History - California: Home

• Zoot suit riots
  • Race related riots that took place between Mexican American Youths and Military personnel in 1943
• RFK assassination
  • Great conspiracy theory
• Joaquin Murrieta
  • Mexican American Robin Hood?
• Japanese-American internment
  • Local assembly areas for the Japanese were in Fresno, and Tulare*. Did you know this happened so close to where you live?
• Missions
  • Professor gets papers on this topic every semester, keep that in mind. 
• Motion picture industry - a few options for research topics
  • Grauman's Chinese Theater
  • Studio system
  • History of film
• Bracero program
  • A work program for Mexicans to work here in the United States started during World War II.
• Alcatraz
  • A lot of interesting history took place here, there are a lot of different topics to choose from. Did anyone ever escape? The Gov't prison era, Federal prison era, Famous residents...here are just a few ideas.
• Angel Island
  • Ellis Island of the West
• Immigration - a lot of research topics can be found with this topic. Here are some ideas.
  • ​Immigration to California​
  • Immigration laws passed in California
• 1906 earthquake
  • ​Destroyed most of San Francisco
• Disneyland
  • Did you know people have died in the park?
• California republic
  • California was a break away state for 25 days in 1846...did you know that?*
• Mexican war​
• Transcontinental Railroad
  • ​What kind of impact did the railroad have on California?
• Golden Gate Bridge
  • ​"At the time of its opening in 1937, it was both the longest and the tallest suspension bridge in the world, with a main span of 4,200 feet  and a total height of 746 feet."*
• Allensworth
  • Local History: First town in California to be financed, founded, and governed by African Americans*
• William Mulholland
  • Man who brought water to Los Angeles
• Black Bart
  • Famous stage coach robber
• OJ Simpson trial
  • Trial of the century 
• Fatty Arbuckle
  • First trial of the century
• Marilyn Monroe
  • Great conspiracy theory
• Summer of Love in SF
  • Hippies and others gather in San Francisco in the summer of 1967
• Gold Rush
  • Common choice, your Professor knows it inside and out. Keep that in mind if you choose it!
• Creation of Yosemite National Park
  • ​National Park that covers  748,436 acres 
• Creation of Pacific Crest Trail
  • This is a 2,653 mile trail that goes from the California Mexico border to the Canadian border in the North.*
• Oil Discovery along Kern River
  • ​Local history about the discovery of oil. Did you know the first oil well was hand dug? found on Hartenergy.com
• Local granite mine
  • Did you know that there was a granite mine near Rocky Hill that supplied the granite for many buildings in early Porterville? It was also a major employer in the area.
• Royal Porter Putnam
  • Founder of Porterville
• Albert Bierstadt / Thomas Moran
  • artists depicting California
• Santa Barbara Oil Spill or the Refugio Oil Spill
  • 142,800 gallons of oil spilled onto one of the most biologically diverse coastlines of California*
• Beatniks
  • a person who participated in a social movement of the 1950s and early 1960s which stressed artistic self-expression and the rejection of the mores of conventional society broadly : a usually young and artistic person who rejects the mores of conventional society. found at www.merriam-webster.com
• Dams/irrigation
  • Water plays an important role in California, and has caused a lot of problems throughout history. Some of these problems are who controls it, who gets it, where do we get it from? 
• Modoc War
  • War between the Native American Modoc people*
• Ishi
  • Last known member of the Native American Yahi people*
• Leland Stanford
  • Founder of Stanford University, Govenor of California, Senator, President of Central Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroad and Robber Baron.
• Los Angeles Riots
  • Watts Riots 1965
  • Rodney King Riots 1992
• Environmental Issues - just a few ideas
  • ​Air Quality​
  • Drilling for Oil
  • Climate Change
• Free Speech Movement
  • A student protest that took place at UC Berkley in 1964-1965 academic year.*
• Emperor Norton
  • Self proclaimed Emperor of United States*
• Sierra Club
  • "the club was one of the first large-scale environmental preservation organizations in the world"*
• 1969 Occupation of Alcatraz
  • ​Occupied by Native Americans
• Harvey Milk
  • First openly gay politician elected in California

*All descriptions with an asterisk are quotes, or summaries from Wikipedia