KandiceHowland

LBS375
KristalCheek
May4,2016

DBQ#4:Agriculturetoday:howhistoryshapedthefuture

Thephrase,honey,canyoupickupsomebananas?isoftensaidnonchalantlyfrom

onehouseholdmembertoanother.Somethingwhichfamiliesandpeoplelivingin

Californiatakeforgrantedisgroceriesandtheenduringprocessthattakesplaceinorderto

havethemreadilyavailable.Agriculturehasbeenaroundsincethenativesinhabitedregions

ofCalifornia.Byseeingwhereagriculturecomesfrom,howitisaccumulated,who

retrievedit,andhowitisdistributed,cansayalotaboutthestatusofthepeopleandthe

regioninwhichtheyareliving.LookingatCaliforniasmodernagricultureindustryand

comparingittotimesduringandbeforethetwenty-firstcentury,thisessaywillgive

Californiansanappreciationofthisindustrybyshowinghowagriculturehaschanged,

improved,andimpactedCalifornia.

Tothisday,thereareAfricanAmericansandimmigrantsalongwithLatin

AmericanswhocomefromCentralAmericaandMexicotoharvestthecropofCalifornia,

makingproducereadilyavailableatastorenearesttheconsumer.Californiaisthesole

producerofanamazingarrayofcommoditieseatenbypeopleallovertheworld. 1 As

Californiaspopulationisalwaysgrowing,morepeople,moreproduce,andmorepickersare

required.YetitisnotedthatalthoughstrugglestopreserveCaliforniaslandandwater

beganinthenineteenthcentury,[itis]onlyinrecentdecadeshavemostCalifornians

becomeawareoftheconnectionbetweenthestatesamazingeconomicgrowthandits
deterioratingenvironment. 2 However,Californiastillleadsthenationinproducingmass

amountsofagriculture.Ithaspioneeredthewayincooperativemarketing,expandingits

markets,sellingitsproductsinthefourcornersoftheworld. 3 Becauseofagriculture,

grocerystoresarenotgoingoutofbusinessandfamiliesstillhavefoodonthetable.That

samefoodisnowmainlyimportedasopposedtobeinglocallygrown;however,itdidnot

alwaysusedtobethatway.TheonlythingthatcouldevereliminateCaliforniaagriculture

isbadweather.ButbecauseCaliforniaexperiencesamediterraneanclimate,wintersarenot

drastic,andmanyspringandsummerfoodscanstillbegrownintheImperialValley.

Today,applescanbeboughtyear-round,inadditiontoanabundanceofotherfruitsand

vegetables.Priortothe1900s,fruitsandvegetableswerelimitedtoagrowingseason.Not

anymore.Manyoftheinnovationswehavetodaywerearesultofthetwentiethcentury

andarewhatallowCaliforniatobeaprofoundagriculturalstate.

Theinnovationsthatimprovedtheagriculturalstandingofthe1900swere

mechanizationandcanning.Onlyoneinsignificantindustryemployedprimarilyunskilled

workers.Thatwas,ofcourse,agriculture. 4 Theuseofassemblylinesinagriculturemeant

thatfruitpackersdidnothavetobetrained.Andalthoughmechanizationdecreasedthe

needforworkers,itbroughtaboutnewinventionssuchasthecombineandthebaler. 5

Tasksthatstrictlyrelieduponphysicallaboroffarmworkers,couldnowbemadeeasier

withtheuseofmachines.By1909,thevegetablecrophaddoubledinvaluewithlettuce

andcantaloupestheleadingfreshvegetables,andtomatoesandasparagusthemajorcanned

vegetables. 6 Canneriespreservedfruitsandvegetables,makingthemavailableoutside

theirgrowingseason.Intheearlytomid1900s,workerswereawhirlwindofraces:
Japanese,Mexicans,MexicanAmericans,andFilipinosalongwiththeDustBowlers.

