1. How California Became California
(Native American music is playing)
Ms. Miller: Good evening. Thank you for coming to our performance. Please silence your phones and save your clapping until the end of the show. Please remain seated throughout the whole show.
Welcome!
4th grade: E4
5th grade: and 5
All: presents “California Origins.”
California’s
Origins

2. Over 13,000 years ago: People from
Weston:
Welcome, to “California’s Origins.” Over 13,000 years ago, nomadic people migrated from Asia to North America over the Bering Straight. These people became the Native Americans.
Roman:
About 4,000 years ago, the Native Americans began to settle into villages. California was full of many different tribes that spoke over 100 different languages.
Over 13,000 years ago: People from
Asia migrate to
the Americas.

3. Hernando Cortés Founds
Miko:
Then, in the 1500’s, the conquistadors of Spain came to the Americas looking for gold and other riches. Hernando Cortés conquered the Aztecs in 1521, and he called the area New Spain. Cortés then went on to explore Baja California in 1535.
1535
Hernando Cortés Founds
New Spain

4. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo Explores
Max:
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was the first European explorer to visit Alta California. He landed in the San Diego Bay in 1542.
However, Alta California was very far from Mexico City. Spain lost interest in the region, ignoring that land for over 160 years.
All: Until…
1542
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo Explores
Alta California

5. Dominic:
In the 1700s, the Russians started to explore Alta California and set up fur trading posts. Russian explorers were not always welcomed by the Native Americans. Russian captains and their Aluet sailors sometimes attacked the tribes. For example, Scot O’Dell wrote about this in the historical fiction novel Island of the Blue Dolphins. Let’s hear from Chief Matasaip speaking to his people who had been attacked by the Russian and Aluet traders.
(Hanzo enters with his monologue of Matasaip)
1700’s & 1800’s: Russian Fur Traders Arrive Affecting the First Peoples

6. Gaspar de Portolá Builds Presidios
Roman:
Meanwhile, Spain did not like the Russian fur traders, either. In 1769, the King of Spain ordered a soldier, Gaspar de Portolá, to lead an expedition from Baja California to Alta California.
1769
Gaspar de Portolá Builds Presidios
and Settlements

7. Junípero Serra Builds the first Missions
Weston:
Portolá traveled with the Franciscan priest, Padre Junípero Serra. Together, these two explorers started building presidios and missions from San Diego to San Francisco. Let us hear from Junipero Serra himself. (Serra (Adler) enters and performs his monologue.)
1769
Junípero Serra Builds the first Missions

8. 1785 Toypurina Leads Rebellion of the San Gabriel Mission
Miko:
Many Native Americans did not like the changes that came along with colonization, particularly one Tongva Medicine Woman named Toypurina. Toypurina planned a rebellion against the San Gabriel Mission. However, someone overheard their plans and warned the missionaries. As a result, the rebellion failed. Toypurina avoided execution by converting to Christianity.
1785
Toypurina Leads
Rebellion of the
San Gabriel Mission

9. Mexico Wins Independence From Spain
Max:
Being inspired by the revolutions of America and France, Alta California underwent many changes during the 1800’s. The people of Mexico started a revolution against Spain in 1821, and Mexico won its independence.
1821
Mexico Wins Independence From Spain

10. President Vicente Ramón Guerrero Abolishes Slavery in Mexico
Dominic:
In 1829, President Vicente Ramón Guerrero, the second Mexican president, abolished slavery in Mexico. His emancipation proclamation freed the Native Americans as well as African slaves.
1829
President Vicente Ramón Guerrero Abolishes Slavery in Mexico

11. Rancho Period Starts with Government Land Grants
Adler:
Between the 1820’s and 1840’s, Alta California entered into the Rancho Period where Dons and Donas owned large acres of land through a land grant system. One Ranchero was Pio Pico.
(Pico (Hanzo) enters and performs his monologue.)
1820’s-1840’s
Rancho Period Starts with Government Land Grants

12. Bostonian Ships Traded Alta California, Mexico
Weston:
During the Rancho Period, the people of the United States wanted to sell their goods to the people of Alta California.
(Enter Dana who has a brief scene with Pico. Then, Dana performs his monologue.)
1830’s and 1840’s
Bostonian Ships Traded Alta California, Mexico

13. Fur Trappers and Trailblazers from the United States Arrive
Adler:
Not all Americans traveled to Alta California by sea. Many traveled by land. The leaders in this westward land migration were the fur trappers like Jedediah Strong Smith and James Beckwourth. These trappers were trailblazers, people that mapped out land routes. Jedediah Strong Smith was the first to arrive in Alta California…
(Enter Smith to perform his monologue. Then, Beckwourth will enter to perform a scene with Smith. Finally, Beckwourth will perform his monologue.)
1820’s -1840’s
Fur Trappers and Trailblazers from the United States Arrive

