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Old 09-15-2009, 09:20 PM
 
342 posts, read 1,921,220 times
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Does anyone have any idea why San Pedro allowed itself to be annexed by Los Angeles in 1909?

What did San Pedro gain from being annexed by LA?

It would seem to me that this was a very bad decision by San Pedro - allowing a big neighboring bully to take your crown jewels (the port of LA) and give you little or nothing in return.

I would think that San Pedro would be much more wealthy and powerful today if controlled the port of LA.

Thank you for any thoughts you have on this.
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Old 09-15-2009, 09:33 PM
 
Location: South Bay
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i'm not certain, but i'd imagine that san pedro allowed for annexation for the same reason that many other once independent municipalities did, water.
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Old 09-15-2009, 11:19 PM
 
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Might also have something to do with it being a major port area. LA annexed a big traffic tunnel following the 110. My guess.
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Old 09-15-2009, 11:34 PM
 
Location: Southern California
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Interesting question. So much so I looked it up and stumbled upon this:

History of San Pedro

It doesn't exactly answer your question but interesting nevertheless.
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Old 09-15-2009, 11:36 PM
 
Location: Southern California
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mardala View Post
Might also have something to do with it being a major port area. LA annexed a big traffic tunnel following the 110. My guess.
Yes to the first sentence but what do you mean about the second?
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Old 09-16-2009, 12:00 AM
 
Location: Earth
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Was San Pedro annexed by force like Venice? L.A.'s annexation of Venice was about as voluntary as Hitler's annexation of Czechoslovakia, complete with L.A. busing people into Venice to vote for annexation, sending the LAPD and gangs of thugs to intimidate Venetians into forcing to vote for annexation or be assaulted, throwing out anti-annexation ballots, etc. I'm not making this stuff up either. Little surprise the Venice secession movement is L.A.'s oldest.
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Old 09-16-2009, 12:04 AM
 
11,715 posts, read 40,312,625 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by majoun View Post
Was San Pedro annexed by force like Venice? L.A.'s annexation of Venice was about as voluntary as Hitler's annexation of Czechoslovakia, complete with L.A. busing people into Venice to vote for annexation, sending the LAPD and gangs of thugs to intimidate Venetians into forcing to vote for annexation or be assaulted, throwing out anti-annexation ballots, etc. I'm not making this stuff up either. Little surprise the Venice secession movement is L.A.'s oldest.
Why did LA want Venice so badly?
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Old 09-16-2009, 12:13 AM
 
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Good point. Chances are LA took San Pedro by force.

I can't understand what San Pedro possibly could have had to gain by giving itself to LA.

As for Venice maybe LA wanted coastline.
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Old 09-16-2009, 12:15 AM
 
Location: Earth
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia View Post
Why did LA want Venice so badly?
LA wanted to annex as much as it could, and especially wanted to have its own beach area. (Just like Mussolini wanted Rome to expand to the beach). LA wanted to have its own coastline, which otherwise was taken up by other independent cities like Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach/El Porto, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, etc. The fiscal problems of the city of Venice were seen by L.A. as an opportunity to invade.

There were also issues involving Prohibition ; LA politics at the time was dominated by religious nuts from the Lower Midwest who were vigorously "dry" and enforced Prohibition laws, while Venice was "wet" and did not enforce Prohibition.
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Old 09-16-2009, 12:29 AM
 
Location: Mission Viejo, CA
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The main topic of this article below is the San Pedro Woman's Club, but it contains a good amount of information about the annexation of San Pedro by Los Angeles. The article is written by Anastasia J. Christman "To Have and To Hold" and was in the publication "California History" published by the California Historical Society on March 22, 2001.

The statement in the article that sums up why the annexation went through as:
"Citizens hoped that as a result of this union the groom's (L.A.) brash character and great resources would allow the bride (San Pedro) to gracefully mature and grow into a handsome and staid matron."

Other highlights (for those too lazy to click on links, hahaha):
- 75% of the vote in San Pedro was in favor of being annexed in Los Angeles
- Water played a huge role as L.A. had the water deals and San Pedro wanted in
- Business men in San Pedro saw an advantage to getting more money as being a part of a larger city
- San Pedro lacked a well defined character of other coastal cities at the time and was not as attractive to move to as Long Beach, Redondo Beach, Venice, ect...
- Los Angeles had more established departments, especially in the police force. Many residents of San Pedro saw L.A. laws regarding/against saloons, gambling, prostitution, ect... beneficial and wanted those laws to become a part of San Pedro.

Article: "To Have and To Hold".(annexation and suffrage issues concerning San Pedro... | AccessMyLibrary - Promoting library advocacy
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