Deck 11: Racial Oppression and Conflict

Question 1

After the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,American settlers in California generally

A)believed that all lands in California should be public lands by right of conquest.
B)respected the rights of Mexican grantees to keep their lands.
C)showed surprisingly little interest in acquiring California land.
D)forcibly removed most Mexican grantees from their lands.

Answer 1

believed that all lands in California should be public lands by right of conquest.

Question 2

Under the Gwin Act of 1851,most original Mexican land grants were ultimately

A)not contested.
B)invalidated.
C)confirmed.
D)appealed to the U.S.Supreme Court.

Answer 2

confirmed.

Question 3

The case of Ward v.Flood (1874)

A)declared the testimony law to be unconstitutional.
B)undermined some of the legal foundations for school segregation.
C)granted African Americans the right to own property.
D)none of the above

Answer 3

undermined some of the legal foundations for school segregation.

Question 4

In the case of People v.Hall (1852),the California Supreme Court ruled that

A)the "coolie bill" was unconstitutional.
B)the foreign miners' tax was unconstitutional.
C)Indian-hunting expeditions of the state militia were illegal.
D)Chinese could not testify in California courts either in favor of or against a white person.

Question 5

The entire cities of Oakland,Berkeley,and Alameda were built on land owned originally by members of the

A)Carrillo family.
B)Vallejo family.
C)Peralta family.
D)Fremont family.

Question 6

"Free" blacks who came to California during the 1850s

A)were not allowed to testify in legal proceedings for or against whites.
B)were banned from attending public schools with whites.
C)actively campaigned for their civil rights.
D)all of the above

Question 7

The average length of time required,in the American legal system,to secure ownership of the California land grants was

A)16 months.
B)two years.
C)about ten years.
D)17 years.

Question 8

The credit-ticket system allowed impoverished Chinese to

A)emigrate to California through a form of debt bondage.
B)obtain "credible" status in legal proceedings.
C)petition California authorities for naturalization.
D)earn high wages.

Question 9

The Chinese in nineteenth-century California responded to government acts of discrimination against them by

A)returning to China in large numbers.
B)engaging in violent resistance.
C)expressing eloquent protests against their treatment.
D)passively accepting their fate.

Question 10

The study of California land titles made by Henry Halleck asserted that most Mexican claims were either imperfect or fraudulent.

Question 11

African American Mary Ellen Pleasant

A)became a successful Los Angeles real-estate investor and philanthropist.
B)sued San Francisco streetcars for refusing to transport black passengers.
C)began her career as a midwife and nurse.
D)all of the above

Question 12

After a bitter debate the California Legislature refused to enact a foreign miners' tax.

Question 13

The 18 Indian treaties negotiated by federal agents in the early 1850s

A)were supported by the state legislature.
B)called for a system of only two small reservations.
C)resulted in the removal of nearly all California Indians to federal reservations.
D)were rejected by the United States Senate.

Question 14

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo stated that land belonging to Mexicans in California would be

A)classified as U.S.public land.
B)sold to land speculators.
C)subject to the preemption system.
D)"inviolably respected".

Question 15

The vagrancy act of 1851

A)was aimed at persons "known as 'Greasers' or the issue of Spanish and Indian blood."
B)was supported by El Clamor Publico.
C)criminalized sexual relations between homeless persons on public lands.
D)subjected unemployed persons to harsh sentences of manual labor on "works for the public good."

Question 16

California blacks were extended the franchise

A)by the state legislature in 1852.
B)when the testimony law was repealed.
C)by the state legislature after ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S.Constitution.
D)by the California constitution of 1849.

Question 17

The earliest discrimination by Californians from the United States against "foreigners" was directed mainly at the

A)Mexicans and other Spanish-speaking Californians.
B)French miners.
C)Chinese.
D)Japanese.

Question 18

According to the textbook,the Mexican system of land title in California was generally lax and vague.

Question 19

According to the textbook,the worst discrimination and suffering during the gold rush was endured by the

A)Chinese.
B)Indians.
C)African Americans (both slave and free).
D)Mexican miners.

Question 20

The kidnapping of California Indian children for sale

A)became a lucrative business.
B)featured prices ranging from $30 to $200.
C)often included the killing of parents by kidnappers.
D)all of the above

Question 21

Contrary to popular belief,the military defeat of the Modoc Indians was accomplished without the loss of any white lives.

Question 22

The novel The Squatter and the Don (1885)strongly endorsed the system for proving land title in California established by the Gwin Act.

Question 23

Explain the system of determining the validity of Mexican land titles under the Gwin Act of 1851.How were the Mexican grantees placed at a disadvantage? What was the final outcome of the process?

Question 24

The case of People v.Hall was a major step toward equal treatment of the California Chinese.

Question 25

Compare the nature of racial discrimination against Mexicans,Chinese,Indians,and African Americans during the 1850s and 1860s.What forms did this discrimination take,and which group suffered the worst kind of oppression? Explain.

Question 26

Even though most were unable to do so,the 19^th-century California Chinese tended to cling to the dream of returning to their homeland.

Question 27

What were the motives and rationalizations used to justify the oppression of racial minorities in California during the 1850s and 1860s?

Question 28

In the case of Archy Lee,the California Supreme Court ordered Lee's release from his master.

Question 29

In the case of Gordon Chase,a judge excluded the testimony of an eyewitness on the basis of race.

Question 30

Writer Bret Harte bitterly denounced white massacres perpetrated on California Indians.

Question 31

The original street plan for the city of Oakland was laid out as a squatter enterprise.

Question 32

What were the differences between the American and Mexican concepts of land title in California?

Question 33

The success of Biddy Mason and Mary Ellen Pleasant were typical of the experiences of most of California's early black population.