Social Darwinism A theory developed by Herbert Spencer of Britain and William Graham Sumner of the U.S. A social theory that stated only relentless competition could produce social progress and that wealth was sign of “fitness” and poverty a sign of “unfitness” for survival What Social Classes Owe to Each Other (1883) by Herbert Spencer “The Gospel of Wealth” by Andrew Carnegie

Cartoon by Horace Taylor titled “What a Funny Little Government” The power wielded by John D. Rockefeller and his Standard Oil is satirized in this cartoon Rockefeller holds the White House & the Treasury Department in the palm of his hand, while in the background the U.S. Capitol has been converted into an oil refinery According to the cartoon, what kind of relationship did Rockefeller have with the federal government?

Transportation Monopoly The Big Four interested in more land grants for a new transcontinental line to be built on the southern route The Case of Oakland and Horace W. Carpentier While they were completing their stranglehold on the bay, the Big Four were also making plans to capture the rest of CA The railroad corrupted politics in a variety of ways and at all levels of government: federal, state, and local

Transportation monopoly. The principal routes of the Southern Pacific Railroad in California, 1884

The Curse of California. Take a look closer, especially the bulging bags of cash grasped before the Nob Hill mansions of Leland Stanford and Charles Crocker, whose faces appear as the eyes of the Octopus. A cartoon from The Wasp, August 19, 1882

Land Monopoly The Homestead Act of 1862, encouraged the ownership of land in a small farm units The expansion of the railroad network in the 1870s did have the desirable effect of encouraging the spread of agricultural settlement in the great Central Valley, but it also created a special set of land tenure problems Settlers vs. Railroad – the “battle of Mussel Slough”

The Ogre of Mussel Slough. This grotesque monster, bearing the heads of Leland Stanford and Charles Crocker, grasps “Subsidy” in its left hand and “Land Grant” in its right; beneath are the embattled farmers killed on May 11, A cartoon from The Wasp, March 12, 1881

Economic Growth The Wheat Bonanza – California’s largest and most profitable agricultural commodity The largest wheat growers in the state was Dr. Hugh J. Glenn - he had 55,000 acres Wines - Vineyards spread through the Sonoma, Napa, Santa Clara, and Livermore valleys, and the Central Valley By 1900, CA produced 19 million gallons of wine, more than 80% of the nation’s output Citrus Industry - Southern CA became responsible for more than two-thirds of the nation’s production of oranges and more than 90% of its lemons

Paper labels placed on wooden crates by California citrus growers boosted not only their products but also an image of life in the Golden State – romantic, exotic, and alluring

Asian workers in the 1890s picking oranges near Santa Ana

The Rise of Southern California The first southern California boom, a very modest one, occurred between 1868 and 1876 Advertising southern California to the public The struggle of the Sacramento Valley against the hydraulic-mining industry The battle of farmers against water monopolists over the control of water for irrigation The water law known as riparian rights The Wright Irrigation Act of authorized the establishment of irrigation districts

A promotional brochure published by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1907 boosting the attractions of California