Ch. 9 L.3: The Rise of Southern California

Ch. 9 L.3: The Rise of Southern California

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Competition in California

• There were lots of railroad built from Los Angeles and other cities.

• Soon the railroad companies began a competition. A competition is an effort to win or gain something from others.

• Companies began lowering the price of train ticket and printed ads in newspapers and magazines.

Southern California Grows

• Due to the railroads, people began coming to Southern California.

• Between 1880 and 1920, the population of Los Angeles grew from 11,000 to over one-half million.

• By 1920, Los Angeles had become California's largest city.

The Port of Los Angeles

• California needed to be able to ship supplies in and ship products out.

• Construction of Los Angeles Harbor began 1899 and opened in 1907.

• The Panama Canal opened in 1914. It cut a path through Central America. Now, ships no longer had to sail around the continent to reach California.

• The Panama Canal increased the amount of cargo passed through California ports.

• By the mid-1920s, Los Angeles was the busiest port in the western United States.

• Los Angeles was becoming an important new center of trade and industry.

The Oil Boom

• In 1893, Edward Doheny noticed that the back of a wagon which passed by him was filled with a sticky dark oil.

• Doheny knew that oil could also be used for fuel.

• Doheny and a partner bought the land and drilled down until they struck oil.

• Then, they built an oil derrick above the source. A derrick is a tower build over a drill site to support a drill and bring oil to the surface.

• Soon, people began to build derricks in their front and back yards. By 1900, there were more than 1,000 oil derricks in the city. Just like the Gold Rush, people wanted to find oil and become rich.​

Oil in Transportation

• Railroads began using oil for fuel instead of coal.

• Cars powered by gasoline (an oil product) were becoming popular too.

• Oil became so valuable it was known as "black gold"

• For cars to use oil, the fuel needed to be refined, or improved. In the 1920s, petroleum became California's biggest industry.

Hollywood

• In the early 1900s, movies were made mainly in New York and New Jersey.

• Film companies there controlled the small filmmaking industry and owned all the equipment.

• However, Thomas Edison, who had invented the equipment, often took filmmakers to court.

• Many went far away and moved to Hollywood.

Hollywood

• Southern California's climate made it a perfect place to make movies.

• California had every kind of landscape filmmakers needed.

• In 1914, Cecil B. DeMille made Hollywood's first long movie. It was a hit.

• Within 10 years, the movie business had become an important industry in California. Thousands of actors moved to Los Angeles to work in movies.

• In the 1920s, Hollywood became the movie capital of the world.

Charlie Chaplin

• One of Hollywood's biggest stars.

• He was an English immigrant that moved to California to work in the film industry.

• His comedy was done with his body, not his voice, because the films did not have sound.

• He became known all over the world.

Multiple Choice

What was oil known as?

• gold

• black paint

• black gold

• fossil juice

Multiple Choice

Which canal increased the amount of cargo passed through California ports?

• Root Canal

• Central American Canal

• Los Angeles Harbor

• Panama Canal

Multiple Choice

A tower built over a drill site to support a drill and bring oil to the surface is called an oil ______?

• derrick

• pump

• oil

• drill

Multiple Choice

What made Southern California a perfect place to make movies?

• people

• climate

• cameras

• drought

Multiple Choice

What did railroad companies do in order attract people?

• Forced people into their trains

• Lowered the prices of train tickets

• Raised the prices of train tickets