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101-423: On June 29, 1892, Sheldon Jackson visited the head of Port Clarence, Alaska , in search of a suitable location for the establishment of a reindeer station. In making a location, it was important to take into consideration nearness to the coast of Asia, character of harbor, position with reference to future distribution of reindeer, supply of good pasturage and water. Finding that all these conditions were best met at

202-702: A Tsimshian missionary among the Tlingit . Jackson had considerable common ground with another important American in the region. Captain Michael A. Healy of the United States Revenue Cutter Service , commander of the USRC Bear , was also known for his concern for the native Alaskan Inuit . During this time, Captain Healy, primarily of European-American ancestry and the first person of African descent to command

303-537: A "dugout" for himself and assistant and another for the Siberian herders. These "dugouts" were occupied during the severity of the winter weather. During the summer of 1893, additional lumber and material were sent to the station, and Healy again sent his carpenters and sailors on shore to do the needed work of placing the main station building in complete order for comfortable use. The whole house had double sides and double floor, with tarred paper between. A large "lean-to"

404-468: A Caliph) on their way to Guerrero, Mexico where they played a future role in the wars of independence . Sebastián Vizcaíno explored and mapped the coast of California in 1602 for New Spain , putting ashore in Monterey . Despite the on-the-ground explorations of California in the 16th century, Rodríguez's idea of California as an island persisted. Such depictions appeared on many European maps well into

505-459: A Spanish navigator." The name most likely derived from the mythical island of California in the fictional story of Queen Calafia , as recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo . Queen Calafia's kingdom was said to be a remote land rich in gold and pearls, inhabited by beautiful Black women who wore gold armor and lived like Amazons , as well as griffins and other strange beasts. Abbreviations of

606-425: A U.S. ship, was essentially the law enforcement officer of the U.S. government in the vast territory. In his twenty years of service between San Francisco and Point Barrow , Healy acted as a judge, doctor, and policeman to Alaskan Natives, merchant seamen and whaling crews. His ship also carried doctors and provided the only available trained medical care to many isolated communities. The Native people throughout

707-575: A commodity until the 1849 California Gold Rush . From the 1820s, trappers and settlers from the United States and Canada began to arrive in Northern California. These new arrivals used the Siskiyou Trail , California Trail , Oregon Trail and Old Spanish Trail to cross the rugged mountains and harsh deserts in and surrounding California. The early government of the newly independent Mexico

808-560: A free state, the "loitering or orphaned Indians", were de facto enslaved by their new Anglo-American masters under the 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians . One of these de facto slave auctions was approved by the Los Angeles City Council and occurred for nearly twenty years. There were many massacres in which hundreds of indigenous people were killed by settlers for their land. Between 1850 and 1860,

909-455: A letter to newly hired teachers in 1887 he wrote: The legacy of Jackson's educational policy is clearly evident in the now precarious state of Alaska's indigenous languages. His policy prohibiting indigenous languages in Alaska schools was enforced from 1910 to 1968. Decades of punishment for speaking Native languages resulted in greatly decreased transmission from one generation to the next, with

1010-524: A missionary throughout the American West. With the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, a huge territory was opened to him. In the summer of 1869, Jackson went on a missionary tour using the railroad and stage lines, establishing a church a day. Jackson found his major life's work in the new territory of Alaska . In 1867, US Secretary of State William H. Seward , during the administration of U.S. President Andrew Johnson , had negotiated

1111-624: A modest home which in the 1960s cost $ 25,000 would cost half a million dollars or more in urban areas by 2005. More people commuted longer hours to afford a home in more rural areas while earning larger salaries in the urban areas. Speculators bought houses, expecting to make a huge profit in months, then rolling it over by buying more properties. Mortgage companies were compliant, as people assumed prices would keep rising. The bubble burst in 2007–8 as prices began to crash. Hundreds of billions in property values vanished and foreclosures soared, as financial institutions and investors were badly hurt. In

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1212-463: A part of Mexico. In 1846, the total settler population of the western part of the old Alta California had been estimated to be no more than 8,000, plus about 100,000 Native Americans, down from about 300,000 before Hispanic settlement in 1769. In 1848, only one week before the official American annexation of the area, gold was discovered in California, this being an event which was to forever alter both

1313-721: A short break in 1862 when legislative sessions were held in San Francisco due to flooding in Sacramento . Once the state's Constitutional Convention had finalized its state constitution, it applied to the U.S. Congress for admission to statehood . On September 9, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 , California became a free state and September   9 a state holiday . During the American Civil War (1861–1865), California sent gold shipments eastward to Washington in support of

