1871 - 1910
Eary California, Criminal Justice, Immigrants Rights, Race: 1871
In the worst mass lynching in California history, a mob of white and Latino vigilantes murders 19 Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles after gunfire between two rival Chinese syndicates kills a white rancher.
Early California, Women: 1873
Legislature passes a law forbidding the trafficking of women from Asia for prostitution.
Early California, Women: 1874
After intense lobbying by women, the Legislature passes a law mandating equal pay for women teachers.
Early California, Race: 1874
State supreme court rules in Ward v. Flood that African American children have a right to a public education but not in the same schools as white children.
Early California, Women: 1878
Clara Shortridge FoltzLaw forbidding women to become members of the state bar is repealed, after rigorous campaign by Laura deForce Gordon and Clara Shortridge Foltz, who became the first practicing women lawyers in California.
Early California, Immigrants Rights, Race: 1879
Voters ratify a new state constitution. At the urging of the Workingmen’s Party, the new constitution denies Chinese immigrants the right to vote, bans the hiring of Chinese by corporations or on public works, and authorizes cities to require Chinese residents to live outside city limits or in segregated areas.
Early California, Women: 1879
Article XX, Section 18 of the new state Constitution states that women cannot be disqualified from any profession.
Race: 1880
Legislature amends the General School Law, eliminating all references to race, and repeals the law allowing school districts to establish separate schools for African American and Indian children.
Legislature amends anti-miscegenation law to ban marriages between whites and “Mongolians” (Asians)
