Progressivism In California

California has a long history prior to it’s entry into the United States. Indigenous Americans inhabited California for thousands of years before permanent European settlements occurred in the 1600s. California was occupied and claimed by Spain and Mexico throughout the 1600s to the late 1800s, contributing to California’s culture and history, before the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo concluded the United State’s war with Mexico and ceded California to the Unites States. In 1849 a constitutional convention was held that consisted of forty-eight delegates who represented various regions of California and who crafted a convention document . The document was was approved by the voters and on September 9, 1850 the U.S. Congress admitted California as the thirty-first state. …show more content…
In response to a weakened state economy and corporate monopolies interfering with government a populist movement called the Workingmen’s Party developed in the 1870’s. When a constitutional convention was called in 1878 the Workingmen’s Party elected one-third of the delegates and were able to contribute a number of provisions dealing with corporations. The rise of “progressivism” in California in the early 1900’s was marked by growing concern regarding unrestrained corporate influence on the political process, concentrated economic power, apathy in regards to the political process, the negative impact of humans on the environment, and poor working and living conditions. These sentiments are eerily similar to platforms that Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders ran on. Interestingly, racism played a big part in the platform of progressivism in the early 1900’s, much like it has in this past election