1900s: Although the population shift caused by California's 1849 Gold Rush has slowed, immigrants of all ethnicities continue to come to California, attracted by the promise of land or work.

Today: More than 30 percent of all foreign-born people in the United States live in California. Since California is a Mexican border state, one of the continuing concerns is the flood of illegal immigration fromMexico. The dangers of unregulated immigration also becomes a hot topic in all of America following terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2001, which ignite a war on terrorism and a widespread fear of some foreigners, especially those of Middle Eastern descent.

1900s: Following widespread irrigation of the land in the late nineteenth century, California's agricultural output increases. In addition to vineyards—introduced mainly by European settlers in the mid-nineteenth century—the state also boasts many citrus orchards...