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The Golden Fortress: California's Border War on Dust Bowl Refugees
In February 1936, Los Angeles police officers drove hundreds of miles to California’s state borders with one turn back anyone deemed too poor to enter. Myths of the Golden State’s abundance enticed thousands of Americans uprooted by the Depression, but those who created those myths saw only invading criminal “hordes” that they believed just one man could James “Two-Gun” Davis, Los Angeles's authoritarian police chief. The Golden Fortress tells the story of Davis’s audacious deployment of hand-picked armed police slamming California’s door on America’s Dust Bowl refugees and Depression-displaced migrants. It depicts the sometimes deadly consequences of law enforcement politicized and weaponized against the poor, even in remote places like Modoc County, where a sheriff’s opposition to the blockade inflamed an already smoldering feud between an itinerant newsman and a publisher obsessed with her California heritage. Davis, blessed by his city’s ruling business class and fueled by his own wild claims of communist conspiracies undermining America, deployed his “Foreign Legion” to California’s state lines, threatening democracy even as the nation's cities and rural communities juggled the burdens of economic recovery, migrant aid, and public safety. The Golden Fortress underscores the decades-long fight over who can access the American Dream.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
304 pages, Hardcover
Published August 9, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 2, 2022
Keeping the White Spot White
As a native Californian, born and brought up in Los Angeles, I never had much exposure to local history. We were taught there were the Franciscan missions, Olvera Street, and movie studios. Then sometime later the GI Bill helped our families move into brand new homes in the San Fernando Valley. Anytime prior to that was an era of black and white film and our grandparents moving here from back east. Corruption in our background was only dramatized by Hollywood. “Chinatown” circulated the story of ruthless men bathing in profits made with manipulation of the water supply. Later we saw “L.A. Confidential” with its unethical cops enforcing the law in their selective way. Still, these were the movies…
In “The Golden Fortress: California's Border War on Dust Bowl Refugees” we see a shockingly authoritarian approach to keeping the peace. Los Angeles had always been promoted as a paradise, a land of sunshine where dreams come true. With the brutal effects of the Great Depression and the scorched earth of the Dust Bowl, an enormous number of Americans looked to California as a last chance.
Los Angeles Police Chief James Davis believed that the flood of poor and unemployed people coming into California, specifically Los Angeles, would threaten the lifestyle and economic welfare of its citizens. Conveniently forgetting that both he and the mayor were born elsewhere, it was Davis’ strategy to paint a picture of migrants as criminals, commies, and leeches to the economy. To prevent the homeless from being a problem, just keep them away.
The way to prevent catastrophe was to stop these people at the border. LAPD officers were sent out to 16 state border checkpoints to turn away undesirables. Profiling was the standard. If the traveler looked poor they were rejected. Davis counted on public fear outweighing any concerns over constitutional guarantees. He initially had solid support for his “Bum Blockade.” The Greater Los Angeles Association coined the slogan “Keep the White Spot White” back in the 1920’s in the effort to protect their economic interests. The Los Angeles Times likened the threat to the fall of Rome– fear of the foreigner is huge, even if that foreigner is a fellow American.
Author Bill Lascher explores one of the more remote border points, Alturas, a small town in the northeastern corner of the state near the borders of Nevada and Oregon. The sheriff resented Los Angeles’ arrogance in flexing its presence over the rest of the state, while the two newspapers fought over the blockade’s merits. Tying the subsequent events directly to this operation feels like a bit of a stretch, though.
Overall this is an enlightening book, revealing a dark response to problems of poverty and homelessness. Those in authority often preyed on people’s fear to consolidate their power. Our hearts and sympathies go out to the poor– it is just a lot easier if we do not have to live right beside them. It feels less threatening to have them on the other side of a wall. Possibly this line of thinking is a thing of the past. It can not be up to us to “choose immigrants that we think are the likeliest to thrive and flourish and love us.” I am not sure we are heading in the right direction, I would like to think so.
Thank you to the Chicago Review Press and Edelweiss for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
As a native Californian, born and brought up in Los Angeles, I never had much exposure to local history. We were taught there were the Franciscan missions, Olvera Street, and movie studios. Then sometime later the GI Bill helped our families move into brand new homes in the San Fernando Valley. Anytime prior to that was an era of black and white film and our grandparents moving here from back east. Corruption in our background was only dramatized by Hollywood. “Chinatown” circulated the story of ruthless men bathing in profits made with manipulation of the water supply. Later we saw “L.A. Confidential” with its unethical cops enforcing the law in their selective way. Still, these were the movies…
In “The Golden Fortress: California's Border War on Dust Bowl Refugees” we see a shockingly authoritarian approach to keeping the peace. Los Angeles had always been promoted as a paradise, a land of sunshine where dreams come true. With the brutal effects of the Great Depression and the scorched earth of the Dust Bowl, an enormous number of Americans looked to California as a last chance.
Los Angeles Police Chief James Davis believed that the flood of poor and unemployed people coming into California, specifically Los Angeles, would threaten the lifestyle and economic welfare of its citizens. Conveniently forgetting that both he and the mayor were born elsewhere, it was Davis’ strategy to paint a picture of migrants as criminals, commies, and leeches to the economy. To prevent the homeless from being a problem, just keep them away.
The way to prevent catastrophe was to stop these people at the border. LAPD officers were sent out to 16 state border checkpoints to turn away undesirables. Profiling was the standard. If the traveler looked poor they were rejected. Davis counted on public fear outweighing any concerns over constitutional guarantees. He initially had solid support for his “Bum Blockade.” The Greater Los Angeles Association coined the slogan “Keep the White Spot White” back in the 1920’s in the effort to protect their economic interests. The Los Angeles Times likened the threat to the fall of Rome– fear of the foreigner is huge, even if that foreigner is a fellow American.