14. 1820’s -1840’s Pioneers in Wagon Trains Arrive
Max:
Simultaneously, other people from the United States came to settle in Alta California. They were called pioneers, and they traveled in wagons. The new settlers and the original settlers of Alta California started to feel like their land was unique, different from the rest of Mexico. So, they called themselves Californios.
1820’s -1840’s
Pioneers in
Wagon Trains
Arrive

15. Gains Popularity in the United States
Dominic: Between 1800 and the 1840s, the population of the United States grew from 5 million to 23 million people. Americans looked at Alta California; they wanted that space; they wanted the United States to stretch from “sea to shining sea.” This idea was called “Manifest Destiny.”
1840’s
“Manifest Destiny”
Gains Popularity in the United States

16. U.S. President Polk offers to buy Alta California
Hanzo:
In 1845, U.S. President James K. Polk offered to buy Alta California, Arizona, and New Mexico from Mexico for forty million dollars. Mexico refused to sell.
1845
U.S. President Polk offers to buy Alta California

17. John C. Fremont Tries to Start a Rebellion
(Weston comes out and poses while Roman speaks…)
Roman:
In 1846, John C. Fremont, an explorer and Major in the United States Army, wanted to start a rebellion between the Californios and Mexico. He spread a rumor that the Mexican military was going to force American settlers back to the United States. The Californios who were U.S. citizens got worried; they didn’t want to leave Alta California.
1846
John C. Fremont Tries to Start a Rebellion

18. Californios Rebel. They start the California Republic.
Weston:
Later that year, the Californios rebelled against Mexico. They called themselves the Osos, or Bears. Their new republic, the Bear Republic, lasted only a few months. It ended with the arrival of U.S. troops in Monterey. Why were U.S. troops in Alta California?
June 1846:
Californios Rebel. They start the California Republic.

19. U.S. and Mexico Sign the Treaty of Hidalgo
Dominic:
Unknown to the Californios, the U.S. was already at war with Mexico! Mexico and the U.S. disagreed about the border between Mexico and Texas. The U.S. sent soldiers over Mexico’s border, and then Mexico attacked those soldiers. Consequently, the U.S. declared war. In the end, the United States won the war, and the U.S. got to take California, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming! The U.S. paid….
(One person at a time comes out with the signs reading
15, 0 0 0, 0 0 0
When the last zero comes out, all say…)
All:
Fifteen million dollars!
1848
U.S. and Mexico Sign the Treaty of Hidalgo

20. Gold is Discovered at Sutter’s Mill! Many Americans Migrate.
Miko:
In 1849, James Marshall, an employee at John Sutter’s sawmill near Sacramento found a gold nugget. That event sparked The Gold Rush. About 90,000 miners flocked to California between 1849 and 1850; they were called the 49ers. Nearly 1,000 of these miners were African Americans; some were free, and some were slaves.
(Enter Coffey to perform his monologue. Then, Sutter and Coffey will perform their scene. Finally, Sutter will perform his monologue.)
1849
Gold is Discovered at Sutter’s Mill! Many Americans Migrate.

21. Votes to Make California a State
Hanzo:
After the Gold Rush, the people of California wanted to become a state. In 1850, the U.S. allowed California to join the union as a free state, a state in which slavery would not be allowed.
1850
U.S. Congress
Votes to Make California a State

22. 1850 John C. Fremont Runs for U.S. Senate
Roman:
John C. Fremont became one of the first Senators to represent California in the United States Congress. Later on, he would serve as governor of California. Years later, he would live in Arizona and run for governor there. Let’s hear his campaign speech.
(Enter Fremont to perform his monologue.)
1850
John C. Fremont Runs for
U.S. Senate

23. Votes to Make California a State
Hanzo:
To conclude, these are the origins of our great state of California. Over the next 166 years, California continued to grow as a place where many cultures and languages thrived. California also grew to become an agricultural and industrial giant. Today, if California were its own country, then it would have the 8th largest economy in the world! It is a place where one can feel proud to call home.
1850
U.S. Congress
Votes to Make California a State

24. “California, Here I Come”
Weston:
I hope you enjoyed this presentation of “California’s Origins.”
All:
Thank you for coming.
Now, we would like to invite you to ask us questions and to pan for gold as we listen to Ray Charles singing “California, Here I Come.”
Thank you.
“California, Here I Come”