History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme.
-Mark Twain
Introduction
California has always been a frontier for European settlers and remains so to this day. While indigenous people had been brilliant stewards of the land for at least 10,000 years (and likely longer than that), it wasn't until the mid-16th century that the Spanish--having recently steamrolled across South America--turned their gaze Northward in search of fabled cities of gold and a Northwest Passage. Starting with Vizcaino's seafaring expedition, they would eventually make it as far North as Cape Mendocino or possibly Southern Oregon before being turned back by perennial bad weather. They would sail right past San Francisco bay several times, the inlet camouflaged as ever by fog. Sailing close to the towering coastline, taking advantage of near-shore ocean currents, always on the lookout for "smokes", the indigenous campfires. It would be two hundred years more until the Presidio was "discovered" and established by the Spanish Missionaries traveling overland. Fur trappers would be some of the first Europeans to establish continuing relations with indigenous tribes.
I've been perusing the University of California at Riversides' historical newspaper archives in search of some insight into the societal issues of today; racial inequality, housing availability, education, environmental concerns and the like. California newspapers first went into print in 1846, poised to serve the world's voracious appetite for any news of gold on the frontier. In those early days before the advent of the telegraph, before the completion of the Transcontinental rail line, news traveled with the steamers bound from Panama and the overland parties making for San Francisco and Sacramento from points Eastward.
With this blog I will highlight news items from the early days of California that may help to inform some of the struggles we face today. How did we deal with these problems 175 years ago? California has long been a melting-pot of emigrant and indigenous populations, and equitably portraying the sentiment of every community is complicated by the fact that these newspapers were written, edited and owned primarily by Caucasian men. In my commentary around each article snippet, I will attempt to provide some context that highlights the struggles of under-represented communities, and some global context as well.
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| Santa Cruz Post Office Circa 1860 |
Weekly Alta California(San Francisco), 12 July 1849
https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=WAC18490712
. . . THE TOWN OF SANTA CRUZ. The survey of this Pueblo, one of the oldest in California, has recently been corrected and mapped by Lt. Williamson, U. S. A. It is situated in the Bay of Monterey, and presents more advantages for an agreeable residence than any other in California, for it is well known that at no part of the whole country is the climate purer, water better, soil more fertile, and where so unlimited a supply of lumber and timber for building and fencing purposes can be procured at prices nearly as low as in the United States. The town and planting grounds are laid out in lots of 50 varas square, a large number of which are now offered for sale at very moderate prices by the subscribers. SAN FRANCISCO. Some of the most desirable locations for private residences or business purposes in this town, can be purchased or leased of the subscribers. Maps of the City of New York of the Pacific, the Towns of Sutter, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco can be seen at the Land Office of the subscribers, on Clay street, south side Portsmouth square. 27tf STEVENSON, PARKER & CO.
The Spanish Missionaries had set up shop in Monterey about 100 years prior to this survey, with intent to make Monterey Bay a shipping hub. The bay proved to be poorly-suited to this task though, being too shallow for many ships to make port. Still, the Missionaries set about their work of converting and subjugating the native population and doling out land-grants to Mexican comrades, many of whom had already been there for a generation. The article snippet above shows the first formalization of the pueblo of Santa Cruz--you could now officially buy property there. While the first newspaper in California had been published in Monterey in August of 1846(in both English and Spanish), it would be another sixteen years before Santa Cruz would have its own newspaper, at a time when the novelty of the Gold Rush was replaced by the existential crisis of the Civil War.
The following was the headline article for the second weekly edition of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, a copy of a lengthy July 4th speech given by a reverend in Watsonville. The speech eloquently makes the case for the Union against the secessionist Confederate Army, and ends with an observation that difficult times are in fact opportunities to temper one's resolve and virtue. I've added emphases to prescient anecdotes, but a thorough reading would be worth the reader's time. The Civil War was ramping up with no clear end in sight. The audience for this speech were almost to a person themselves recent emigrants to California, hailing from all parts of the United States and beyond. If there was one thing in common amongst the populace, it may have been a willingness to take on risk. California itself had legitimate grievances with the Union, as an expansive frontier outpost Federal law was difficult to enforce and people had concerns about Federal efficacy, to include fair representation for the State in the halls of Congress.
