In Chinese people are accustomed to dividing the country into Northeast, North China, Northwest, South China, Southwest and other regions, while in Americans usually divide their countries into New England, Great Lakes, Pacific region , the south, the central and western regions, the southwest and other regions. But no matter how you divide it, you will definitely pick up California separately. California is to the United States, just like Guangdong is to China: Guangdong's GDP ranks first among 34 provincial administrative regions in China, and California's GDP is also to the first among 50 states in the United States. California's GDP in 2021 will reach $3.356 trillion.
If California is an independent country, it will become the fifth largest economic power in the world after the United States, China, Japan and Germany. California, located at the southernmost tip of the west coast of the United States, is completely geographically isolated from the main continental areas of the United States. In the north of California, there are vast forest mountainous areas, in the east there are the stretch of Sierra Nevada , in the southeast there are large desert groups, in the south there are Mexico , and in the west there is the vast Pacific Ocean. California, which is relatively independent in all directions, belongs to the Mediterranean climate: it is not hot in summer, not cold in winter, it is less rainy all year round, and it is full of sunshine all year round.
The entire California terrain is varied: although there are deserts and seismic zones, the climate is mild overall and the arable land is vast. As the largest agricultural state in the United States, California produces 96% of the United States' cauliflower , 97% of the kiwi , 99% of the walnuts, 95% of the garlic, 95% of the celery, 86% of the carrots, 71% of the spinach... California's cotton production ranks second in the United States, rice production ranks second in the United States, and fishery output value ranks first in the United States. California is an important milk, egg and meat producing area in the United States, and is also one of the three largest wood producing states in the United States. California's vegetable production is the highest in the United States, and more than half of the fruits in the United States are also produced in California.
California supplies more than 20% of milk and cheese, more than 30% butter, and more than 50% of skimmed milk powder in the United States. In 2016, California's agricultural production accounted for about 13.2% of the United States. This exceeds the second and third place combined. This year, California agriculture generated $47.1 billion in economic output, and in 2014, it once hit a peak of $53.5 billion. California's agricultural output alone is equivalent to the total GDP of the entire country. California, which has extremely developed agricultural production, also has rich mineral resources such as gold and oil.
Before the arrival of the Age of Discovery California was the place where the native Indians lived, just like other parts of the Americas. In 1542 AD, Portuguese navigator Rodriguez discovered California. In 1768, the Spanish King Charles III ordered the colonization of California. After Mexico's independence from Spanish colonial rule in 1821, California belonged to Mexico. In the 1830s, Americans began to immigrate to northern Mexico, Texas , New Mexico, California and other places. In 1846, American settlers in California established the Sonoma Republic.
In the same year, war broke out between the United States and Mexico: On July 7 of that year, US Navy Brigadier General John Slott claimed that California was US territory after occupying Monterey . Although Californians wanted to be independent from Mexico, they actually had different opinions on whether to join the United States after independence: the northern Californians chose to fight side by side with the US military, but the southern Californians resisted the US martial law. In 1847, US general Stephen Carney defeated the Southern California Resistance Army. In 1848, Mexico officially ceded California to the United States in the "Hidalgo Treaty of Guadalupe" .
From the first day it was incorporated into US territory, California has had a certain sense of alienation from the federal government. Gold diggers from all over the world began to pour into California since 1849. A large amount of gold has made this land of California a prosperous place, and at the same time, gold rush has also profoundly changed the social and cultural style of California.Today, California has developed into a typical immigrant society: 40% of the local population is Latino , 14.7% are Asian, 6.5% are black, and white people only account for about 38% of the total local population. California is now the state with the largest population, most ethnic groups, the best inclusiveness and friendliness in the United States.
As the most populous state in the United States, California has a population of more than 40 million. This means that almost 1 in 8 Americans is Californian. The population of Los Angeles County, California is more than the total population of the 42 states in the United States. California is the state with the highest proportion of immigration in the United States, and may also be the region that attracts the most high-end talents in the world: Currently, various social platforms in the United States are basically originated in California, and one-third of the venture capital in the United States is also invested in California. Apple , Google , Intel , IBM and other technology giants are all based in Silicon Valley in northern California.