1414-596: A state Constitutional Convention was first held in Monterey. Among the first tasks of the convention was a decision on a location for the new state capital. The first full legislative sessions were held in San Jose (1850–1851). Subsequent locations included Vallejo (1852–1853), and nearby Benicia (1853–1854); these locations eventually proved to be inadequate as well. The capital has been located in Sacramento since 1854 with only

1515-600: Is Sacramento . The state's diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast and metropolitan areas in the west to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east, and from the redwood and Douglas fir forests in the northwest to the Mojave Desert in the southeast. Two-thirds of the nation's earthquake risk lies in California. The Central Valley , a fertile agricultural area, dominates the state's center. The large size of

1616-520: Is interred in his hometown of Minaville, New York. The former Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka , Alaska , was named after him. The Sheldon Jackson Museum , on the Sheldon Jackson College grounds, is the oldest concrete building in the state, and houses much of Sheldon Jackson's collection as well as other examples of Tlingit , Inuit , and Aleut culture. Sheldon Jackson Street is found in

1717-517: Is the home of Hollywood , the oldest and one of the largest film industries in the world, profoundly influencing global entertainment. The San Francisco Bay and the Greater Los Angeles areas are seen as the centers of the global technology and U.S. film industries, respectively. The Spaniards gave the name Las Californias to the peninsula of Baja California (in modern-day Mexico). As Spanish explorers and settlers moved north and inland,

1818-743: The Alaska Purchase from Russia . The huge territory, with 20,000 miles of coastline, was initially called by many skeptics "Seward's Folly". In 1877, Jackson began his work in Alaska. He became committed to the Protestant Christian spiritual, educational, and economic wellbeing of the Alaska Natives , according to his conception of well-being. He founded numerous schools and training centers that served these native people. At those schools, however, children were punished for speaking in their native languages. His protégés included Edward Marsden ,

1919-500: The Battle of Providencia near Los Angeles, he convinced each side that they had no reason to be fighting each other. As a result of Marsh's actions, they abandoned the fight, Micheltorena was defeated, and California-born Pio Pico was returned to the governorship. This paved the way to California's ultimate acquisition by the United States. In 1846, a group of American settlers in and around Sonoma rebelled against Mexican rule during

2020-631: The Bear Flag Revolt . Afterward, rebels raised the Bear Flag (featuring a bear, a star, a red stripe and the words "California Republic") at Sonoma. The Republic's only president was William B. Ide , who played a pivotal role during the Bear Flag Revolt. This revolt by American settlers served as a prelude to the later American military invasion of California and was closely coordinated with nearby American military commanders. The California Republic

2121-695: The California Master Plan for Higher Education in 1960 to develop an efficient system of public education. Meanwhile, attracted to the mild Mediterranean climate, cheap land, and the state's variety of geography, filmmakers established the studio system in Hollywood in the 1920s. California manufactured 9% of US armaments produced during World War II , ranking third behind New York and Michigan . California easily ranked first in production of military ships at drydock facilities in San Diego, Los Angeles, and

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2222-506: The Chukchi people in the remote Asian area had domesticated reindeer and used them for food, travel, and clothing. Recognizing the decline in the seal and whale populations for native consumption because of growing commercial fishing activities, and to aid Eskimos in transportation, Jackson and Healy made numerous trips into Siberia and helped import nearly 1,300 reindeer to bolster the livelihoods of Native people. These became valuable tools in

2323-554: The Graham Affair , which was resolved in part with the intercession of Royal Navy officials. One of the largest ranchers in California was John Marsh . After failing to obtain justice against squatters on his land from the Mexican courts, he determined that California should become part of the United States. Marsh conducted a letter-writing campaign espousing the California climate, the soil, and other reasons to settle there, as well as

2424-541: The Indigenous people of California had not yet developed a natural immunity. Under its new American administration, California's first governor Peter Hardeman Burnett instituted policies that have been described as a state-sanctioned policy of elimination of California's indigenous people. Burnett announced in 1851 in his Second Annual Message to the Legislature: "That a war of extermination will continue to be waged between

2525-612: The National Register of Historic Places . The Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , has a collection of Jackson’s correspondence, journals, photographs, photographs, scrapbooks, notebooks and miscellaneous indices and ephemera. Additional correspondence by Sheldon Jackson is also held at Princeton Theological Seminary . Jackson’s personal papers include photographs by Eadweard Muybridge and H.H. Brodeck. The Presbyterian Historical Society also holds

