In the Woodruff case, North Bloomfield submitted this certificate in support of their argument that mining practices were allowable because they benefited society and the economy. Note the hoses and flumes in the lower corners. ing reservoir that allowed clean water to return to its natural course.31 The outcome of this case, however, indicates that the environment was still of primary concern. One hundred years later, the need to balance the interests of technology, natural resources, and the environment persists. In California, the potential role of the federal courts is enormous in issues such as agricultural irrigation runoff and the poisoning of the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge, the nearly century-old battle over the Hetch Hetchy Valley, and the potential for oil spills from offshore drilling. On Sunday, February 5, 1989, the New York Times carried an ar ticle entitled "A New Kind of Mining Disaster: The Gold Rush Can Be Poison to the Environment." The article addressed the use of chemicals in the current gold-mining process and the long- and short-term effects they have on the environment, thereby underlining the contemporary relevance of these case files. Historic and precedent-setting environmental litigation found in the records of the U.S. Circuit Court, Northern California, held by the Pacific Sierra Region may make a significant contribution to the future of environmental law in California and the nation. NOTES Waverly B. Lowell is the director of the National Archives-Pacific Sierra Region (San Bruno, CA). 'David Lavender, California: A Land of New Beginnings (1972), p. 358. 2Gordon Morris Bakken, "American Mining Law and the Environment: The Western Experience," Western Legal History 1 (Summer/Fall 1988): 216. 3Ibid. *Michael Griffith, Guide to the Records of the U.S. District Court for Northern California (1989). 5 Bakken, "American Mining Law," pp. 230-231. "Charles Wiedeman v. Penn Mining Company, Civil Case 15866 (1914) and Louise A. Weithoff v. Penn Mining Company, Civil Case 15867 (1914), U.S. Circuit Court for the Northern District of California (USCC-NC), Records of District Courts of the United States, RG 21, National Archives-Pacific Sierra Region, San Bruno, CA (hereafter, records in the National Archives will be cited as RG -, NA-[region]). 7Ibid. 8 Ibid. "The State of Nevada v. Floriston Pulp and Paper Company, Civil Case 13750 (1904-1907), USCC-NC, RG 21, NAPacific Sierra. 10 Ibid. 11 Ibid. 12 Ibid. 13 Bakken, "American Mining Law," pp. 216-217. 14 Rand E. Rohe, "Man as a Geomorphic Agent: Hydraulic Mining in the American West," The Pacific Historian 27 (Spring 1983): 8. 15 Duane A. Smith, Mining America: The Industry and the Environment, 1800-1980 (1987), p. 47. 16 Bakken, "American Mining Law," pp. 230-231. 17 U.S. v. North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company, Civil Case 7865 (1884-92), USCC-NC, RG 21, NA-Pacific Sierra. 18 Edwards Woodruff v. North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company et al., Civil Case 2900, USCC-NC, RG 21, NAPacific Sierra. 19 Rohe, "Man as a Geomorphic Agent," p. 5. 20 Ibid., p. 6. 21 Robert L. Kelley, Gold v. Grain: The Hydraulic Mining Controversy in California's Sacramento Valley (1959), p. 6. 22 Ibid. 23 Rohe, "Man as a Geomorphic Agent," p. 11. 26 Ibid. 27 Ibid. 28 Kelley, Gold v. Grain, p. 15. 29 Cases reviewed for this article include U.S. v. Charles A. Lawrence [Brandy City Mine], Civil Case 10738 (1890); U.S. v. Omega Water & Mining Co., Civil Case 8651 (1891); and U.S. v. The Eureka Lake & Yuba Canal Co., Civil Case 5354 (1887), USCC-NC, RG 21, NA-Pacific Sierra. 30 Woodruff v. North Bloomfield. 31 Ibid. Damage to the environment also results from pipelines, ditches, and tunnels. The U.S. took Hydro-Electric Power Co. to court in 1910 to stop construction of this pipeline across the Mono National Forest Reserve. Hollywood's Immigrants: Naturalizing the Makers of America's Dream Machine By Diane S. Nixon National Archives - Pacific Southwest Region D uring the first half of the twentieth century, the Hollywood film industry reigned as perhaps America's greatest ambassador to the world. It has been said that motion pictures were "missionaries of American energy, traveling salesmen for life in the New World. And the sales pitch worked. How many millions, dazzled by this vision, determined right then to pack their bags and book passage for the U.S.? How many millions more stayed put, but discovered and appropriated the American style? See us and be like us. And just about everybody did."'1 Hollywood's success in exporting the American dream has been due, in large part, to the efforts of those who were themselves born in foreign lands. To be sure, Hollywood has always had its share of American-born stars, producers, directors, cinematographers, set designers, screenwriters, and other contributors to filmmaking. But immigrants have had an even greater impact on American narrative film-so great, in fact, that American cinema has been called "an