Books with title California: The Golden State

On January 24, 1848, James Marshall discovered a small nugget of gold in a stream near Sutter's Mill, California. Though he tried to keep it a secret, word spread through the country like wildfire. Before the year was out, the great American Gold Rush had begun. Here's a true-life story that re-creates a time when people from all walks of life dropped what they were doing and headed west with picks and shovels in the hope of finding riches--and added a brand-new chapter to our country's history.

Thirty-five years after its initial publication, The Golden State remains a balanced, multicultural, and interpretative history, the ideal text for students of California history at the high school and community college level. With due attention to the many peoples who make California the most ethnically diverse state in the nation as well as the daunting environmental realities that challenge the resolve of all who call the Golden State home, the informative and enjoyable narrative features expanded coverage of such topics as women, water issues, ethnic relations, crime, sports, culture, and politics in the twentieth century. A crucial feature of this affordable, beautifully illustrated, and durable hardcover volume remains a chapter on state, county, and city government, detailing the responsibilities of state officers and the organization of the state legislature and court system. The elements of direct democracy-referendum, recall, and initiative-and the legislative process also are explained in direct yet lively fashion.

In 1848, gold was discovered in California! This exciting news spread eastward. People from all walks of life with dreams of enormous riches packed up their belongings and left their comfortable homes behind in search of the hidden treasure. Author Linda Jacobs Altman describes the development of this rugged world of the mining towns, which sparked the development of California. Altman also highlights the stories of prospectors, bandits and thrill seekers who make up the legend and the myth of the time.