2626-602: The Presidio of San Diego , the first religious and military settlements founded by the Spanish in California. By the end of the expedition in 1770, they would establish the Presidio of Monterey and Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo on Monterey Bay. After the Portolà expedition, Spanish missionaries led by Father-President Serra set out to establish 21 Spanish missions of California along El Camino Real ("The Royal Road") and along

2727-745: The Route 66 . From 1900 to 1965, the population grew from fewer than one million to the greatest in the Union. In 1940, the Census Bureau reported California's population as 6% Hispanic, 2.4% Asian, and 90% non-Hispanic white. To meet the population's needs, engineering feats like the California and Los Angeles Aqueducts ; the Oroville and Shasta Dams ; and the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges were built. The state government adopted

2828-483: The Russian–American Telegraph Expedition of 1865 and 1867. On the bluff above the beach, at the place selected for the reindeer station, stood a log of driftwood upon which had been placed an empty barrel to indicate the location of a watering station. To the top of this post, Jackson's party hoisted the United States flag. A few days after taking possession, the lumber and building materials for

2929-518: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (February 2, 1848) that ended the war, the westernmost portion of the annexed Mexican territory of Alta California soon became the American state of California, and the remainder of the old territory was then subdivided into the new American Territories of Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Utah . The even more lightly populated and arid lower region of old Baja California remained as

3030-653: The coast of California were the members of a Spanish maritime expedition led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542. Cabrillo was commissioned by Antonio de Mendoza , the Viceroy of New Spain , to lead an expedition up the Pacific coast in search of trade opportunities; they entered San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542, and reached at least as far north as San Miguel Island . Privateer and explorer Francis Drake explored and claimed an undefined portion of

3131-513: The 18th century. The Portolá expedition of 1769–70 was a pivotal event in the Spanish colonization of California, resulting in the establishment of numerous missions, presidios , and pueblos . The military and civil contingent of the expedition was led by Gaspar de Portolá , who traveled over land from Sonora into California, while the religious component was headed by Junípero Serra , who came by sea from Baja California . In 1769, Portolá and Serra established Mission San Diego de Alcalá and

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3232-482: The 1992 Rodney King riots. California was the hub of the Black Panther Party , known for arming African Americans to defend against racial injustice. Mexican, Filipino, and other migrant farm workers rallied in the state around Cesar Chavez for better pay in the 1960s and 70s. During the 20th century, two great disasters happened: the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and 1928 St. Francis Dam flood remain

3333-403: The 21st century, droughts and frequent wildfires attributed to climate change have occurred. From 2011 to 2017, a persistent drought was the worst in its recorded history. The 2018 wildfire season was the state's deadliest and most destructive. One of the first confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States occurred in California on January 26, 2020. A state of emergency was declared in

3434-513: The California coast in 1579, landing north of the future city of San Francisco . The first Asians to set foot on what would be the United States occurred in 1587, when Filipino sailors arrived in Spanish ships at Morro Bay . Coincidentally the descendants of the Muslim Caliph Hasan ibn Ali in formerly Islamic Manila and had converted, then mixed Christianity with Islam, upon Spanish conquest, transited through California (Named after

3535-522: The California coast, 16 sites of which having been chosen during the Portolá expedition. Numerous major cities in California grew out of missions, including San Francisco ( Mission San Francisco de Asís ), San Diego ( Mission San Diego de Alcalá ), Ventura ( Mission San Buenaventura ), or Santa Barbara ( Mission Santa Barbara ), among others. Juan Bautista de Anza led a similarly important expedition throughout California in 1775–76, which would extend deeper into

3636-529: The California government in 2022. These groups were also diverse in their political organization, with bands, tribes, villages, and, on the resource-rich coasts, large chiefdoms , such as the Chumash , Pomo and Salinan . Trade, intermarriage, craft specialists, and military alliances fostered social and economic relationships between many groups. Although nations would sometimes war, most armed conflicts were between groups of men for vengeance . Acquiring territory

3737-443: The California state government paid around 1.5   million dollars (some 250,000 of which was reimbursed by the federal government) to hire militias with the stated purpose of protecting settlers, however these militias perpetrated numerous massacres of indigenous people. Indigenous people were also forcibly moved to reservations and rancherias, which were often small and isolated and without enough natural resources or funding from

3838-729: The College Village subdivision of Anchorage , a neighborhood next to the University of Alaska Anchorage campus where the streets are named for colleges and universities (the street forms a loop with Emory Street). In 1874, while in Fairplay in Park County, Colorado, Jackson built the still standing Sheldon Jackson Memorial Chapel, renamed the South Park Community Church , a one-room Victorian Gothic structure, listed in 1977 on