Technology and management talents constitute the main force of California immigration. California has enough attractiveness to attract high-quality immigrants, and high-quality immigrants are constantly strengthening this attraction. Today, the economic scale of Silicon Valley in California has reached $840 billion. What is this concept? If Silicon Valley is an independent country, its economic scale is enough to rank 18th in the world, while California as a whole is equivalent to Silicon Valley + Hollywood + Rockets + Agriculture + Gold Mine + Oil + Shipping. California has not only surpassed Britain and France in economic terms, but also has a certain military force.
California is an extremely important portal for North America to the Asia-Pacific region. Whether Southern California or Northern California is a crucial node in the global transportation and logistics system. Los Angeles, Southern California - The Long Beach port group is the most important and busiest port in the entire Western Hemisphere. Los Angeles and San Francisco are both the most important air transportation nodes on the West Coast of the United States. California has a unique position in the Pacific Regional Transportation and Logistics Center. Los Angeles and San Francisco were thus developed into important international airports. This unique strategic position also makes California a frontier for U.S. defense.
The U.S. Navy and Air Force both use California as the center of the Pacific region. California therefore owns Vandenberg Air Force Base , Musk's SpaceX Rocket Company, and also owns the U.S. aircraft carrier battle group home port and rocket launch base. As a federal country, the United States has a major feature in its national defense and military system: the one responsible for foreign defense is more than 1.3 million regular troops and reserve forces managed by the federal government; the one responsible for domestic security is about 550,000 National Guard managed by the state governments. The U.S. National Guard is even equipped with F22 fighter and B2 strategic bombers with nuclear strike capabilities. The equipment level of
has surpassed the regular army of many countries. As the most populous and economical state in the United States, California has the most popular and most advanced national guards in the United States. Among the 550,000 National Guards in the United States, California accounts for more than 100,000, and many of the remaining 49 states are less than 10,000 people. The excellent seaports, rocket companies and rocket launch bases owned by California actually constitute potential military resources. As a state in the United States, California only has a reserve National Guard, but if California becomes an independent country, it actually has quite rich military resources and a developed military-industrial system.
California, with such strong strength, has long had a tradition of "making independence". California is relatively geographically isolated and has a certain sense of alienation from the federal government in history. The more conservative Trump After the administration came to power, the anti-immigration policy began to be implemented, and all this made California, which had the highest proportion of immigration, the biggest victim. After the outbreak of the epidemic in the United States in 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom accused the federal government of performing too poorly in fighting the epidemic, so he will let California play a role as a "national" independently purchase medical supplies from the outside world.
California's so-called "independence" is not really about making independence, but about demonstrating and putting pressure on the US federal government. The ultimate goal is to make the US federal government listen to its own voice. California really wants to leave the United States in two ways: a peaceful referendum or armed independence. Does a state have the power to leave the federal government? It can be said that this is an indescribable and confusing account in the United States, and it is this confusing account that triggered the civil war between the north and the south in American history. The federal government, which learned lessons after the Civil War, strengthened its control over the states through constitutional amendments.
Today's U.S. Constitution stipulates that if a state wants to be independent, it must first obtain the support of the vast majority of its people, and then obtain the consent of 2/3 of the representatives of other states to pass the Independence Amendment. Even after the amendment is passed, it will be sent to the legislature of 50 states and will be approved by at least 38 states before it can be adopted. The adopted independent amendment also needs to be approved by the Senate and House of Representatives. So at present, no state can unilaterally withdraw from the federal government. If the path to legal independence cannot be understood, then the rest is the path of armed independence.
If California wants to use its own National Guard and more than 1.3 million regular federal troops to fight against it is tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg. California itself knows this very well. There is an old saying that "a baby who can call you has milk to eat." So if you don't cry or make a fuss, who will pay attention to your presence? California's "independence" is actually a political show that makes people feel like they are there. Although California also knows that it cannot be truly independent, it will not receive the attention it deserves if it doesn’t make a fuss. To some extent, a quarrel can enhance California's status and influence in the United States and the international community.
