California: From Nativism to Innovation
California, the state of firsts, has always been a battleground of competing ideologies – one restrictive and the other rebellious. California’s history recounts both pioneering progressivism and regressive movements, from being the first to pass tailpipe emission standards, adopt paid family leave, experiment with a guaranteed income, and legalize medical marijuana to being the first state that banned affirmative action and approved Proposition 187. The latter proposition aimed to exclude undocumented immigrants from public social services, but it was declared unconstitutional in federal court and was terminated by Governor Gray Davis in 1999. Despite the majority of voters approving Proposition 187, resistance to the measure was strong, especially among young people, which reduced their support. The proposition strengthened Latino voter participation, which changed the electoral map for the next 25 years. Today, as California grapples with the threat of climate change, a housing crisis spreading out of state, and a population exodus, the state finds itself at a similar fork in the road and must question where it wants to go, what it wants to prioritize and how it can optimize its future.
The Diversity of California’s Historical Foundations
Behind the future’s arrival on foot dressed in the brown robe of a Franciscan friar, California’s complex history spans multiple periods, beginning with periods of occupation of indigenous peoples and ancient civilizations. However, California’s more modern history commences in 1769 when Father Junipero Serra arrived in the area known as Alta California, commissioned by the Spanish crown to explore and “civilize” the region. Father Serra and his settlers set about establishing a chain of Catholic missions along a 600-mile route that traveled through the area in a vertical line, as part of a plan to build a Spanish colony in the Pacific.
The mission system ultimately heralded a long and brutal campaign of displacement, forced labor, acculturation, and violence against indigenous peoples, who were envisioned as “reasonable people,” in what the Spaniards imagined becoming a Christian territory. The Royal Highway, which followed existing indigenous trails and supported the farms and ranches that eventually became the backbone of the area’s economy, stood as a testament to the settlers’ determination and ingenuity.
1848 saw California coming under US rule, with the discovery of gold in the American River driving the influx of people into California during the Gold Rush. Nearly 300,000 people migrated to the state, as a new breed of settler arrived, hoping to strike gold and get rich through both luck and hard work. This influx necessitated the creation of a new type of road, which went beyond merely supporting farms and ranches to connecting the West to the wider country, resulting in the Transcontinental Railroad. The dream of the Californian Gold Rush was a precursor to the American Dream, as individuals from all backgrounds arrived in California to seek their fortune.
California’s Politics
California has long been a scene of political drama, with its voters frequently polarizing in support of various candidates, ideologies and social causes. After three decades of oppressive rule, the early 20th century saw California ruled by Hiram Johnson, the progressive governor of the state who fought on behalf of its working class. With Johnson’s aid, campaigns for women’s suffrage received their full support and state funding. However, after Johnson, the state’s political scene took a sharp rightward turn, epitomized by Governor Ronald Reagan.
Governor Reagan introduced stringent conservative policies that drove forward the nativist thinking that became center stage of Californian politics. This thinking became more polarized in the late 19th century, with an increase in conservative, far-right thinking becoming prominent in the state. Californian conservatism focused on issues such as deindustrialization, populist nativism, and activism against liberal social policies.
A New Progressivism
The past two decades have seen the rise of a new wave of progressive politics. Although the state experienced a long drought, it made significant efforts in its combatting of climate change. California was amongst the first states in the US to impose strict environmental regulations that target greenhouse gas emissions, aligning itself with Paris Climate Agreements to minimize harmful emissions.
A similar progressive approach was applied when California legalized medical marijuana and became the first to experiment with guaranteed income at a municipal level. California has also been a leader in recognizing minorities’ rights and the protection of marginalized groups, including women and the LGBTQ+ community. It is clear that progressivism has continued to drive California’s politics forward, and this thinking is reflected within the wide range of policies, decisions and initiatives currently being undertaken in the state.
The Challenges California Faces
Despite the state’s liberal politics, California faces its fair share of problems and challenges. California has a homelessness crisis, and San Francisco’s streets remain plagued by homeless encampments despite the city’s best efforts to respond effectively. The state’s housing crisis means that working-class people are being pushed out of the cities and into the more suburban areas, which magnifies various social issues such as healthcare, education and employment.
Californians are becoming increasingly concerned about the number of extreme weather events, including droughts, floods, and wildfires, that are affecting the state. The amount of water available to the state’s population has become a significant issue, epitomized by the state’s recent dispute with Nestlé over the use of groundwater in the San Bernardino Mountains. Global warming, urbanization and the overuse of resources are all coming together to create the perfect storm for California, meaning the state’s policymakers have to ask themselves how they can tackle these problems while continuing to improve the state’s governance and management.
In Summary
The state of California continually wrestles with competing ideas and political stances. The history of the state reflects this; it has been the place of both pioneering political advancement and regressive movements. With the current challenges of climate change, an ongoing housing crisis, and a population exodus, policymakers in California must create new strategies to address these challenges while continuing to lead the way in progressive politics. California’s past can be seen as either an example to emulate or as a warning for the future, which policymakers must keep in mind as they work to make the state an even better place to live and work.
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California was the first state to pass tailpipe emission standardsthe first in legalize the medical use of marijuanathe first in adopt paid family leavethe first to experiment with guaranteed income at the municipal levelbut also the first state to organize a tax revolt that hindered public serviceshe first to ban affirmative action and, in 1994, the first to approve an electoral initiative: Proposition 187 — that would have excluded undocumented immigrants from public social services, including education and health care. Proposition 187 was a momentous episode in state history, crystallizing the nativist reaction to changing demographics and heralding similar movements in the rest of the country.
The character of California arises from the swing between two impulses, one restrictive, the other rebellious. Although the majority of voters voted in favor of Proposition 187, resistance to the measure was strong, especially among young people, which reduced their support. It was declared unconstitutional in federal court and was effectively terminated by Governor Gray Davis in 1999. Passage of the proposition strengthened Latino voter participation and changed the electoral map for the next 25 years.
Now, as California grapples with the threat of climate change, a housing crisis spreading out of state, and a population exodus, we again find ourselves at a crossroads. While listening to the radio after a wildfire a couple of years ago, I heard a caller pin his hopes on technological innovation as a solution to this problem. But as we get closer to the future, it might be worth considering how we got here in the first place.
three hundred years behind, the future arrived on foot, dressed in the brown robe of a Franciscan friar. In 1769, commissioned by the Spanish crown to explore and “civilize” the area then known as Alta California, Father Junípero Serra and the parents he set about building a chain of Catholic missions on a 600-mile route that ran through the territory in a vertical line. The road, which in part followed existing indigenous trails, was called El Camino Real (“the Royal Highway”). The highway supported the farms and ranches that would eventually become the backbone of the territory’s economy, but the mission system heralded a long and brutal campaign of displacement, forced labor, acculturation, and violence against the state’s indigenous peoples, which Spaniards envisioned as a Christian territory full of people of reason (“reasonable people”).
In 1848, when California came under US rule, specks of gold were found in the American River. By some estimates, nearly 300,000 people moved to California during the Gold Rush, tripling the state’s population in about 10 years. To transport people and goods to and from the West, a new type of road was needed: the Transcontinental Railroad. The newcomers hoped that a combination of luck and hard work would make them rich, a belief that became known as the California dream, a precursor to the national mythology surrounding the American dream.
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