Alcalde System in Mexican California Critical Thinking Examples

Hi Emanuel, I like the fact that you have indicated that the military provided the leadership governing the civilian population and the Mexican California provided a system of local law (alcalde system). However, in your writing, you have not indicated that the military control that was put over the current California mistreated the locals. Despite ensuring enforcement of the local law, the military officers also misused the local and even took away their properties. Additionally, the population growth in the current California area resulted into the eviction of the locals from the central places where gold was discovered. The Native American Indians were generally mistreated and had limited to contribute to the gold trade. Nevertheless, their existence in the area provided the gold traders with penetration and direction into the unknown routes where the gold was available.
Hi Renee, you have identified that travelling on foot and by ship was not as convenient as the railroads. However, you have only mentioned that people travelling on foot got sick, alligators, robbed, attacked some and others murdered. Nevertheless, you have not mentioned that railroads despite speeding the transport system, some bulky goods that could not be transported on foot or through the ships were carried by the trains. Additionally, the rail transport was cheaper compared to the ship transport and many people could access the rail transport. I concur with the idea that the rail transport increased the population in California, which led to social interactions from different cultures and exchange of diverse goods that were produced and transported from different destinations. In addition to these, the more the number of people travelling by train, the more money was generated in the rail transport.