immigrant art form, made by immigrants, for immigrants."2 For the past several decades, there has been little need for stars and other filmmakers to permanently leave their native lands. The world is now Hollywood's location, and many nations have their own successful film industries. But it was not always so. In Hollywood's Golden Age, foreign filmmakers virtually had to move to Hollywood to be successful. War and the threats of war, economic depression, and artistic and political repression made foreign cinema an endangered species. Transoceanic travel was difficult and time-consuming, and travel by rail across the American continent could be wearisome. The influence of immigrants on the American film industry has been present since motion pictures originated. Nearly all of the early entrepreneurs who moved the industry from the East Coast to Hollywood were Jewish immigrants (or the sons of such immigrants) born in Eastern Europe. These included William Fox, Adolph Zukor, Carl Laemmle, Samuel Goldwyn, Louis B. Mayer, and the Schenck brothers.3 From the establishment of the star system to the present day, many of the greatest actors, actresses, directors, and producers were born abroad. Among these were Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino, Greta Garbo, Claudette Colbert, Alfred Hitchcock, Vivien Leigh, Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, Errol Flynn, Elizabeth Taylor, Bob Hope, Ronald Colman, David Niven, and Michael Caine.4 From every continent they came-at different stages in their lives and careers and for a variety of reasons. Some of those who came intended to stay and assimilate, while others wished mainly to acquire more fame and fortune before returning to their native lands. Many remained in the United States as resident aliens, adding to the cultural diversity of Hollywood, but never quite throwing off old customs and certainly not old accents or allegiances. Others, fleeing from Germany and its occupied lands, found themselves stateless and welcomed the opportunity to naturalize. Some of those who naturalized became very enamored of the American way of life, transferring their patriotism to the screen. Italian-born director Frank Capra was among the most nationalistic of American filmmakers, creating such enduring classics as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It's a Wonderful Life and directing the Why We Fight series for the War Department during World War II.5 Director William Wyler, born in France of Swiss parents, made documentaries for the Air Force in the 1940s, and in 1946 directed the Academy Award winning The Best Years of Our Lives." As previously mentioned, some stars never became naturalized Americans. Charles Chaplin considered himself to be a "citizen of the world."7 His fellow countrymen Stan Laurel and Ronald Colman never renounced their allegiance to the British crown.8 Indeed, those who were born in Britain, with its similar language, customs, and standard of living, were less likely to become naturalized Americans than those who came from countries with poor economic conditions and little tolerance for ethnic and political diversity. The naturalization records of many of the most famous personalities in Hollywood history are among the holdings of the National ArchivesPacific Southwest Region, located in Laguna Niguel, California. These records were originated by the District Court of the Central District of California (Los Angeles) and were later transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration-first for temporary storage in the Los Angeles Federal Records Center and then for permanent retention in the regional archives. Naturalization records have long been utilized by genealogists and other family historians but not as often by social scientists, biographers, and other scholars. These records provide a great source of biographical and sociological data on the origins of the American population. An analysis of the types of information included in the records relating to Hollywood personalities reveals how valuable these records can be for research on other individuals and population groups. Because of its close proximity to Hollywood, the U.S. district court in Los Angeles was a logical venue for the naturalization of many foreignborn stars and others associated with American cinema. In an effort to determine which individuals received their citizenship there, a list of 225 names of those who were active in Hollywood during the period 1911 through 1960 and were born abroad was compiled and compared to the card index for the court. 10 Seventy-five of those names were found in the index, and their records were retrieved for research. A database was then compiled from information found in the records. One hundred fifty names were not found in the index to the Los Angeles district court records. As we have already learned, some stars and other filmmakers never sought naturalization. Others may have been naturalized under a different name. Those born in Eastern Europe |