Changes

When California came under American rule in 1846, the population of Los Angeles comprised about 300 Latino families and a few Anglo merchants. The city began growing when Henry Huntington's [[Southern Pacific]] railroad, subsidized by local government, opened lines to San Francisco in 1876 and through Arizona and Texas to the eastern U.S. in 1883.<ref>Richard J. Orsi, ''Sunset Limited: The Southern Pacific Railroad and the Development of the American West, 1880-1930'' (2005)</ref>

When California came under American rule in 1846, the population of Los Angeles comprised about 300 Latino families and a few Anglo merchants. The city began growing when Henry Huntington's [[Southern Pacific]] railroad, subsidized by local government, opened lines to San Francisco in 1876 and through Arizona and Texas to the eastern U.S. in 1883.<ref>Richard J. Orsi, ''Sunset Limited: The Southern Pacific Railroad and the Development of the American West, 1880-1930'' (2005)</ref>

After a decade of prosperity, the cattle industry collapsed after the drought of 1862-63 ruining the landowners. The Californios—fewer than 2000 people—faded into obscurity, losing their ranches through bankruptcy and court cases.  The old Spanish-Mexican culture faded, but reappeared in 20th century mission-style architecture. For a time the small town endured a reputation for lawlessness and vigilantism. Promotion of the region's agricultural potential brought newcomers—Yankees and Midwesterners.  The boom came in 1886-88, sparked by a a rate war between the Southern Pacific and the Sante Fe railroads that caused a land boom; by 1890 the city's population reached 50,000. The 1890s saw extensive advertising of the region's climate and opportunities to the rest of the United States, along with congressional approval of the development of key harbor facilities at San Pedro. The first suburbs appeared in Compton (1869) and Pasadena (1875)--part of LA County but entirely separate from the city of Los Angeles.  By 1900 Los Angeles had been transformed into a substantially Protestant, midsized growth center, boosted as a land of opportunity for  Americans, especially Midwesterners.  As soon as they arrived they formed Iowa clubs and Illinois clubs to remember their roots.<ref>Leonard Pitt, "The Midwesternization of a Cowtown" ''California History'' 1981 60(1): 28-49. 0162-2897</ref>

After a decade of prosperity, the cattle industry collapsed after the drought of 1862-63 ruining the landowners. The Californios—fewer than 2000 people—faded into obscurity, losing their ranches through bankruptcy and court cases.  The old Spanish-Mexican culture faded, but reappeared in 20th century mission-style architecture. For a time the small town endured a reputation for lawlessness and vigilantism. Promotion of the region's agricultural potential brought newcomers—Yankees and Midwesterners.  The boom came in 1886-88, sparked by a rate war between the Southern Pacific and the Sante Fe railroads that caused a land boom; by 1890 the city's population reached 50,000. The 1890s saw extensive advertising of the region's climate and opportunities to the rest of the United States, along with congressional approval of the development of key harbor facilities at San Pedro. The first suburbs appeared in Compton (1869) and Pasadena (1875)--part of LA County but entirely separate from the city of Los Angeles.  By 1900 Los Angeles had been transformed into a substantially Protestant, midsized growth center, boosted as a land of opportunity for  Americans, especially Midwesterners.  As soon as they arrived they formed Iowa clubs and Illinois clubs to remember their roots.<ref>Leonard Pitt, "The Midwesternization of a Cowtown" ''California History'' 1981 60(1): 28-49. 0162-2897</ref>

[[Image:La-1900.jpg|thumb|250px|LA in 1900--mostly orange groves and empty land]]

[[Image:La-1900.jpg|thumb|250px|LA in 1900--mostly orange groves and empty land]]

===Economic growth===

===Economic growth===

[[Henry E. Huntington]] (1850-1927) was the largest employer in the Los Angeles area in the first two decades of the 20th century. His business operations included major street railways and a power company, which together employed over 5,000 workers. Huntington was vigorously opposed to unionization. He promptly fired workers who joined unions, made use of strikebreakers, and joined other employers in local and national anti-union organizations. As the city's most powerful entrepreneur, he successfully battled the labor movement to a draw. He would never negotiate with a union - such was viewed by him as a sign of failure in management. He promoted instead [[welfare capitalism]], whereby workers got their rewards through the company not the union. He developed graduated pay scales based on seniority to encourage his workers to stay on and to reward the most loyal men. He rewarded his employees with generous wage hikes for their loyalty, and as the years passed he began offering fringe benefits such as insurance, housing, and medical care.  His philanthropy included the famed Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino.<ref>William B. Friedricks, "Capital and Labor In Los Angeles: Henry E. Huntington Vs. Organized Labor, 1900-1920." ''Pacific Historical Review'' 1990 59(3): 375-395. 0030-8684</ref>

