CA 1930 - 1960

Question 1

Q: How did the Great Depression impact California?

Answer 1

A: Large-scale unemployment, bank failures, and foreclosures.

Question 2

Q: How did state politics change during the Depression?

Answer 2

A: The economic downturn renewed the call for political reform.
A: Upton Sinclair (a reform candidate) ran unsuccessfully for governor on a platform for political change.
A: The Utopian Society promoted economic and social reform.
A: The Townsend Plan favored pensions for the aged and a graduated income tax.

Question 3

Q: What swelled California’s population during this Depression-era?

Answer 3

A: Dust Bowl migrants added more than 350,000 to the population.

Question 4

Q: How did U.S. entry into World War II change California?

Answer 4

A: California became the “defense center” of the nation.

Question 5

Q: Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, what happened to Japanese-Americans in California?

Answer 5

A: Most were relocated from coastal areas to inland detention camps (1942).
A: The Japanese were forced to sell their homes and businesses on short notice at huge losses.

Question 6

Q: What marked the post-war era?

Answer 6

A: Huge defense contracts following the war fueled economic prosperity.
A: Hundreds of thousands of armed-forces personnel migrated to California.
A: Pollution and water became political issues.