Mexican and Early U.S. Settlement in California

Paper Summary:

This paper compares the two periods of rule which helped shape California's unique cultural identity. The writer explains that aspects about both of the Mexican and American periods should be looked at when comparing the Mexican and early American periods in Californian history. These aspects include Manifest Destiny, Mission and Rancho culture, the Gold Rush, the railroad boom and the oil boom.

From the Paper:

"Missions were an essential part of California's history. Before Mexican independence, the Franciscan missions endeavored to convert the native peoples to Christianity. However, the missions were considered temporary, as once the Native Americans were culturally assimilated, the work of the Church would be finished. Therefore, the aim of the missions was to eventually redistribute the lands and even offer some of them to converted Native peoples. This process of Mission redistribution was called secularization. After Mexican independence, the push to secularize all missions was intensified. Unfortunately, the Native people were not given the land or resources they were promised. Although Native peoples were equally as persecuted under American rule, there is no similarity between the Missions in Mexican California with later American periods of Californian history. Under American rule, California was an entirely secular state and by then, the missions had all been secularized."

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