deutsch, the German word for what they called
themselves. The term Dutch was used by Americans
for nearly all Europeans coming from Northern and
Western Europe, with exception of the people from
the British Isles and France.
People from the same national or ethnic origin tended
to live and work together. A large amount of British
Columbians and Oregonians mined in the Trinity-Klamath-Shasta
region. American 49ers who crossed the Great Planes
to reach California worked in the Northern Mines
in Plumas, Butte, Sierra, Yuba, Nevada, Placer,
El Dorado, and Amador Counties. The largest congregation
of Latin Americans could be found in the Southern
Mines in Calaveras, Tuolumne, and Mariposa Counties.
By the early 1850s, 12,000 Sonorans and Chileans
mined in Sonorian Town (later shortened to Sonora).
Italian gold seekers could be found at Italian Bar,
on the American River, the Italian Mine in Nevada
City, and in La Fortuna Mine. A significant number
of Jews were present throughout gold country. There
were also a considerable number of African Americans
in Gold Rush California. The number of African Americans
in California grew throughout the 1850s, from 2,000
to 4,000. Most of the first blacks who arrived in
California were slaves brought by their masters
to work in the mines, but were freed after statehood.
Other free blacks came to the state soon after.
Some worked in the mines but most settled in Sacramento,
Stockton, San Francisco, and Marysville. Although
California was a free state, blacks still faced
discrimination. They were denied voting privileges
and were unable to testify against whites in court.
The arrival of the 49ers augmented California's
population dramatically. Their arrival doubled the
population from nearly 100,000 in 1849, to over
200,000 by 1852. With the arrival of a large number
of Americans, ethnic tension and racism became a
problem. There was a surge in American nativism,
which can be defined as the fear and hatred of foreigners
combined with anti-Catholic sentiment. Most of the
discrimination was shown against the non-white foreigners,
especially those from Mexico and South America.
Americans called all Spanish-speaking people "greasers",
and the Spanish-speaking population grouped Americans
and Europeans together as "gringos." Many Americans
believed that because the United States had won
the war against Mexico, the wealth of the state
belonged to them, not the foreigners. Most European
immigrants attempted to assimilate into American
society, but the French faced discrimination because
they kept to themselves and did not learn English.
American discrimination during the Gold Rush era
can be seen in the laws enacted during the time.
In 1850, the first state legislature drafted the
Foreign Miners Tax Law that made non-citizens pay
a twenty dollar tax per month. The law passed, but
was not often enforced because of the disorganization
of the new government. One incident did occur in
Sonora when French and German immigrants allied
themselves with 4,000 armed Mexicans to oppose the
tax. One Mexican was stabbed, the Europeans were
arrested and fined five dollars, and the Mexicans
were forced to pay the whole tax. This incident
succeeded in driving many Mexicans away from the
mines, but the tax failed to raise significant funds.
The Chinese were another group that faced discrimination
from the population and the government. Chinese
immigration reached California during the 1850 and
1860s. In 1850 there were fewer than 1,000 Chinese
in California, but by 1860 there were over 35,000.
White miners were afraid of the labor competition
with the Chinese, resulting in the use violence
to show them they were unwelcome. Chinese people
were violently beaten and were victims of arson
and queue (ponytail) cutting. They also faced political
discrimination through the re-enactment of the Foreign
Miners Tax law. In 1854, one judge ruled that because
they allegedly shared pre-historic history, the
Chinese were Indians and could not testify against
whites in court. The political discrimination continued
into the 1880s, and eventually led to Chinese exclusion.
In 1880, President Hayes negotiated a treaty with
China that allowed the United States to regulate
Chinese immigration. Under the terms of that agreement,
Congress enacted a bill in 1882 that suspended Chinese
immigration for ten years. The act was amended in
1888, prohibiting re-entry to America after a visit
to China. The term was extended an additional ten
years in 1892, and by 1904, the exclusion became
permanent. Only during World War II, as a gesture
to China as an ally, did America re-open her doors
to Chinese immigrants.
The settlement of southern California was much different
than that of the north. In general, the southern
region settled more slowly and had a larger Hispanic
population. There were many reasons for the south's
slower settlement patterns, the main reason being
isolation. Los Angeles remained isolated from the
country and the rest of the state until the railroads
were built in the 1870s. San Bernardino was founded
by Mormons in the 1840s, and remained an isolated
farming community into the 1860s. Between 1870 and
1880, southern California settlement grew slowly,
and large tracts of unsettled land remained. The
journey from the east and mid-west was difficult
and costly, and southern California had to compete
with promoters attempting to settle other western
states, such as Oregon, that were easier to travel
too. These reasons kept the land largely unsettled
until the railroads ended the region's isolation.
