Taming the Elephant

by Burns, John F.; Orsi, Richard J.; Smith-Baranzini, Marlene (CRT)

• ISBN13: 9780520234130
• ISBN10: 0520234138
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr

Summary

Taming the Elephant is the last of four volumes in the distinguished California History Sesquicentennial Series, an outstanding compilation of original essays by leading historians and writers. These topical, interrelated volumes reexamine the meaning of the founding of modern California during the state's pioneer period. General themes run through all four volumes: the interplay of traditional cultures and frontier innovation in the creation of a distinctive California society; the dynamic interaction of people and nature and the beginnings of massive environmental change; the impact of the California experience on the nation and the world; the influence of pioneer patterns on modern California; and the legacy of ethnic and cultural diversity as a major influence on the state's history. This fourth volume treats the role of post-Gold Rush California government, politics, and law in the building of a dynamic state, with influences that persist today. Provocative essays investigate the creation of constitutional foundations, law and jurisprudence, the formation of government agencies, and the development of public policy. Authors chart the roles played by diverse groups--criminals and peace officers, entrepreneurs and miners, farmers and public officials, defenders of discrimination and female and African American activists. The essays also explore subjects largely overlooked in the past, such as the significance of local and federal government in pioneer California and early struggles to secure civil rights for women and racial minorities.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Stephen Becker
Richard J. Orsi
Taming the Elephant: An Introduction to California's Statehood and Constitutional Era	1	(26)
John F. Burns
A Violent Birth: Disorder, Crime, and Law Enforcement, 1849--1890	27	(47)
Roger D. McGrath
The Courts, the Legal Profession, and the Development of Law in Early California	74	(22)
Gordon Morris Bakken
``We Feel the Want of Protection'': The Politics of Law and Race in California, 1848--1878	96	(30)
Shirley Ann Wilson Moore
Capturing California	126	(11)
Joshua Paddison
``Officialdom'': California State Government, 1849--1879	137	(32)
Judson A. Grenier
``None Could Deny the Eloquence of This Lady'': Women, Law, and Government in California, 1850--1890	169	(30)
Donna C. Schuele
The Beginnings of Anglo-American Local Government in California	199	(25)
Edward Leo Lyman
An Uncertain Influence: The Role of the Federal Government in California, 1846--1880	224	(49)
Robert J. Chandler
List of Contributors	273	(4)
Index	277