Discussion 2
Californios?
Manifest destiny was a concept used by the Americans as a vision to enhance the expansion of their country regarding its exceptional behaviour, its size and regarding the general importance of the country globally. California began growing rapidly when deposits of gold were found in it. Many people came to California to trade for gold in the gold rush, and in the process, California turned from a remote, deserted land to a busy growing place. For example, San Francisco substantially grew from a small settlement of about 800 people to a big city of about hundred thousand people within a span of two years. Around 1840, Americans and Europeans began migrating to California, some in search of gold while others were interested in the California agricultural lands (Holliday & Howard 18).
The richness of California regarding gold, land and agricultural produce motivated the Americans to view California as a right place with much potential and therefore worthy to be added among the States of America. In addition, the Californios proved to be industrious, and therefore the American viewed them as people who will add much value to the United States as a country.
What role did this ideology play in the war against Mexico? In what ways did it shape America\'s treatment of Californios after annexation?
Manifest destiny as an ideology motivated the Americans to fight Mexico in that they saw an opportunity of boosting the economy of the United States through the gold mines and the agricultural trade in California. For example, currently, California can feed the whole United States of America and majorly influences the politics of America. Furthermore, some of the Californios selected as delegates for the annexation of the California were compromising and moderate in speech. For example, Mariano Vallejo who was one of the leaders of the delegation had a compromising and reasonable voice. However, the Californios demonstrated good skills in parliamentary debates and were successful in molding the main provisions on taxation, civil liberty, state boundaries, and voter qualification. However, the division amongst the California delegates made it difficult to influence the Mexican- American politics largely (Holliday &Howard 162). Even after annexation, the American knew the Californios as divided people and therefore treated them as a population easy to influence through the divide and rule method.
Do you see any connections between the ideology of Manifest Destiny and the ways in which Americans approached the discovery of gold?
Manifest destiny is an ideology that believed in the expansion of the boundaries of the United States through adding more states that had more resources for the benefit of all the people of the United States. When the Americans saw that gold was discovered in California, they moved in large numbers to Mexico regions in a rush for the gold. Therefore, it is clear that manifest destiny as an ideology motivated the Americans to go for gold as a resource to boost the economy of the United States hence the approach of gold by the Americans relates to the manifest destiny ideology used by the Americans.
What ways did the gold rush itself shape California? The people who came to California for gold?
The gold rush wakened up the Mexican- California province into a boom of civilization. The economy and social settlement of California became vibrant. For example, during the period of the gold rush, about five hundred thousands of people move into California each year in such of gold. On the other hand, the people who moved into California got gold, other got large parcels of agricultural lands; others gained political power in California while others married and permanently settled in California ("Gold Rush And Constitution").
What do you see as the legacies of Manifest Destiny and the Gold Rush in California?
In other words, how do they shape us even today?
The manifest destiny and gold rush created a society in California comprising of diverse ethnic groups. In fact, California is famous for having the highest rates of ethnic diversity compared to other states of America. In addition, the gold rush and manifest destiny led to a high concentration of populations in the California and therefore making California a major state because of its ability to influence votes in the United States of America.
Works Cited
"Gold Rush And Constitution". Users.Humboldt.Edu, 2017, http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/hist383/GoldRush.html.
Holliday, James S., and Howard Roberts Lamar. The world rushed in: The California gold rush experience. University of Oklahoma Press, 2015.