Considerablemechanizationhastakenplaceduringthe[secondworld]war,tosuchan

extentthatthosenotmechanizedwillfindthemselvesundercompulsiontodoso. 7 Bythe

timeWorldWarIIhappened,largescalegrowing,production,anddistributionofcrops,

alsoknownasagribusiness,wasinfullswing.However,farmerswereamongthosewho

joinedthewar,leavingotherstotendtheirfields.Thisprovidedopportunityforthe

BraceroProgram.TheseverelaborshortageintheWestaffectednotonlythenew

factoriesproducingwarmaterialsbutagribusinessaswell.Alreadyin1942croplossesdue

tolaborshortageswereconsiderable;however,theMexicanworkersbroughtinbythe

government-organizedBraceroProgram,wereabletohelpfillthevoidbyworkinginfields

andonrailroads. 8 PostWorldWarII,manyworkersleftthefieldstofightfortheir

workingrightsandconditions.ThisallowedCaliforniatocontinueimprovingthe

agricultureindustryandbroughtheragriculturetowhereitistoday.

ThemostimpactfuleventsthatchangedCaliforniasagriculturalhistoryhappened

betweenthe1700sandthe1900s.BeginningwithCalifornianativesandlookingatthe

PaiuteTribe(circa1770),itcanbesaidthatgatheringfoodwasnotalwayseasy.They

movedaroundagreatdealintheirsearchforfood. 9 Theywerealsofondofacorns,

whichwereuniversaltonativetribes,butacornswerealsohardforsometribestoget

becausetheywereonlyfoundontheWestSideoftheSierraNevadamountainrange.The

Paiutewereabletohuntwildgameandgatherberries,alldonewithtoolsthathadbeen

craftedbymanhimself.WhentheSpanishcameandbuiltthemissions,theyturnedthese

hunter-gatherersintoanagrariansociety,bringingingrapesandcorn,etc.,andalsoturning
thenativesintoamorecivilizedpeople.Ofcourse,ifcivilizedforthenativesmeant

work[ing]atallkindsofmissionlabor,suchasfarmhands,herdsmen,cowboys,shepherd,

milkers,diggers,gardeners,carpenters,farmers,irrigators,reapers,blacksmiths,andthen

everythingelsethatcomesalongfortheirphysicalandspiritualwelfare,thenitgoesto

showthatbecausethenativesdidallthemanuallabor,theSpanish,whocametohelpthe

nativesoutoftheirpoverty,reallydidnotcontributetothewell-beingoftheland. 10 In

fact,thespanishweretotallyuninterestedinthelandandfocusedongainingindependence

fromSpainwhichledintotheranchoperiod.Itwasnotuntilthegoldrushhappenedinthe

hard-packedlandofSanFrancisco,Californiain1848thatthereagainwouldbetheneed

forlandforcropsandforcities...ascrambleforlandthatsentpricestolevelsthatpromised

largereturnstospeculators. 11 Atthistimetherewasonlythreewaysoftransportation:

wagontrain,ship,andlandroutes,noneofwhichallowedforfoodtobetraded

internationallyorworldwide.Butin1862,thegovernmentpassedtheRailroadActandthe

HomesteadAct,whichbegantheconstructionofrailroads,furtherimprovingthelandin

Californiaandmakingproducetransportableacrossthenationbywayofrefrigeratedcars.

[ThePacificRailroad]hasencouragedthedevelopmentofthenaturalresourcesof

California,...Itwasthefirstenterpriseanywhereintheworldwhichmadepossiblethe

habitationofregionsofcountryfarremotefromnavigablewaters,andhasaddeduntold

millionsofwealthtothenation. 12 Twoyearslater,slaverywasabolished,leading

CaliforniatorelyonAsianlabor,specificallytheChinese,whotookSanFranciscoand

transformedthesterilesandintothemostfertileblackearth. 13 Whenthegovernment

bannedtheemploymentofChineseworkerswiththeChineseExclusionActof1882,it
enormouslyaffectedCaliforniaagriculturebecausePeriodicallyagrowerwouldpublicly

credittheChineseasbeingtheonlylaborthatwouldsafelypackfruitfortransport,which

oftenmeantthedifferencebetweenprofitandloss.Growersseldomadmittedit,butChinese

gangsalsotaughtspecialtycropskillstomanynovicegrowers. 14 JapaneseandFilipino

workerswerebroughtinfollowingthebanandbythe1890s,Californiahadbecomethe

numberonecitrusfruitproducer.TheadvancesofthistimeallowedCaliforniatobethe

leadofagricultureduringtheProgressiveEra,throughtheGreatDepressionandWorld

WarII,andtothisday.