[[Henry E. Huntington]] (1850-1927) was the largest employer in the Los Angeles area in the first two decades of the 20th century. His business operations included major street railways and a power company, which together employed over 5,000 workers. Huntington was vigorously opposed to unionization. He promptly fired workers who joined unions, made use of strikebreakers, and joined other employers in local and national anti-union organizations. As the city's most powerful entrepreneur, he successfully battled the labor movement to a draw. He would never negotiate with a union - such was viewed by him as a sign of failure in management. He promoted instead [[welfare capitalism]], whereby workers got their rewards through the company not the union. He developed graduated pay scales based on seniority to encourage his workers to stay on and to reward the most loyal men. He rewarded his employees with generous wage hikes for their loyalty, and as the years passed he began offering fringe benefits such as insurance, housing, and medical care.  His philanthropy included the famed Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino.<ref>William B. Friedricks, "Capital and Labor In Los Angeles: Henry E. Huntington Vs. Organized Labor, 1900-1920." ''Pacific Historical Review'' 1990 59(3): 375-395. 0030-8684</ref>

In 1900, Los Angeles bristled with oil derricks. By the the 1920s, California produced a third of America's petroleum, most of it in LA county.  Los Angeles grew so rapidly in the 1920s because it successfully presented itself as a symbol of the American dream of a better life, mixing a movieland perception with hardheaded property speculation.

In 1900, Los Angeles bristled with oil derricks. By the 1920s, California produced a third of America's petroleum, most of it in LA county.  Los Angeles grew so rapidly in the 1920s because it successfully presented itself as a symbol of the American dream of a better life, mixing a movieland perception with hardheaded property speculation.

===Progressivism===

===Progressivism===

====Failure of Socialism, 1911====

====Failure of Socialism, 1911====

The Los Angeles Socialist Party made a major bid for power in the 1911 local elections. Appealing especially to union members, Socialists argued at meetings, public parades, and demonstrations that the municipal government was guilty of class tyranny. When city police arrested John McNamara of the National Structural Iron Workers' Union and his brother in May 1911 on charges they had bombed the ''Los Angeles Times'' building, Socialists seized the heightened political climate as an opportunity to win control of the city council in the upcoming 1911 elections. Socialists in the newly formed Union Labor Political Club selected Job Harriman to run against George Alexander of the "Good Government" middle class coalition. Socialists stressed social welfare reform and the incumbent administration's abuse of police power as exemplified by the McNamara case. Harriman won more votes in the primary, shocking the middle class into activity. The Good Government party organized precincts, registered potential conservative and moderate voters, and warned that the Socialists were radicals who threatened to destroy the city's economic prosperity. The McNamara brothers' unexpected plea of guilty to bombing charges stunned the Socialists into despair. The overwhelming anti-radical position of newly-registered women voters contributed to the decisive Socialist defeat in the December 1911 general election.  Socialists were no longer a major player in city politics.<ref>Daniel J. Johnson, "'No Make-Believe Class Struggle': The Socialist Municipal Campaign in Los Angeles, 1911." ''Labor History'' 2000 41(1): 25-45. 0023-656x; James P. Kraft, "The Fall of Job Harriman's Socialist Party: Violence, Gender and Politics in Los Angeles, 1911." ''Southern California Quarterly'' 1988 70(1): 43-68.</ref>

The Los Angeles Socialist Party made a major bid for power in the 1911 local elections. Appealing especially to union members, Socialists argued at meetings, public parades, and demonstrations that the municipal government was guilty of class tyranny. When city police arrested John McNamara of the National Structural Iron Workers' Union and his brother in May 1911 on charges they had bombed the ''Los Angeles Times'' building, Socialists seized the heightened political climate as an opportunity to win control of the city council in the upcoming 1911 elections. Socialists in the newly formed Union Labor Political Club selected Job Harriman to run against George Alexander of the "Good Government" middle class coalition. Socialists stressed social welfare reform and the incumbent administration's abuse of police power as exemplified by the McNamara case. Harriman won more votes in the primary, shocking the middle class into activity. The Good Government party organized precincts, registered potential conservative and moderate voters, and warned that the Socialists were radicals who threatened to destroy the city's economic prosperity. The McNamara brothers' unexpected plea of guilty to bombing charges stunned the Socialists into despair. The overwhelming anti-radical position of newly registered women voters contributed to the decisive Socialist defeat in the December 1911 general election.  Socialists were no longer a major player in city politics.<ref>Daniel J. Johnson, "'No Make-Believe Class Struggle': The Socialist Municipal Campaign in Los Angeles, 1911." ''Labor History'' 2000 41(1): 25-45. 0023-656x; James P. Kraft, "The Fall of Job Harriman's Socialist Party: Violence, Gender and Politics in Los Angeles, 1911." ''Southern California Quarterly'' 1988 70(1): 43-68.</ref>

===Schools===

===Schools===

The city made some 73 annexations over the years, most notably in the San Fernando Valley, expanding in size from 43 to 442 square miles. Many areas joined to get access to the city's famous water supply. However, many other [[suburb]]s—especially those with oil wells—retained their political independence from the city.

