Racial Fault Lines: The Historical Origins of White Supremacy in California

Description

Racial Fault Lines unravels the ethnic history of California since the late-nineteenth-century Anglo-American institutionalization of "white supremacy" in the state. Assessing the struggles for control of resources, status, and political legitimacy between the European American and the Native American, Mexican/African American, Chinese, and Japanese populations, Almaguer draws from an array of primary and secondary sources as he weaves a detailed, disturbing portrait of ethnic, racial, and class relationships during this tumultuous time. "Racial Fault Lines is an excellent summary and interpretation of race relations in nineteenthcentury California. Empirically rich and theoretically sophisticated, it is the last and best word on the historical origins of the racial hierarchy that contemporary multiculturalists are struggling to overcome." — George Fredrickson "Sometime soon in the 21st century, all of California's peoples will belong to minorities, and Almaguer's pathbreaking comparative history is indispensable for understanding how and why this society became so racially diverse. His study expands the borders of multicultural scholarship." — Ronald Takaki "Evocatively written and theoretically compellinq, Racial Fault Lines represents a benchmark in the writing of U.S. history. Almaguer blends sociological paradigms with rich historical narratives in his perspicacious examination of racial and class formation among nineteenth-century Californians. Meticulously researched, this fascinating work will be discussed and debated for decades to come." — Vicki L. Ruiz "Racial Fault Lines is a stunning example of what a multicultural historical and sociological analysis should be. In a dramatic break from the dominant mode of biracial theorizing, Almaguer details the racialization of several groups, and illustrates how they are envisioned, constructed, and positioned in relation to one another. In doing so, he advances a powerful conception of race, one in which race is mutually determined by structural and ideological factors, and is shaped by, and in turns shapes, class and gender relations. A superb account!" — Michael Omi Introduction THE VARIETIES OF RACIALIZED EXPERIENCES THE MASTER NARRATIVE OF “WHITE SUPREMACY” RACIALIZATION AND THE CONTESTATION OF RACIAL STATUS THE WHITE MAN’S BURDEN AND ENTITLEMENT IN CALIFORNIA 1. “We Desire Only a White Population in California”" The Transformation of Mexican California in Historical-Sociological Perspective RACIALIZATION AND WHITE SUPREMACY IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE THE PEOPLING OF ANGLO CALIFORNIA, 1848-1900 THE CAPITALIST TRANSFORMATION OF MEXICAN CALIFORNIA "MANIFEST DESTINY" AND THE “FREE LABOR IDEOLOGY” THE “BANEFUL INFLUENCE” OF NONWHITE LABOR IN CALIFORNIA NEUTRALIZING THE PRESENCE OF BLACKS IN ANGLO CALIFORNIA PART ONE: RACIAL AMIBIGUITIES, CLASS REALITIES, AND "HALF CIVILIZED" MEXICANS IN ANGLO CALIFORNIA 2. “The True Significance of the Word ‘White’ ” THE CLASS STRUCTURE OF MEXICAN SOCIETY IN ALTA CALIFORNIA RACIALIZED IMAGES OF MEXICAN “GREASERS” AND THE “GENTE DE RAZON” THE PRIVILEGED POLITICAL STATUS OF MEXICANS IN ANGLO CALIFORNIA EUROPEAN-AMERICAN AMBIVALENCE TOWARD MEXICAN ASSIMILATION THE CLASS AND GENDERED REPRESENTATIONS OF MEXICANS IN ANGLO CALIFORNIA AT THE BORDERS OF HEATHENISM AND SAVAGERY DISPLACING THE ANACHRONISTIC MEXICAN RANCHERO CLASS THE