3939-609: The San Francisco Bay Area. Due to the hiring opportunities California offered during the conflict, the population multiplied from the immigration it received due to the work in its war factories, military bases, and training facilities. After World War II, California's economy expanded due to strong aerospace and defense industries, whose size decreased following the end of the Cold War . Stanford University began encouraging faculty and graduates to stay instead of leaving

4040-679: The Sheldon Jackson Library, which was Jackson’s personal library donated by him to the historical society. The Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka maintains three to four thousand Alaskan artifacts collected by Jackson during his lifetime. Mentioned in « Alaska » by James Michener California California is a state in the Western United States , lying on the American Pacific Coast . It borders Oregon to

4141-482: The States, John Grubin, quartermaster on USRC Bear was allowed his discharge papers and made assistant superintendent of the station. The four Siberian herders during the summer were returned to their homes, and one of them, after a visit, returned for a second year. With him, three others were secured who came over for the first time. In the autumn, nine Inupiat apprentices entered upon a course of instruction. Owing to

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4242-490: The U.S. Army. In the 20th century, thousands of Japanese people migrated to California. The state in 1913 passed the Alien Land Act , excluding Asian immigrants from owning land. During World War II, Japanese Americans in California were interned in concentration camps; in 2020, California apologized. Migration to California accelerated during the early 20th century with the completion of transcontinental highways like

4343-454: The Union . However, due to the existence of a large contingent of pro-South sympathizers within the state, the state was not able to muster any full military regiments to send eastwards to officially serve in the Union war effort. Still, several smaller military units within the Union army, such as the "California 100 Company" , were unofficially associated with the state of California due to a majority of their members being from California. At

4444-420: The agitation commenced for the introduction of domesticated reindeer into Alaska, he had taken a leading part in securing the needed Congressional legislation, Jackson named the station the "Teller Reindeer Station". To the north of Grantley Harbor, Muck-a-Charlie Peak rises to the height of 1,600 feet (490 m). At the head of the sand-spit between Port Clarence and Grantley Harbor is a large lagoon, and between

4545-454: The best land in the state, were secularized by 1834 and became the property of the Mexican government. The governor granted many square leagues of land to others with political influence. These huge ranchos or cattle ranches emerged as the dominant institutions of Mexican California. The ranchos developed under ownership by Californios (Hispanics native of California) who traded cowhides and tallow with Boston merchants. Beef did not become

4646-464: The best route to follow, which became known as "Marsh's route". His letters were read, reread, passed around, and printed in newspapers throughout the country, and started the first wagon trains rolling to California. After ushering in the period of organized emigration to California, Marsh became involved in a military battle between the much-hated Mexican general, Manuel Micheltorena and the California governor he had replaced, Juan Bautista Alvarado. At

4747-536: The conquest include the Battle of San Pasqual and the Battle of Dominguez Rancho in Southern California, as well as the Battle of Olómpali and the Battle of Santa Clara in Northern California. After a series of defensive battles in the south, the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed by the Californios on January 13, 1847, securing a censure and establishing de facto American control in California. Following

4848-535: The deadliest in U.S. history. Although air pollution has been reduced, health problems associated with pollution continue. Brown haze known as " smog " has been substantially abated after federal and state restrictions on automobile exhaust. An energy crisis in 2001 led to rolling blackouts , soaring power rates, and the importation of electricity from neighboring states. Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Company came under heavy criticism. Housing prices in urban areas continued to increase;

4949-474: The district attorney, and mounted a campaign with President Grover Cleveland 's family members to have the officials dismissed. The president dismissed them between May and August 1885. In May 1885, Jackson was indicted by a grand jury of Russian-Tlingit creoles, in a controversy over land rights. Jackson then found himself in jail for several hours. Jackson died on May 2, 1909, in Asheville , North Carolina . He

5050-609: The expenses of sending Kjelmann to Sápmi, and to pay the transportation of Sámi herders and their families to the United States. The Sámi and Inupiat personnel included the Eira, Kemi, Larsen, Nakkila, Rist, Somby and Tornensis families. During the summer of 1892, 171 reindeer were purchased in Siberia and landed at the station. At the time of landing at Port Clarence, two were lost by straying away. Twelve were so injured by transportation from Siberia that they either died or had to be killed. During