The city made some 73 annexations over the years, most notably in the San Fernando Valley, expanding in size from 43 to 442 square miles. Many areas joined to get access to the city's famous water supply. However, many other [[suburb]]s—especially those with oil wells—retained their political independence from the city.

Los Angeles is famous as a collection of many suburbs with a very weak central city.  Unlike eastern cities LA was not created by the expansion of suburbs spreading outward from the city center over time. Instead suburbs grew up around dispersed hubs of manufacturing and job creation, all linked by highways.<ref>Greg Hise, "Home Building and Industrial Decentralization in Los Angeles: The Roots of the Postwar Urban Region." ''Journal of Urban History'' 1993 19(2): 95-125. [http://juh.sagepub.com/cgi/pdf_extract/19/2/95 online]</ref>  Los Angeles therefore spread out to great distances, allowing people to own houses because land was cheap.  The vast San Fernando Valley is legally part of the City but is only loosely connected with the rest of LA and has several times tried—and failed—to secede.  Meanwhile most suburbs in the County of Los Angeles are entirely independent of the City of Los Angeles. During 1900-40, Los Angeles suburbs for the working class offered residents an opportunity to maximize the productive uses of their property in their quest for economic security and insulation from an unpredictable marketplace, thus fulfilling the class-based needs of suburbanites. These were rough-hewn communities, where multi-ethnic residents grew produce and livestock in backyards, built their own homes, and paid low taxes. The nature and function of these suburbs defy traditional scholarly portrayals of suburbia as the pastoral, exclusive haven of the white middle class. Such communities were surprisingly prevalent in Los Angeles before World War II. By 1940, 72% of all incorporated suburbs were predominantly working class. Four categories of these communities existed: industrial suburbs, labor camp suburbs, domestic service suburbs, and farm-fringe streetcar suburbs. Many of these communities were "unplanned," allowing residents to rely on their own labor as a means of entering the ranks of suburban home ownership. Early-20th-century suburban development illustrates how working people shaped the residential landscape of early Los Angeles.<ref>Becky M. Nicolaides, "'Where The Working Man is Welcomed': Working-Class Suburbs in Los Angeles, 1900-1940" ''Pacific Historical Review'' 1999 68(4): 517-559. 0030-8684</ref>

Los Angeles is famous as a collection of many suburbs with a very weak central city.  Unlike eastern cities LA was not created by the expansion of suburbs spreading outward from the city center over time. Instead suburbs grew up around dispersed hubs of manufacturing and job creation, all linked by highways.<ref>Greg Hise, "Home Building and Industrial Decentralization in Los Angeles: The Roots of the Postwar Urban Region." ''Journal of Urban History'' 1993 19(2): 95-125. [http://juh.sagepub.com/cgi/pdf_extract/19/2/95 online]</ref>  Los Angeles therefore spread out to great distances, allowing people to own houses because land was cheap.  The vast San Fernando Valley is legally part of the City but is only loosely connected with the rest of LA and has several times tried—and failed—to secede.  Meanwhile, most suburbs in the County of Los Angeles are entirely independent of the City of Los Angeles. During 1900-40, Los Angeles suburbs for the working class offered residents an opportunity to maximize the productive uses of their property in their quest for economic security and insulation from an unpredictable marketplace, thus fulfilling the class-based needs of suburbanites. These were rough-hewn communities, where multi-ethnic residents grew produce and livestock in backyards, built their own homes, and paid low taxes. The nature and function of these suburbs defy traditional scholarly portrayals of suburbia as the pastoral, exclusive haven of the white middle class. Such communities were surprisingly prevalent in Los Angeles before World War II. By 1940, 72% of all incorporated suburbs were predominantly working class. Four categories of these communities existed: industrial suburbs, labor camp suburbs, domestic service suburbs, and farm-fringe streetcar suburbs. Many of these communities were "unplanned," allowing residents to rely on their own labor as a means of entering the ranks of suburban home ownership. Early-20th-century suburban development illustrates how working people shaped the residential landscape of early Los Angeles.<ref>Becky M. Nicolaides, "'Where The Working Man is Welcomed': Working-Class Suburbs in Los Angeles, 1900-1940" ''Pacific Historical Review'' 1999 68(4): 517-559. 0030-8684</ref>