The railroad made transportation cheaper and easier,
causing a land boom in the 1880s. During the "Boom
of the 80s," thousands of farmers and opportunity
seekers moved to southern California.
| The
population of Los Angeles and the surrounding
cities was much different than the Gold Rush
society in the north. Although there was a
higher Hispanic population in the south, by
1890, there were very few foreigners in the
southern California cities. Only 15% of Los
Angeles' population consisted of European
immigrants, 2% were Asian, and less than 1%
were Mexican. African Americans and Californios
(decedents of Mexicans who had been in California
before American control) made up only 2% of
the population. The varying settlement patterns
and demographic layout led to different and
unique characteristics within the state. |
| Figure 1: Foreign
Born Population of California |
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Nationality
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1850
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1890
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1920
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Chinese
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660
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71,066
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28,812
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English
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3,050
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35,457
|
58,572
|
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French
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1,546
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11,855
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20,387
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German
|
2,926
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61,472
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67,180
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Irish
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2,452
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63,138
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45,308
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Italian
|
228
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15,495
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88,502
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Japanese
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None Listed
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1,224
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71,952
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Mexican
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6,454
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7,164
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86,610
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Portuguese
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109
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9,859
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24,517
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Religion in California
The Spanish colonizers of Alta California brought
with them a strong Catholic background that was
centered in the numerous missions that they built
throughout California. Catholicism in California
was challenged as more Americans and immigrants
arrived. Beginning with the Mormon settlements of
San Bernardino and Yerba Buena in the 1840s, the
dominance of the Catholic Church in California began
its decline. As the Gold Rush immigrants poured
in, they brought with them their own cultures, pushing
Catholicism aside. Hispanic Catholicism, which focused
more on the Virgin mother of God than other Catholic
societies, remained strong in southern California,
but the arrival of Catholic missionaries changed
the Hispanic Catholicism to better suit the increasing
number of European Catholics. This was apparent
in both Los Angeles and in San Francisco. In San
Francisco, six Irish Catholic churches were built
between 1849 and 1867, along with Notre Dame des
Victoires for the French Catholics and St. Benedict's
for the German Catholics.
Large numbers of American Protestants created strong
Protestant centers in the cities. In Los Angeles,
Protestantism had a difficult start because of the
long established Catholicism, but as more Protestants
moved to the area churches were able to organize
more easily. The situation was much different in
the north. Religious institutions helped create
cities out of the mining towns that had quickly
developed. By building churches, schools, colleges,
and benevolent societies, mining camps that consisted
of mainly stores, saloons, and brothels became urbanized
and organized cities. The growing amount of Gold
Rush communities throughout the north made San Francisco
the port of call for the Christian missionaries
sent to tend to the gold seekers. Presbyterians,
Baptists, Episcopalians, Methodists, and Unitarians
all sent missionaries to San Francisco. The Presbyterians
formed organizations as early as 1849, and by 1852,
the Episcopalians had organized the San Francisco
Diocese, the Baptists organized the San Francisco
Baptist Association, and the Congregationalists
organized as well. Sacramento was somewhat different
from San Francisco because it was purely an outcome
of the Gold Rush. Sacramento did not have the long
standing ties to Catholicism like San Francisco
and Los Angeles. All of their missionaries arrived
with a clean slate, and by 1865, Episcopalian, Congregational,
Methodist, Catholic, African Methodist, Jewish,
and Mormon churches had all been established.
Non-Christian religions had also been established
throughout the state. Jews from Poland and Germany
organized the Congregation Sherith Israel and the
Temple Emanu-el in San Francisco in 1850 and 1852.
In Los Angeles, the Hebrew Benevolent Society was
created by the city's small contingency of Jews
in 1854. In Los Angeles, the number of Jews rose
from 8 in 1850, to 200 in 1860. The Chinese also
practiced various religions in California. In Los
Angeles, the Chinese usually practiced the folk
religions of the region of China they came from.
In San Francisco, the immigrants from south China
largely observed the Queen of Heaven and participated
in the Cult of Guan Yu.
By
Rickie Lazzerini
Historian
BA History
University of California, Santa Barbara
Index
of Historical Reviews
© 2006 Rickie Lazzerini,
All Rights Reserved
This page may be freely linked to but may not
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the author.
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