California Immigration History

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Until the mid-seventeenth century, most of the Americans lived on the east coast, while Native Americans dwelled in the central North America and over west towards California. A majority of Americans believed that being white gave them the divine right to own and civilize the rest of the continent. They treated people of color like they were objects interfering with their land. The justification for their western expansion was coined as manifest destiny, and was bucked up from the United States ' constant feats. Though manifest destiny is known for its racial motivations and "pride" in the Americans ' country, it was made up by an economic core and the Americans were ready to sprawl through the regions. By the early 1800s, America, …show more content…

In 1849, a rush for gold began in one of the now, American provinces California. The news circulated fast about the so called "forty-niners", bringing many different cultures and ethnicities, to California. San Francisco became a flourishing city, dependent on gold, but still heavy with about 50,000 people occupying it. With the hoard of people living in San Francisco, came crime and lots of it. A community against it formed and started lynching violators of their rules. The civic order being made in California became more and more difficult as it became more diverse. Anglo bigots wanted a stop to immigration. This Anglo-centric idea was especially directed at the Chinese nationality. Though Chinese leaders spoke out against the mistreatment, racial violence continued. Manifest destiny was exploited in several different ways throughout the moving to these states and provinces. In Oregon, multiple countries put claims into a territory that was none of theirs in all actuality. In Texas, Polk sought after Mexico 's land only in hopes of profiting from it. After receiving the land, he did profit from it, as well as, anyone else driven by the thought of owning something. Manifest destiny proved to be a white washed idea, and ran over other diversities, including: Native Americans, Mexicans, and the

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