As part of the regions that the United States captured under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, California gained statehood with yet another document dubbed the Compromise of 1850. For that reason, the region was a latecomer in American politics and remained so for the better part of its history. Two factors worked against the State of California: its apparent long distance from other powers and its “frontier heritagethat includes a legacy of materialistic individualism” (Field, 2011, p.15). Expectedly, California assumed the role of an untapped reservoir of natural resources as opposed to a partner of country policies simply because of its vast reservoirs of gold. Subsequently, the social and historical context of the government of California revolves around an interwoven network of communities and the resources mentioned above. With the given facts in mind, the State’s political culture is not only vast but also complicated. Still, the peoples’ political affiliations appear to go hand in hand with their societies and economic practices. For instance, in the Central Valley, an agricultural-based economy propelled the residents to support the Republican Party while the urban areas vote for the Democratic Party.
Now, what stands out about the history of California is what Field refers to as “scapegoating” (2011, p.23). Apparently, any issues within the State were predominantly traceable to the minority groups in the region. Notably, the Chinese immigrants hoping to benefit from the gold rush made up the lowest social class and were for that reason, a significant part of the minority group that became prey to scapegoating. To that end, while the Compromise of 1850 ensured that California remained a non-slaveholding state that in no way meant the region revolved around equality. On the contrary, racial prejudice governed most if not all of the political and social decisions in the territories. By that logic, California was not that different from the rest of the United States despite its late entry into the Union; white supremacy reigned.
References
Field, M. (2011). California Government and Politics Today (13th ed.). New York: Pearson Education.
