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From Oklahomans To "Okies": Identity Formation In Rural California, Toni Ann Alexander

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Throughout the twentieth century difficult economic circumstances have resulted in reduced employment opportunities. In-migrants have long borne the brunt of these limitations, facing open hostilities from residents who felt that these "outsiders" were undeserving of employment and social services. Within the context of the 1930s Depression in the Central Valley of California, such negative public sentiment was often directed at "Okies," the 315,000 former residents of the "Western South" who crossed the California state line in search of employment in the agricultural fields of the Golden State. In this dissertation, I examine the changing conceptualizations of Okie identity throughout the …