5151-478: The former Mary Vorhees. He wanted to become a missionary overseas, but the Presbyterian board told the five foot tall Jackson, who had weak eyesight and was often ill, that he would be better suited for duty in the United States. He first worked in the north-central and western United States, which were still vast and lightly populated areas during the American Civil War and thereafter. Jackson's first assignment

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5252-618: The government to adequately sustain the populations living on them. As a result, settler colonialism was a calamity for indigenous people. Several scholars and Native American activists, including Benjamin Madley and Ed Castillo , have described the actions of the California government as a genocide , as well as the 40th governor of California Gavin Newsom . Benjamin Madley estimates that from 1846 to 1873, between 9,492 and 16,092 indigenous people were killed, including between 1,680 and 3,741 killed by

5353-531: The herd. During the sledge trip of the superintendent to Cape Prince of Wales, two or three times he staked out the deer in the neighborhood of villages with from 100 to 300 native dogs, and in no instance were they molested. Thus the difficulties that were anticipated in the introduction of reindeer into Alaska were met and solved. 65°15′26″N 166°21′14″W  /  65.257222°N 166.353889°W  / 65.257222; -166.353889 Sheldon Jackson Sheldon Jackson (May 18, 1834 – May 2, 1909)

5454-456: The highest output of any U.S. state, and is led by its dairy , almonds , and grapes . With the busiest port in the country ( Los Angeles ), California plays a pivotal role in the global supply chain, hauling in about 40% of goods imported to the US. Notable contributions to popular culture , ranging from entertainment , sports , music , and fashion , have their origins in California. California

5555-505: The incumbency of Bruce and Gibson having terminated, William Thomas Lopp , of the American Missionary Association station at Cape Prince of Wales , was appointed superintendent of the reindeer station. As he could not immediately remove from the mission station to the reindeer station, Healy detailed Lieutenant C.M. White, USRCS, as acting superintendent, until Lopp could take charge. Being unable to secure an assistant from

5656-410: The indigenous peoples developed complex forms of ecosystem management, including forest gardening to ensure the regular availability of food and medicinal plants . This was a form of sustainable agriculture . To mitigate destructive large wildfires from ravaging the natural environment, indigenous peoples developed a practice of controlled burning . This practice was recognized for its benefits by

5757-556: The interior and north of California. The Anza expedition selected numerous sites for missions, presidios, and pueblos, which subsequently would be established by settlers. Gabriel Moraga , a member of the expedition, would also christen many of California's prominent rivers with their names in 1775–1776, such as the Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River . After the expedition, Gabriel's son, José Joaquín Moraga , would found

5858-524: The largest dam removal and river restoration project in US history was announced for the Klamath River , as a win for California tribes. Covering an area of 163,696 sq mi (423,970 km ), California is the third-largest state in the United States in area, after Alaska and Texas . California is one of the most geographically diverse states in the union and is often geographically bisected into two regions, Southern California , comprising

5959-788: The middle of the state lies the California Central Valley , bounded by the Sierra Nevada in the east, the coastal mountain ranges in the west, the Cascade Range to the north and by the Tehachapi Mountains in the south. The Central Valley is California's productive agricultural heartland. Divided in two by the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta , the northern portion, the Sacramento Valley serves as

6060-400: The mission herd. At the opening of the reindeer station in 1892, Miner Bruce, of Nebraska , was appointed superintendent, and Bruce Gibson, of California , assistant superintendent. During the season, four Siberians were secured and brought over by Healy as the principal herders. With these were placed several Inupiat men, who were to learn the trade of herding reindeer. Upon June 30, 1893,

6161-539: The murder of Harrison R. Thornton , missionary at Cape Prince of Wales , on August 19, 1893, by two Inupiat, the mission station was closed for the year. Under the circumstances, Lopp, who had accepted the position of superintendent at the reindeer station, felt called upon to offer his services to the American Missionary Association of the Congregational church , and return to Cape Prince of Wales in

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6262-521: The north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. With nearly 39   million residents across an area of 163,696 square miles (423,970 km ), it is the most populous U.S. state, the third-largest by area, and most populated subnational entity in North America . Prior to European colonization , California

6363-421: The pasturage with a coating of ice. Spring 1903 came unusually early and was mild and dry, hence no fawns were lost because of cold and wet weather. Of the 276 fawns born, 240 lived. During the winter the herd was pastured on the Ahgeeopuk River , 5 miles (8 km) below the usual winter quarters. During the summer, they were kept 5 miles northwest from the station. From the Government herd at this station, during

