CA history

The California Dream There are multiple interpretations and visions of the California Dream, each with their own variations and ideals that suit the individual. The dust bowl era brought numerous Southwestern migrants to California in search of their dream of prosperity as well as opportunity, while white middle class families saw their California Dream as living in harmony and peace in suburbia, in their modest homes, with manicured yards. The books American Exodus by James Gregory and Holy Land by D.J. Waldie demonstrate more clearly the history of these two groups in their pursuit of the California Dream. American Exodus displays the history of the migrant movement from the southwestern states to California and expands on the decisions and hardships they faced. During the dust bowl many farms were no longer sustainable, which put farmers and their families in difficult positions as what to do. Many decided to migrate west in search for a better life. The initial migration was more of a pull to California and push out of the dust bowl. The pull was the opportunity to improve their lives and those of their families. The push was that conditions were desperate at home and it had become more challenging to make ends meet. Upon arrival however, many suffered unjustly as they were stereotyped as poverty stricken dirt farmers. While some integrated into the urban life of big cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco the majority stuck with their agricultural roots and settled in the San Joaquin Valley. The migrants who remained on Route 66 all the way to Los Angeles instead of turning north towards the Central Valley managed to be easily absorbed by the metropolitan populace. Those that settled in the Central Valley struggled but were able to create a sub culture and were able to prosper keeping their California Dream alive. By separating themselves, the migrants in the Central Valley developed their own distinctive sub culture that Gregory describes as