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A review by beccagomezfarrell
The Other Californians: Prejudice and Discrimination Under Spain, Mexico, and the United States to 1920 by Alan J. Almquist, Robert F. Heizer
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
Whew! This anthropological study out of UC Berkeley in 1971 was a tough read, because of the incredibly racist views portrayed in most of the first person documents included within it. Definitely didn't cover most of these details in my required California history courses growing up! It goes over the deplorable treatment of Californian Indians from the Mission system to near extermination, including the essentially slavery laws that allowed them to be pressed into service for extended periods of time without their own consent, of course.
Despite California being a free state, our constitutional convention nearly banned Black people from entering the state, because a majority of the representatives couldn't stand the idea that slaves would be free people once they set foot inside the borders.
Of course, the United States's Asian exclusionary laws of the late 19th century and early 20th century all stemmed from prejudice in California as well. The sheer concentration of white Anglo-Saxons populating California from the 1840s onward created impossible situations for these minority groups. Some of the conclusions drawn by the authors are a bit dated now, but overall, I think this is essential reading for people interested in California's past.
Despite California being a free state, our constitutional convention nearly banned Black people from entering the state, because a majority of the representatives couldn't stand the idea that slaves would be free people once they set foot inside the borders.
Of course, the United States's Asian exclusionary laws of the late 19th century and early 20th century all stemmed from prejudice in California as well. The sheer concentration of white Anglo-Saxons populating California from the 1840s onward created impossible situations for these minority groups. Some of the conclusions drawn by the authors are a bit dated now, but overall, I think this is essential reading for people interested in California's past.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence