history of the west coast of north america

The west coast of North America consists of the modern American states of California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and arguably Alaska and parts of the Yukon. Climatically the region is quite moist and that has long led to far higher population density than the region to the east of the Rocky Mountains. However, the large stretch of arid land separating the east and west coast long prevented the agricultural developments of the east reaching the west. The crops and practices of the Great Plains were also wholly unsuited to the coast. In what is today southern California this led to relatively scattered populations of nomadic tribes. Further north the Haida people took advantage of the bounty sea and many rivers allowing even hunter-gathered populations to settle into permanent settlements. It took far longer for Europeans to reach the west coast than the east coast due to the necessity of the long trip around Cape Horn or the even more arduous one across the continent. The first to erect much of a presence in the region were the Spanish who settled in southern California. In the eighteenth century. The northern stretch was claimed by the British, but their region was sparsely settled by Europeans and was mainly the preserve of the Hudson's Bay Company until well into the nineteenth century. The area was largely unaffected by the American Revolution. Again it was California that first attracted settlers. Unlike the heavily forested region of Northern California and above Southern California was attractive American farmers who began to arrive in large numbers in the early eighteenth century. They soon chafed under Mexican control and rebelled, and the territory was eventually annexed to the United States. The growth of the United States to the Pacific Ocean concerned the residents of British North America who were worried that the Americans would annex the entire region. An influx of settlers into Oregon Territory succeeded in wresting the territory from British control. The British refused American demands to surrender any more territories, and for a time it looked as though the dispute could result in war. In the end the border issue was decided in 1846 when the border was set along the 49th parallel, as it was further east. The entire region was still sparsely populated. This changed dramatically in 1849 with the onset of the California gold rush that saw an influx of prospectors. While few found much gold many stayed, founding communities and turning to farming and other practices. Soon the gold rush fever spread progressively north, in 1853 a gold rush began in British Columbia, and at the end of the century the Klondike Gold Rush saw the Yukon hit by a mass of prospectors. Despite these increases in population the west coast was still on the periphery. The American Civil War had little effect. This began to change as the first transcontinental railroads began to stretch across the United States. For the first time it was relatively cheap and easy to move to the west coast. The delineating of the border had not completely allayed Canada's fears of losing their western region, especially as it continued to lag behind the western United States in population and development. With British Columbia's joining Canadian Confederation in 1871 the Canadian government began to monumental task of building their own railroad to the west to break the American monopoly. The Canadian Pacific Railway was completed in 1885 and firmly cemented the north-south divide of the region. Both the gold rushes and the building of the railroads required vast amounts of labour. One available source that was used on both sides of the border were immigrants from East Asia, largely from China and Japan. These immigrants were willing to work for very little and played a crucial role in building the infrastructure of the west coast. However, they faced constant discrimination. Asians were deprived of their civil rights in both Canada and the United States. There was also pressure to restrict Asian immigration, opinions that were acted on with quotas, head taxes, and finally a complete ban in both nations in the 1920s. Because of discrimination, and also a desire to remain a community, Chinatowns developed in all the major cities along the west coast. The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 benefited the region economically as trade with the Atlantic region became far easier. The rise of the Japanese economy also benefited the region as the ability to trade across the Pacific first showed its great potential. Only a few decades later Japan would become a major threat. There were few attacks against North America in the Second World War, but the occasional Japanese submarine lurked off the shores. Japan tried to damage the region by sending over hundreds of balloon bombs in an attempt to light the forest of the northwest on fire. These were generally ineffective, however. Several did land in both Canada and the United States and they caused a handful of deaths, but no great destruction. The post-war years would be ones of great prosperity and growth in the west. The quick reemergence of Japan and its stunning growth over the next decades meant great wealth for the west coast ports. Japan became the second largest trading partner of both Canada and the United States, and this trade was almost entirely based in the west coast. Later the other Asian economies would add to this trade. Throughout the northwest logging, mining, and fishing remained the central industries. California, however, became a cultural centre to rival the northeast due to the film industry as well as a becoming a centre of music, literature, and cooking. The area became home to some of the continent's greatest universities. Unlike the east the western economies were not based upon manufacturing and the great deindustrialization of the 1970s and 1980s did little to hurt the region creating an imbalance between rapid growth in the west and stagnation or decline in the east. During this period the west coast became the bastion of conservatism with the population favouring low taxes and small government. In the United States this manifested itself in support for the Republican Party. Especially for the two Republican presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. In British Columbia the right wing Social Credit Party governed for over thirty years. The general economic revival of North America in the late 1990s brought the east back to health, but even greater growth in Southern California due to the high-tech industry. The region was, hurt, however, by the decade long economic slump of Japan beginning at the same time. This was made up for by the rapid growth of Southeast Asia, South Korea, and especially China. The entire region shifted quite dramatically politically, however. Westerners diverged from conservatism over social issues such as gay rights, abortion, and the legalization of soft drugs. In 1991 British Columbia threw out Social Credit electing the socialist NDP. California, Washington, and Oregon were pivotal in Bill Clinton's two victories and Al Gore and John Kerry's near wins in 2000 and 2004. This change was mainly in the urban coastal areas. Inland, rural regions of California reamined stauchly Republican, and the interior of British Columbia has voted solidly for the Reform Party and its successors.

History Of The West Coast Of North America

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