6464-414: The population of San Francisco increased from 500 to 150,000. The seat of government for California under Spanish and later Mexican rule had been located in Monterey from 1777 until 1845. Pio Pico, the last Mexican governor of Alta California, had briefly moved the capital to Los Angeles in 1845. The United States consulate had also been located in Monterey, under consul Thomas O. Larkin . In 1849,

6565-532: The project and gave their space without compensation. About 250 replies were received. From among this number, largely upon the recommendation of Prof. Rasmus B. Anderson , William A. Kjelmann, of Madison, Wisconsin , was selected as the next superintendent of the reindeer station. Upon the selection of Kjelmann, Jackson sent him at once to Sápmi for the necessary personnel and their dogs. The reindeer fund of Congress for 1894 being exhausted, it became necessary to again appeal to private individuals for $ 1,000, to defray

6666-555: The provision of food, clothing and other necessities for Native peoples. This work was noted in the New York Sun newspaper in 1894. Jackson was convinced that Americanization was the key to the future of Alaskan Natives. He discouraged the use of indigenous languages, traditional cultural practices, and spiritual celebrations. Because he was worried that Native cultures would vanish with no records of their past (a process which his own educational efforts accelerated), he collected artifacts from those cultures on his many trips throughout

6767-535: The pueblo of San Jose in 1777, making it the first civilian-established city in California. During this same period, sailors from the Russian Empire explored along the northern coast of California. In 1812, the Russian-American Company established a trading post and small fortification at Fort Ross on the North Coast . Fort Ross was primarily used to supply Russia's Alaskan colonies with food supplies. The settlement did not meet much success, failing to attract settlers or establish long term trade viability, and

6868-416: The races until the Indian race becomes extinct must be expected. While we cannot anticipate the result with but painful regret, the inevitable destiny of the race is beyond the power and wisdom of man to avert." As in other American states, indigenous peoples were forcibly removed from their lands by American settlers , like miners, ranchers, and farmers. Although California had entered the American union as

6969-403: The region known as California , or Las Californias , grew. Eventually it included lands north of the peninsula, Alta California , part of which became the present-day U.S. state of California. A 2017 state legislative document states, "Numerous theories exist as to the origin and meaning of the word 'California, ' " and that all anyone knows is the name was added to a map by 1541 "presumably by

7070-434: The region. Jackson believed he could further his goals for the Alaskan natives through politics. He became a close friend of U.S. President Benjamin Harrison . He worked toward the passage of the Organic Act of 1884, which ensured that Alaska would begin to set up a judicial system and receive aid for education. As a result, Sheldon Jackson was appointed as the First General Agent of Education in Alaska. In 1885, Jackson

7171-413: The reindeer station and the base of the hills on the north are about a dozen fresh-water ponds or small lakes. At the extreme northeast corner of Port Clarence, near Grantley Harbor, and upon a small mountain creek, is the place that Jackson selected for the headquarters of the reindeer station. A few miles to the east of the station on Grantley Harbor was the location of the headquarters, for this region, of

7272-403: The reindeer would be destroyed by the native dogs, were not realized. The herders were armed and had strict orders to fire upon any dog interfering with the herd, and then to report the same to the superintendent, who had instructions to send for the owner of the dog and compensate him for the loss. During the entire year of 1893, it became necessary to shoot but five dogs that were interfering with

7373-420: The result that relatively few indigenous Alaskans speak Native languages in the 21st century. In March 1885, Judge Ward McAllister Jr. ruled that the contracts Jackson had secured with Tlingit parents, giving up their children for a period of five years for a small sum of money, to be null and void. This greatly reduced the number of students at Jackson's school. Jackson repeatedly sparred with McAllister and

7474-644: The state as part of the Gold Rush or to seek work. Even though the Chinese proved indispensable in building the transcontinental railroad from California to Utah, perceived job competition with the Chinese led to anti-Chinese riots in the state, and eventually the US ended migration from China partially as a response to pressure from California with the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act . Under earlier Spanish and Mexican rule, California's original native population had precipitously declined, above all, from Eurasian diseases to which

7575-511: The state on March 4, 2020, and remained in effect until Governor Gavin Newsom ended it in February 2023. A mandatory statewide stay-at-home order was issued on March 19, 2020, which was ended in January 2021. Cultural and language revitalization efforts among indigenous Californians have progressed among tribes as of 2022. Some land returns to indigenous stewardship have occurred. In 2022,

7676-430: The state results in climates that vary from moist temperate rainforest in the north to arid desert in the interior, as well as snowy alpine in the mountains . Droughts and wildfires are an ongoing issue. California's economy is the largest of any U.S. state, with a $ 4.0 trillion gross state product as of 2024 . It is the largest sub-national economy in the world. California's agricultural industry has

