Northern and Southern California

Paper Summary:

This paper describes the differences in the beaches of Southern and Northern California, explains how origins of the settlers to Northern California were different than those of the settlers in Southern California, and looks at how these differences shaped the political and cultural climate of both regions.

From the Paper:

"Unintentionally, the recent death of President Reagan combined with the growing media fixation on the celebrity culture of the Hollywood entertainment industry creates a juxtaposition between the two cultures present in California: that of the conservative and wealthy enclaves of Southern California's Simi Valley and Orange County, and the liberal and open attitudes typified by the Northern Californian Los Angeles movie moguls that gave Reagan the Democratic Party leanings he ultimately reacted to as a politician. Thus California is a paradox: a huge state that is extremely wealthy, a magnet for illegal immigration, a cite of cultural ferment for the entire nation and the home base of Proposition 13 and the Reagan conservative social and economic revolution that took control of the nation during the 1980's. "California, in fact," seems "to be evolving culturally into a federation of regional autonomies as far as cultural value and lifestyles [are] concerned," notes even the state's official librarian, Kevin Starr."

More papers on Northern and Southern California:

• Essay # 56524 : "Southern" California"
• Essay # 90352 : "Housing in Southern California Today "

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