Bylookingattheeventsofagricultureandfarminginreverseorder,Californianscan

seehowfarAmericahascomeinthegreatagricultureindustry.Whoknewthatthesunny

statewouldeventuallyprovidefoodforhalfthenation?Aplacewheresettlerswere

uninterestedinthelanduntildisputesarose.Farmingwasforeverchangedby

mechanizationandnewtechnologiesthatadvancedagriculturesuchasthecombine,tractor,

andcropduster,cottonpicker,andGPS,allofwhicharestillusedtothisday. 15 Noone

couldhavepredeterminedthatthehistoryofCaliforniaagriculturewouldbeforever

changedoversuchanextensiveamountoftime.Californiansshouldbeextremelygrateful

forthelandinwhichtheylive.VicTolomeo,PacificRegionDirectorofNational

AgriculturalStatisticsService,saysitbestwhenhestates:Diversityinallthingsisaproud

hallmarkofourstate,anditlendsitsstrengthtoouragriculture. 16 Sonexttime,think

twiceaboutthatquicktriptopickupsomebananas!AndbegratefulthatCaliforniaisa

givingland.

References
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UnitedStatesDepartmentofAgriculture(2015).AccessedMay3,2016.
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-industry/
2. Chan,S.andOlin,S.TheEnvironmentandtheQualityofLifeSince1960.In
MajorProblemsinCaliforniaHistory,editedbyJeanL.Woy,p.421.Boston:
HoughtonMifflinCompany,1997.
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CaliforniaHistory,editedbyJeanL.Woy,p.277.Boston:HoughtonMifflin
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4. Chan,S.andOlin,S.BigBusinessandUrbanLabor,1860s-1930s.InMajor
ProblemsinCaliforniaHistory,editedbyJeanL.Woy,p.179.Boston:Houghton
MifflinCompany,1997.
5. AgriculturalMechanizationTimeline.NationalAcademyofEngineering.2016.
AccessedMay3,2016.http://www.greatachievements.org/?id=3725
6. Classonlinesource,AgricultureReading
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MajorProblemsinCaliforniaHistory,editedbyJeanL.Woy,p.308.Boston:
HoughtonMifflinCompany,1997.
8. Ib.Id.,p.314
9. Inclasssource,Paiute:NorthernandOwensValley
10. Inclasssource,ReportontheMissions.Monterey,California,July1,1784.Father
JuniperoSerraandFatherMathiasAntonioNoriega.
11. Chan,S.andOlin,S.ConflictsOverLandinaNewState,1850s-1870s.InMajor
ProblemsinCaliforniaHistory,editedbyJeanL.Woy,p.128.Boston:Houghton
MifflinCompany,1997.
12. Chan,S.andOlin,S.BigBusinessandUrbanLabor,1860s-1930s.InMajor
ProblemsinCaliforniaHistory,editedbyJeanL.Woy,p.166.Boston:Houghton
MifflinCompany,1997.
13. Ib.Id.,p.172
14. Classonlinesource,EmergenceofSpecialtyCrops
15. AgriculturalMechanizationTimeline.NationalAcademyofEngineering.2016.
AccessedMay3,2016.http://www.greatachievements.org/?id=3725
16. Tolomeo,Vic.CaliforniaBoastsUniqueandPowerfulAgriculturalIndustry.
UnitedStatesDepartmentofAgriculture(2015).AccessedMay3,2016.
http://blogs.usda.gov/2015/02/05/california-boasts-unique-and-powerful-agricultural
-industry/