===1940s===

===1940s===

The cynicism prevailed throughout the 20th century as Ross MacDonald, Joan Didion, Joseph Wambaugh, and other writers saw Los Angeles as a metaphor for deception, illusion and loss. Hollywood turned the negative image into a backdrop for a series of famous "film noir" (black films) in the 1940s which portrayed Los Angeles as an impersonal, pessimistic, and dehumanized environment. Classic films include "Double Indemnity," "Mildred Pierce," "The Postman Always Rings Twice," and "The Blue Dahlia". The Spanish architectural styles of residences, the seediness of downtown Los Angeles, exotic landscaping, the river channel, the Hollywood Bowl, and industrial locations were featured in these films and usually given a dark interpretation, as Los Angeles came to represent disillusionment with the American Dream.<ref>Tina Olsin Lent, "The Dark Side of the Dream: The Image of Los Angeles in Film Noir" ''Southern California Quarterly'' 1987 69(4): 329-348. 0038-3929</ref>  

The cynicism prevailed throughout the 20th century as Ross MacDonald, Joan Didion, Joseph Wambaugh, and other writers saw Los Angeles as a metaphor for deception, illusion and loss. Hollywood turned the negative image into a backdrop for a series of famous "film noir" (black films) in the 1940s which portrayed Los Angeles as an impersonal, pessimistic, and dehumanized environment. Classic films include "Double Indemnity," "Mildred Pierce," "The Postman Always Rings Twice," and "The Blue Dahlia". The Spanish architectural styles of residences, the seediness of downtown Los Angeles, exotic landscaping, the river channel, the Hollywood Bowl, and industrial locations were featured in these films and usually given a dark interpretation, as Los Angeles came to represent disillusionment with the American Dream.<ref>Tina Olsin Lent, "The Dark Side of the Dream: The Image of Los Angeles in Film Noir" ''Southern California Quarterly'' 1987 69(4): 329-348. 0038-3929</ref>  

The dark gloom continues in [[Latino]] literature. For example the dangerous streets in Luis Rodríguez's 1993 autobiographical novel ''Always Running:  La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A.'' are a metaphor for young urban Latinos' sense of despair and search for self that can lead them into gang activity.<ref>Fine (2000); Maria Herrera-Sobek, "Geography of Despair: The Mean Streets of L.A. in Luis Rodriguez's ''Always Running''". ''Latino Studies Journal]] 1997 8(2): 56-67. 1066-1344</ref>

The dark gloom continues in [[Latino]] literature. For example, the dangerous streets in Luis Rodríguez's 1993 autobiographical novel ''Always Running:  La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A.'' are a metaphor for young urban Latinos' sense of despair and search for self that can lead them into gang activity.<ref>Fine (2000); Maria Herrera-Sobek, "Geography of Despair: The Mean Streets of L.A. in Luis Rodriguez's ''Always Running''". ''Latino Studies Journal 1997 8(2): 56-67. 1066-1344</ref>

Since the beginning of the entertainment industry's days in Los Angeles, the city has frequently been seen as promoting [[Hollywood values]] to the world, and the city is famous as a den of iniquity and a 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams'.

Since the beginning of the entertainment industry's days in Los Angeles, the city has frequently been seen as promoting [[Hollywood values]] to the world, and the city is famous as a den of iniquity and a 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams'.

* Jaher, Frederic Cople. ''The Urban Establishment: Upper Strata in Boston, New York, Charleston, Chicago, and Los Angeles.'' (1982). 777 pp.

* Jaher, Frederic Cople. ''The Urban Establishment: Upper Strata in Boston, New York, Charleston, Chicago, and Los Angeles.'' (1982). 777 pp.

* Klein, Norman M. and Schiesl, Martin J., eds. ''20th Century Los Angeles: Power, Promotion, and Social Conflict.'' (1990). 240 pp.

* Klein, Norman M. and Schiesl, Martin J., eds. ''20th Century Los Angeles: Power, Promotion, and Social Conflict.'' (1990). 240 pp.

* Lavender, David. ''Los Angeles, Two Hundred Years.'' (1980). 240 pp. heavily ilustrated popular history

* Lavender, David. ''Los Angeles, Two Hundred Years.'' (1980). 240 pp. heavily illustrated popular history

* Leader, Leonard. ''Los Angeles and the Great Depression.'' (1991). 344 pp.

* Leader, Leonard. ''Los Angeles and the Great Depression.'' (1991). 344 pp.

* Mullins, William H. ''The Depression and the Urban West Coast, 1929-1933: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland.''  (1991). 176 pp.

* Mullins, William H. ''The Depression and the Urban West Coast, 1929-1933: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland.''  (1991). 176 pp.