7777-515: The state's demographics and its finances. Soon afterward, a massive influx of immigration into the area resulted, as prospectors and miners arrived by the thousands. The population burgeoned with United States citizens, Europeans, Middle Easterns, Chinese and other immigrants during the great California gold rush . By the time of California's application for statehood in 1850, the settler population of California had multiplied to 100,000. By 1854, more than 300,000 settlers had come. Between 1847 and 1870,

7878-522: The state's name include CA, Cal., Calif., Califas , and US-CA . California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America . Historians generally agree that there were at least 300,000 people living in California prior to European colonization. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct ethnic groups , inhabiting environments ranging from mountains and deserts to islands and redwood forests. Living in these diverse geographic areas,

7979-614: The state, and develop a high-tech region, now known as Silicon Valley . As a result of this, California is a world center of the entertainment and music industries, of technology, engineering, and the aerospace industry, and as the US center of agricultural production. Just before the Dot Com Bust , California had the fifth-largest economy in the world. In the mid and late twentieth century, race-related incidents occurred. Tensions between police and African Americans, combined with unemployment and poverty in inner cities, led to riots, such as

8080-402: The station having been landed, Captain Healy sent his carpenters and a portion of his crew on shore and erected a substantial frame house, 20 by 60 feet in size. The supply of lumber, however, gave out before it was fully completed, so that it was not as comfortable for an Arctic winter as was intended. Before the completion of the frame building, Miner W. Bruce, the superintendent, had constructed

8181-514: The summer of 1894, if it was thought desirable. In order to secure some intelligent Norwegian or Swede, accustomed to the methods employed in the care of reindeer in Sápmi , on December 15, 1893, Jackson sent a notice to the Scandinavian papers of the United States, that the reindeer station wished to secure the services of men acquainted with the management of reindeer. The Scandinavian papers entered into

8282-450: The superintendent of the station trained 12 deer to draw sleds, and with his two teams of reindeer, made a successful trip to the mission station at Cape Prince of Wales, 60 miles (97 km) distant. The presence of the herd attracted attention from the local people, and delegations arrived during the winter to visit and inspect the herd, some of them coming from 300–400 miles (480–640 km) inland. The fears that had been expressed, that

8383-504: The ten southernmost counties, and Northern California , comprising the 48 northernmost counties. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east and northeast, Arizona to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south (with which it makes up part of The Californias region of North America , alongside Baja California Sur ). In

8484-407: The time of California's admission into the Union, travel between California and the rest of the continental United States had been a time-consuming and dangerous feat. Nineteen years later, and seven years after it was greenlighted by President Lincoln, the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. California was then reachable from the eastern States in a week's time. Much of the state

8585-557: The transition from Spanish colonial rule to independent Mexican rule. In 1821, the Mexican War of Independence gave the Mexican Empire (which included California) independence from Spain. For the next 25 years, Alta California remained a remote, sparsely populated, northwestern administrative district of the newly independent country of Mexico, which shortly after independence became a republic. The missions , which controlled most of

8686-572: The vast regions of the north came to know and respect this skipper and called his ship "Healy's Fire Canoe". The Bear and Captain Healy reportedly inspired author Jack London , and are featured prominently, along with Jackson, in James A. Michener 's novel, Alaska . Healy and Jackson became allies of a sort. During visits to Siberia (across the Bering Sea from the Alaskan coast), Healy had observed that

8787-504: The watering station of the whaling fleet, on the extreme northeast corner of the bay, near Grantley Harbor , Jackson selected that point for the reindeer station, and on the same day put up two tents and landed from the steamer Newport the provisions and supplies for the station. Since Henry M. Teller , as Secretary of the Interior , in the spring of 1885 authorized the establishment of the common school system of Alaska, and also that since

8888-685: The winter of 1901-2, two herds were sent to Kotzebue Sound , one for the Friends' Mission and the other for Alfred Nilinia. Leaving the station November 12, they arrived at Kotzebue on December 16, 1901. On January 15, 1902, a herd of 100 reindeer was loaned to Per Spein and sent by the way of Golofnin Bay to Eaton Reindeer Station. On July 22, the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Mission at this station loaned to Serawlook, Erlingnuk, and Ahmahkdoolik, apprentices, each 10 deer from

