I'm still working my way through this admirable series, which, as I've said before, every American school-aged child should read in its entirety, as it's such an accessible introduction to the major features of American history. Dated though they may be (which offers an opportunity for discussion and critique) they offer so much more detail and insight into the topics than can be found in a dry textbook, as they usually also focus on the lives of individual people, which humanizes the events and makes the material more interesting than a recitation of facts and figures. To that end, I wish the series had continued, as many more volumes should be added to address events in the (more) modern-day.
This volume was decidedly less sophisticated than several others I have read, but I would still highly recommend it as a part of the series. As I have stated previously, the strength of these short, easily accessible books is that they provide a good overview of the subjects they address and hopefully spark readers' interests to further research and explore related matters more deeply on their own. This one in particular also provides something of a guidebook for locations throughout northern California, so residents can visit many of the locations as a field trip!
For this particular volume, as a native Californian, it was fascinating to (again) read of the prominent figures and events which led to statehood in 1850, largely because of the Gold Rush. As stated, California went from being a backwater with a population of a few tens of thousands, to an economic powerhouse with a population nearing half a million only a DECADE later. The town where I was born was named for a prominent figure who immigrated to the area in the wake of the Gold Rush, for example. The state also remained a cosmopolitan, multi-cultural promise land largely because of the influx of persons from all over the world, many of whom stated and built lives here, bringing their languages, foods, cultures and traditions with them.
Not all that glitters is gold, however, and the book also spells out some, but not all, of the consequences of sudden, radical change. Small, sleepy towns almost overnight were overrun with populations bent on striking it rich at all costs, leading to runaway inflation, crime and vice beyond description. As it's a children's book, the material is rather tame in light of what it actually was like in mining boom towns. What the book didn't include, however, and should have, was the devastating effects on the environment, especially after commercial mining operations took over as the dominant type for gold extraction, which led to environmental degradation the area has yet to recover from, and likely never will.
It also glossed over some of the more unpleasant aspects of labor relations in norther California, especially in the wake of mass immigration particularly from China, and the horrific treatment these settlers in particular were subjected to. Nor does the book at any great length address the plight of native peoples who were pushed off their lands in the ever-expanding search for riches. Most California school children know the story of Ishi, of the Yahi people, who were nearly wiped out in the decade following the '49 gold strike. Not only did miners push the natives off their ancestral lands, but mining operation also severely damaged waterways and killed the fish and animals native peoples relied on for food, clothing and shelter. Settlers from all over the world also imported deadly diseases such as smallpox and measles, which took a heavy toll, as did the bounties set on native peoples in subsequent decades, who were even attacked and killed in their sleep. As a result, many native tribes, including the Yana group, to which Ishi belonged, were pushed to the brink of extinction. This subject, especially the story of Ishi and his people, are deserving of a volume all their own.
Notwithstanding the shortcomings, however, this and the other books offer a good introduction to the major events which shaped American history, and are highly recommended to anyone who is just learning or, like me, hasn't been exposed to the material since grade school, in some cases, and needs an accessible and enjoyable refresher.
This volume was decidedly less sophisticated than several others I have read, but I would still highly recommend it as a part of the series. As I have stated previously, the strength of these short, easily accessible books is that they provide a good overview of the subjects they address and hopefully spark readers' interests to further research and explore related matters more deeply on their own. This one in particular also provides something of a guidebook for locations throughout northern California, so residents can visit many of the locations as a field trip!
For this particular volume, as a native Californian, it was fascinating to (again) read of the prominent figures and events which led to statehood in 1850, largely because of the Gold Rush. As stated, California went from being a backwater with a population of a few tens of thousands, to an economic powerhouse with a population nearing half a million only a DECADE later. The town where I was born was named for a prominent figure who immigrated to the area in the wake of the Gold Rush, for example. The state also remained a cosmopolitan, multi-cultural promise land largely because of the influx of persons from all over the world, many of whom stated and built lives here, bringing their languages, foods, cultures and traditions with them.
Not all that glitters is gold, however, and the book also spells out some, but not all, of the consequences of sudden, radical change. Small, sleepy towns almost overnight were overrun with populations bent on striking it rich at all costs, leading to runaway inflation, crime and vice beyond description. As it's a children's book, the material is rather tame in light of what it actually was like in mining boom towns. What the book didn't include, however, and should have, was the devastating effects on the environment, especially after commercial mining operations took over as the dominant type for gold extraction, which led to environmental degradation the area has yet to recover from, and likely never will.
It also glossed over some of the more unpleasant aspects of labor relations in norther California, especially in the wake of mass immigration particularly from China, and the horrific treatment these settlers in particular were subjected to. Nor does the book at any great length address the plight of native peoples who were pushed off their lands in the ever-expanding search for riches. Most California school children know the story of Ishi, of the Yahi people, who were nearly wiped out in the decade following the '49 gold strike. Not only did miners push the natives off their ancestral lands, but mining operation also severely damaged waterways and killed the fish and animals native peoples relied on for food, clothing and shelter. Settlers from all over the world also imported deadly diseases such as smallpox and measles, which took a heavy toll, as did the bounties set on native peoples in subsequent decades, who were even attacked and killed in their sleep. As a result, many native tribes, including the Yana group, to which Ishi belonged, were pushed to the brink of extinction. This subject, especially the story of Ishi and his people, are deserving of a volume all their own.
Notwithstanding the shortcomings, however, this and the other books offer a good introduction to the major events which shaped American history, and are highly recommended to anyone who is just learning or, like me, hasn't been exposed to the material since grade school, in some cases, and needs an accessible and enjoyable refresher.
