|
|
The
Civil War and California
Although far removed from battle, California was
deeply involved in the Civil War. California sent
volunteers to battle, money to finance the war,
and helped secure the west against the Confederates.
Despite California's efforts to help the Union,
there was a strong contingency of Confederate sympathizers
within the state. This Confederate activity required
the presence of Union soldiers to control the secessionists.
The southern part of the state was home to the largest
population of Confederate supporters. The population
of southern California included large amounts of
migrants from Missouri and Arkansas, and nearly
all of these men were Southern sympathizers. The
Central Valley towns of Snelling, Visalia, and Merced
were also hotbeds of secessionist fervor in the
state. The secessionists were so active in Visalia
that soldiers had to be sent to quell them.
Militarily, California aided the Union by sending
a total of 15,725 volunteers. Californians also
helped by providing funds for the war effort. In
1862, Thomas Starr King was called upon to organize
branches of the sanitary, Christian, and freedman's
commissions. He organized California branches and
quickly raised $480,000. King continued to work
on fund raising throughout the war, helping California
contribute over one million dollars for the sanitary
fund and $34,000 for the Christian fund. Because
California's monitary wealth was in gold, as opposed
to the inflated greenbacks circulating in the east,
her money had a heightened effect for the Union
Army.
The Railroad Era
The creation of railroads in California had varying
effects on the people of the state, both positive
and negative. Internal railroads helped many people
travel and migrate throughout the state, and the
completion of the trans-continental railroad ended
California's isolation from the rest of the country.
The escalation of shipping rates for agricultural
products consistently strained farmers. The creation
of the railroads was a monumental accomplishment,
but it brought with it controversial business maneuvers
that would come to signify this time period as the
era of big business.
The railroad started in California as a series of
short tracks connecting cities. The first railroad
in the state was a 23 mile long track in Sacramento
that was completed in 1856. Californians wanted
a railroad that would connect them to the east,
but funding for such a project was not available
until after the Civil War. The most important railroad
moguls in California were the men who eventually
took over the struggling Central Pacific Railroad
from Theodore Judah. These men, Charles Crocker,
Leland Stanford, Collis P. Huntington, and Mark
Hopkins, came to be known as the Big Four while
they monopolized the railroads of the west. The
Central Pacific had much success during the 1860s
as it built inter-California railroads, while simultaneously
working on the western portion of the trans-continental
railroad. After the Civil War, the federal government
was able to provide the land grants and subsidies
necessary for the completion of the transcontinental
railroad. On May 10, 1869, the transcontinental
railroad was finished at Promontory Point, Utah,
where Leland Stanford hammered in the ceremonial
golden stake. By the end of the 1870s, the Big Four
monopolized California's transportation, resulting
in a number of negative consequences for the state's
economy.
Californians anticipated that the completion of
the transcontinental railroad would bring prosperity
to their isolated economy, but the opposite would
occur. To the citizens' dismay, a general depression
followed and continued into the next decade. California
manufacturers and merchants were suddenly exposed
to competition with east coast companies. Local
merchants had stocked a surplus of products in expectation
of an economic boom, but instead a slough of eastern
products were imported into the state. Speculators
anticipated a land boom in California, but land
prices fell. The completion of the railroad unleashed
thousands of workers into the California labor market.
The oversupply of former railroad workers depressed
wages and created widespread unemployment.
The completion of the railroad did have some positive
effects. The railroad brought migrants from the
east and stimulated urban growth. A good example
of this growth is the city of Oakland. In 1868,
a year before the transcontinental railroad was
completed, the population of Oakland was 2,000.
Two years later there were 10,000 people. By 1880,
the population had grown to over 35,000, making
Oakland the second largest city in the state. The
railroad also helped farmers and other producers
ship their products to other markets. Fruit growers
benefited from the refrigerator cars that enabled
them to ship fruit across the country. Wheat became
the state's largest import during the 1870s and
1880s. Fruit and other specialty crops developed
slowly after 1870, as water for irrigation became
more abundant. A further benefit of the railroads
was the philanthropic efforts of the Big Four. Leland
Stanford and his wife Jane founded Stanford University
in 1885 as a memorial to their deceased son.
Agrarian Revolt and Populism
As mentioned earlier, the railroads initially helped
farmers by providing a means to reach distant markets,
but the railroad companies soon realized how much
the farmers depended on them and subsequently raised
the shipping rates. At the end of the 19th century,
farmers and laborers began to organize into groups
to protect themselves against the harsh corporate
economy. The railroads charged high freight rates
and often controlled brokerages and warehouses that
the farmers sold to. In addition, competition with
cheap, foreign produce hurt California growers.
The Patrons of Husbandry, also known as the Grange,
formed nationally and gained enough influence to
regulate railroad prices in some areas. The National
Farmers Alliance was also formed to help farmers
by taking a more political approach. They advocated
nationalism of transportation, a monetary system
based on silver and paper money, direct election
of senators, and a secret ballot. The Alliance programs
found some success in certain states, but action
was needed on a federal level. This need led to
the creation of the Populist Party. At their first
convention in 1892, the Populists called for the
unlimited coinage of silver, women's suffrage, the
eight-hour workday, nationalization of utilities,
and a number of other progressive issues. Several
Populists were elected into state governmental positions,
but their success was limited to small appointments.
The final blow to the movement came when the candidate
they supported in the 1896 presidential election,
William Jennings Bryan, was defeated.
In California, the farmers participated in the Grange,
Farmers Alliance, and the Populist movements. The
winter of 1888-1889 brought harsh weather that decimated
crops and left over 25,000 people unemployed. These
less-than-fortunate events brought increased hostility
towards the railroad and prompted the farmers to
look for a way to amend the government in their
favor. The Farmers Alliance expanded and attracted
socialists, Grangers, anti-monopolists and currency
reformers. The Alliance movement joined with the
Populists, where they enjoyed success in gaining
both Democrats and Republicans into their party,
and taking eight seats in the state assembly. The
party lost momentum in California when William Jennings
Bryan was not elected. The movement declined in
membership as radical members joined socialist parties,
and moderates returned to the Democratic Party.
California Progressivism and Reform
Californians, discontent with corrupt governments
and inequality, pushed for reform during the early
20th century. In 1906, an earthquake in San Francisco
sourced a fire that destroyed most of the city,
causing the citizens to push even harder for reforms.
The growing demand for political and economical
reform in the state led to the election of the progressive
governor Hiram Johnson in 1910. Progressives also
took control of both houses of the state legislature
leading to the enactment of a wide range of reforms.
The first of their sweeping reforms was establishing
an effective regulation over the railroads. In 1911,
the legislature granted the state railroad commission
full power to control railroad rates. The people
were given a greater voice in the state government
when the initiative, referendum, and the recall
were introduced. The initiative allowed the people
to create laws or constitutional amendments, the
referendum allowed the people to veto acts of the
legislature, and the recall allowed the voters to
remove any elected official from office. California
was further reformed when it became the sixth state
to embrace women's suffrage in 1911.
Labor laws were another aspect of California reforms.
In 1911, the legislature created workmen's compensation,
the eight hour workday for women, and the minimum
wage for women and children.
Before the turn of the century, a different form
of progressivism was being promoted by John Muir.
After his arrival in 1868, Muir dedicated his life
to the preservation of California's nature. He was
an advocate of preservation and a believer in the
spirituality that nature had to offer. His greatest
success was the creation of Yosemite National Park
in 1890. He was also the founder and first president
of the Sierra Club, an organization dedicated to
preserving the forests of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
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
be reproduced
in any form without prior written consent from
the author.
|