8989-459: The year, 13 others died from injuries received while fighting, or slipping upon the ice, making a total loss of 27. There was a gain of 79 fawns, born in the spring of 1893, leaving, on June 30, 1893, 222 reindeer in the herd. During the summer, 127 additional reindeer were purchased in Siberia, of which 124 were safely landed at the station, making a total, in September 1893, of 346. During the winter,

9090-516: Was a Presbyterian minister, missionary , and political leader . During this career he travelled about one million miles (1.6 million km) and established more than one hundred missions and churches , mostly in the Western United States . He performed extensive missionary work in Colorado and the Alaska Territory , including his efforts to suppress Native American languages . Sheldon Jackson

9191-541: Was abandoned by 1841. During the War of Mexican Independence , Alta California was largely unaffected and uninvolved in the revolution, though many Californios supported independence from Spain , which many believed had neglected California and limited its development. Spain's trade monopoly on California had limited local trade prospects. Following Mexican independence, California ports were freely able to trade with foreign merchants. Governor Pablo Vicente de Solá presided over

9292-475: Was appointed General Agent of Education in the Alaska Territory. Concurrent with the values of the expanding colonial administration, Jackson undertook a policy of deliberate acculturation. In particular, Jackson advocated an English-only policy which forbade the use of indigenous languages. In allocating $ 25,000 of federal education monies in 1888 he wrote, "[N]o books in any Indian language shall be used, or instruction given in that language to Indian pupils." In

9393-672: Was at the Choctaw mission in Oklahoma Territory , where he worked until poor health forced him to go back East in 1859. After his recovery, Jackson was appointed to La Crescent in Houston County in southeastern Minnesota , where he extended his field hundreds of miles beyond the actual station. He spent ten years in Minnesota and Wisconsin , having organized or assisted in the establishment of twenty-three churches. Jackson traveled as

9494-636: Was born in 1834 in Minaville in Montgomery County in eastern New York . His mother Delia (Sheldon) Jackson was a daughter of New York State Assembly Speaker Alexander Sheldon . Jackson graduated in 1855 from Union College in Schenectady , New York, and from the Presbyterian Church's Princeton Theological Seminary in 1858. That same year, he became an ordained Presbyterian minister and married

9595-406: Was erected in the rear of the house for the use of the herders. Jackson's greatest success figured in the 1897 Overland Relief Expedition which saved marooned whalers near Point Barrow . The winter of 1902 was the coldest since 1894, but proved to be fine weather for the reindeer. There were few hard storms; the fall of snow was light, and there was no thaw during the fall or early winter to cover

9696-536: Was extremely well suited to fruit cultivation and agriculture in general. Vast expanses of wheat, other cereal crops, vegetable crops, cotton, and nut and fruit trees were grown (including oranges in Southern California), and the foundation was laid for the state's prodigious agricultural production in the Central Valley and elsewhere. In the nineteenth century, a large number of migrants from China traveled to

9797-607: Was highly unstable, and in a reflection of this, from 1831 onwards, California also experienced a series of armed disputes, both internal and with the central Mexican government. During this tumultuous political period Juan Bautista Alvarado was able to secure the governorship during 1836–1842. The military action which first brought Alvarado to power had momentarily declared California to be an independent state, and had been aided by Anglo-American residents of California, including Isaac Graham . In 1840, one hundred of those residents who did not have passports were arrested, leading to

9898-714: Was not usually the purpose of these small-scale battles. Men and women generally had different roles in society. Women were often responsible for weaving, harvesting, processing, and preparing food, while men for hunting and other forms of physical labor. Most societies also had roles for people whom the Spanish referred to as joyas , who they saw as "men who dressed as women". Joyas were responsible for death , burial , and mourning rituals , and they performed women's social roles. Indigenous societies had terms such as two-spirit to refer to them. The Chumash referred to them as 'aqi. The early Spanish settlers detested and sought to eliminate them. The first Europeans to explore

9999-659: Was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America . European exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization by the Spanish Empire . The area became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its successful war for independence , but was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War . The California gold rush started in 1848 and led to social and demographic changes, including depopulation of Indigenous tribes. The western portion of Alta California

10100-494: Was short-lived; the same year marked the outbreak of the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). Commodore John D. Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into Monterey Bay in 1846 and began the U.S. military invasion of California , with Northern California capitulating in less than a month to the United States forces. In Southern California, Californios continued to resist American forces. Notable military engagements of

10201-399: Was then organized and admitted as the 31st state in 1850 , as a free state , following the Compromise of 1850 . The Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas are the nation's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions , with 19 million and 10 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is the state's most populous city and the nation's second-most ; California's capital

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