PROLETARIANIZATION AND STRUCTURAL SUBORDINATION OF THE MEXICAN WORKING CLASS CONCLUSION 3. “The Ravages of Time and the Intrusion of Modern American Civilization” THE MEXICAN TOWNSHIP OF SAN BUENAVENTURA BEFORE 1860 THE DISPLACEMENT OF THE MEXICAN RANCHERO CLASS IN VENTURA COUNTY UNDERMINING THE POLITICAL INFLUENCE OF THE RANCHERO CLASS IN VENTURA COUNTY THE CLOSING OF ONE ERA AND THE DAWNING OF A NEW THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTENSIVE AGRICULTURE AND THE TRANSITIONAL ROLE OF THE SHEEP INDUSTRY AGRIBUSINESS ELITES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTENSIVE AGRICULTURE RACIAL STATUS AND CLASS POSITION IN THE LOCAL ECONOMY CONCLUSION PART TWO: WHITE CIVILIZATION'S CRUSADE AGAINST THE "DEVILS OF THE FOREST" 4. “Before the March of Civilization He Must Give Way” SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF PRE-CONQUEST INDIAN SOCIETY THE RACIAL DEMONIZATION OF THE CALIFORNIA INDIANS UPROOTING THE TRADITIONAL INDIAN MODE OF SUBSISTENCE THE WHITE MASCULINIST ASSAULT ON THE CALIFORNIA INDIANS CONCLUSION 5. “Unfit and Incapable of Being Associated with Whites on Any Terms of Equality” THE SUBORDINATE POLITICAL STATUS OF INDIANS IN ANGLO CALIFORNIA THE IGNOMINIOUS VAGRANCY LAW AND INDENTURE ACT OF 1850 THE BRIEF REPRISE OF INDIAN KIDNAPPING AND SUBJUGATION INTO SLAVERY THE DEMISE OF INDIANS AS A “USEFUL CLASS” IN CALIFORNIA INDIAN REMOVAL AND SEGREGATION ONTO FEDERAL RESERVATIONS CONCLUSION PART THREE: RACIALIZED CLASS CONFLICT AND ASIAN IMMIGRANTS IN ANGLO CALIFORNIA 6. “They Can Be Hired in Masses; They Can Be Managed and Controlled like Unthinking Slaves” THE UNWELCOME ARRIVAL OF “JOHN CHINAMAN” THE “DAMNING INFLUENCE” OF THE “HEATHEN CHINEE” GENDERED AND SEXUALIZED REPRESENTATIONS OF CHINESE IMMIGRANTS THE SUBORDINATE POLITICAL STATUS OF THE CHINESE IN ANGLO CALIFORNIA THE CLASS BASIS OF ANTI-CHINESE SENTIMENT IN CALIFORNIA THE CLASS NATURE OF ANTI-CHINESE SENTIMENT IN RURAL CALIFORNIA RACIALIZED CLASS RELATIONS IN URBAN MANUFACTURING THE STATUS OF CHINESE WOMEN IN URBAN CALIFORNIA WHITE WORKING-CLASS CLAIMS TO RACIAL ENTITLEMENT CONCLUSION 7. “In the Hands of People Whose Experience Has Been Only to Obey a Master Rather than Think and Manage for Themselves” IN THE WAKE OF ANTI-CHINESE HYSTERIA AND WHITE WORKING-CLASS RACISM AGRIBUSINESS INTERESTS AND THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY OF OXNARD PRELUDE TO THE STRIKE OF 1903 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE JAPANESE-MEXICAN LABOR ASSOCIATION THE CALAMITOUS SUGAR BEET WORKERS’ STRIKE IMPLICATIONS OF THE OXNARD STRIKE FOR ORGANIZED WHITE LABOR DIFFERENTIAL RACIALIZATION AND THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE OXNARD STRIKE Epilogue RACE, CLASS, AND GENDER IN CALIFORNIA HISTORY AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND THE HISTORICITY OF “RACE” Notes Introduction 1. “We Desire Only a White Population in California”" The Transformation of Mexican California in Historical-Sociological Perspective 2. “The True Significance of the Word ‘White’ ” 3. “The Ravages of Time and the Intrusion of Modern American Civilization” 4. “Before the March of Civilization He Must Give Way” 5. “Unfit and Incapable of Being Associated with Whites on Any Terms of Equality” 6. “They Can Be Hired in Masses; They Can Be Managed and Controlled like Unthinking Slaves” 7. “In the Hands of People Whose Experience Has Been Only to Obey a Master Rather than Think and Manage for Themselves” Epilogue