[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 17380]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   CELEBRATING CALIFORNIA'S DIVERSITY

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, this Saturday will mark the 150th 
anniversary of California's admission to the Union. As the people of 
our State prepare for this Sesquicentennial celebration, I want to 
celebrate California's most distinctive characteristic: its tremendous 
diversity.
  California is ``a nation unto itself'' with great mountains and 
forests, vast deserts and fertile valleys, rolling hills and rugged 
coastlines. Within its borders can be found virtually every climate, 
every crop, every landform on earth.
  But our greatest diversity--and our greatest asset--is the people of 
California.
  California's diversity was apparent from the beginning. When the 
first Spanish pioneers crossed the Great Desert, they met Native 
Americans from more than 300 tribal and language groups. By the time 
Mexico and California gained independence from Spain, Alta California 
was home to many Europeans, Asians, and Pacific Islanders as well as 
Hispanics, North Americans, and Native Americans.
  In 1849, when California held its constitutional convention, its 48 
delegates included men from England, Scotland, Ireland, France, 
Switzerland, Mexico, and Spain. Thirteen of the delegates had been in 
California for less than a year; and William M. Gwin, who later became 
one of our first two U.S. Senators, had been here less than three 
months. Seven delegates had been born in California: their names were 
Vallejo, Carrillo, Pico, Dominguez, Rodriguez, Covarrubias, another 
Pico, and de la Guerra.
  The Gold Rush brought new waves of pioneers from all over the globe. 
In their wake came workers from China, who built the great railroads, 
and Japanese farmers who fed the fortune hunters and made fortunes of 
their own.
  During the Great Depression, thousands of internal immigrants fled 
the Dust Bowls of Texas and Oklahoma for greener pastures in 
California.
  During World War II, thousands of African Americans migrated from the 
rural South to work in California's shipyards and other defense-related 
industries.
  At the war's end, California had a wave of settlers from the U.S. 
Armed Forces: men and women who had shipped out of our beautiful ports 
and returned to stay when the war was over.
  In recent years, new immigrants from Asia and Latin America have 
added to California's rich cultural mix, making our state the 
crossroads of the Pacific Rim and the new economy.
  Today California's great diversity is reflected in our Congressional 
delegation, where our state is represented by people named Becerra, and 
Roybal-Allard; Feinstein, Waxman, and Berman; Dixon, Waters, and Lee; 
Pelosi, Gallegly, and Radanovich; and Farr and McKeon.

  On Wednesday, September 13th, Representatives Farr and McKeon will 
host a Sesquicentennial reception for Members of both Houses and both 
parties. I look forward to joining my California colleagues in 
celebrating our great state's proud history and bright future.

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