Author Bill Lascher explores one of the more remote border points, Alturas, a small town in the northeastern corner of the state near the borders of Nevada and Oregon. The sheriff resented Los Angeles’ arrogance in flexing its presence over the rest of the state, while the two newspapers fought over the blockade’s merits. Tying the subsequent events directly to this operation feels like a bit of a stretch, though.
Overall this is an enlightening book, revealing a dark response to problems of poverty and homelessness. Those in authority often preyed on people’s fear to consolidate their power. Our hearts and sympathies go out to the poor– it is just a lot easier if we do not have to live right beside them. It feels less threatening to have them on the other side of a wall. Possibly this line of thinking is a thing of the past. It can not be up to us to “choose immigrants that we think are the likeliest to thrive and flourish and love us.” I am not sure we are heading in the right direction, I would like to think so.
Thank you to the Chicago Review Press and Edelweiss for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
February 24, 2024
It was an extremely interesting and informative book but this book is by no means a quick or easy read. Everything Lascher talks about can be seen in politics today but this book seems as if it is meant to inform not entertain. If you like in depth political history, this is a great book for you.
August 9, 2022
This is a meticulously-researched account of a time in history that, in many ways, mirrors our own. I loved the descriptive language throughout the book: It really put me at the center of the conflict and made me see all the characters as nuanced. Aside from the compelling details, I learned a lot about a time in history that I thought I already knew quite a bit about. Overall, a recommended read!
August 31, 2022
A story as relevant now as it was 80 years ago. Certainly something every Californian and, especially, every Angelino should read. Lascher perfectly out together a non-fiction narrative that reads like something between a western and a noir. I couldn’t put it down.
August 12, 2022
There is much more to The Golden Fortress than its underlying story about how Los Angeles Police Chief James Davis, backed by the business elite of the day, took it upon himself and the police force he commanded to try to keep “undesirables” out of California. The book reminds how dangerous it is when would-be authoritarians lie to advance “us v. them” agendas, especially when business backs the “us” side and the press cheerleads about the dangers “they” pose. I have never been to Modoc County, but it takes little imagination after reading this thoroughly documented tale to recognize that there are Modoc Counties everywhere. The leadership of any community can be coopted by the phony sense of security that Davis proffered if people don’t question what they’re told. The Golden Fortress is a cautionary tale that should be widely read (or, if you prefer, listened to; the audio recording is excellent).
July 10, 2023
An important well researched book about power, corruption and bigotry in Los Angeles during the Dust Bowl. As a reviewer already stated, this is not "Grapes of Wrath." It is the story of power elites' effort prevent desperate people from looking for work and to better their lives entering California (and other locales). Sound familiar?
Me Lascher's last chapter adds his own commentary on the parallels in today's immigration & housing obstacles, and the influence this era has on current LAPD operations and the federal government.
I don't usually read non-fiction. Hence the 4.0. That and, there were lots of names to track, sometimes I got confused who was a good guy, less bad, and who was a bad guy. I'm glad this was recommended by my book group.
Me Lascher's last chapter adds his own commentary on the parallels in today's immigration & housing obstacles, and the influence this era has on current LAPD operations and the federal government.
I don't usually read non-fiction. Hence the 4.0. That and, there were lots of names to track, sometimes I got confused who was a good guy, less bad, and who was a bad guy. I'm glad this was recommended by my book group.
August 1, 2022
This is not the "Grapes of Wrath", this is what really happened to those people from the Dust Bowl.
The Mayor and Police Chief of Los Angeles, decided the best way to keep these indigent people coming west from becoming wards of the State.
Using a politically motivated idea, they sent LA Police to each of the Border Counties. With the heads of the local Sheriffs temporarily appointing the LA cops as deputies, they could turn people away at the Nevada and Arizona borders as vagrants.
The results is that the body of this book and a lot of the arguments used sound like the 45th President.
They were accused the potential immigrants as being lazy, thieves, grifters and rapists.
The Mayor and Police Chief of Los Angeles, decided the best way to keep these indigent people coming west from becoming wards of the State.
Using a politically motivated idea, they sent LA Police to each of the Border Counties. With the heads of the local Sheriffs temporarily appointing the LA cops as deputies, they could turn people away at the Nevada and Arizona borders as vagrants.
The results is that the body of this book and a lot of the arguments used sound like the 45th President.
They were accused the potential immigrants as being lazy, thieves, grifters and rapists.
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October 6, 2022The Golden Fortress is an illuminating tale of power, corruption and discrimination of the sort allowed to fester in many communities, counties, states and the nation even today. It is easy to see the parallels between the events described and today's politics. I really enjoyed this compelling book and couldn't put it down!
July 14, 2023
The author does a very good job of addressing the actions and motivations of those involved in this authoritarian policy of discrimination and those who opposed it. It is well written and has many lessons for today as we still continue to face both the scapegoating of the poor and outsiders and those that would destroy democracy in order to "save" it.
September 30, 2025
Absolute hack writer who doesn’t rise to the material and treat it with the dignity it deserves but tries to twist everything into a modern day comparison.
March 26, 2023
Although I was born and raised in California, this subject did not come up when we studied state history in 4th grade, but it's so important! There are two things that make Bill Lascher's well-researched book so interesting. 1. The historical facts. If you don't know about this period in California's history, there's a lot to learn. 2. The power of California's influencers, for lack of a better word, in law enforcement, government, local politics, and media. The book doesn't just look at what happened; it also looks at the narratives constructed that made it possible to happen. And in that, there are lessons for us today and in the future.
I'm not typically drawn to historical non-fiction, but Lascher effectively delivers his research and story in a way that brings the reader along.
I'm not typically drawn to historical non-fiction, but Lascher effectively delivers his research and story in a way that brings the reader along.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews