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Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas
Group of people picking tomatoes, Hammel and Denker ranch, c.1903
Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas was a 4,539-acre (18.37 km2) land grant in present day Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County, California given to María Rita Quinteros Valdez de Villa in 1838.[1]
Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas (Ranch of the Gathering Waters), is named for the streams that emptied into the area from out of the canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains above it, the Cañada de las Aguas Frias (Glen of the Cold Waters, now Coldwater Canyon) and Cañada de los Encinos (Glen of the Green Oaks, now Benedict Canyon).[2][3][4]
Maria Rita Valdez was a granddaughter of Luis Quintero one of the original settlers of Los Angeles. Maria was married to Spanish colonial soldier, Vicente Fernando Villa (–1841).
An original paint from Los Angeles, California Mariá Rita Quinteros Valdez de Villa, painted 1852
With the cession of California to the United States following the Mexican–American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the land grants would be honored; as required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852,[5] and the grant was patented to Maria Rita Valdez at 4,449 acres (18 km2) in 1871.[6]
The rancho was sold in 1854 to Benjamin D. Wilson and Major Henry Hancock. Hancock later sold his share to William Workman.[7] In 1868 Edward Preuss, purchased over 3,600 acres (15 km2) for the development of a city to be known as the "Town of Santa Maria". Lots were platted of about five acres each, but dry weather came and the land reverted to the sheep.[8]
The land next passed into the hands of Henry Hammel and Andrew H. Denker, owners of the United States Hotel at Main and Market Streets in Los Angeles, and became "one vast field of lima beans", supplying the culinary needs of the owners' Hotel. The bean fields survived until 1900 when the land was sold to Burton E. Green of the Amalgamated Oil Company for oil development. After drilling many unproductive wells, they reorganized as the Rodeo Land and Water Company in 1906.[9][10]
Ranchos of Los Angeles County, California
^ Ogden Hoffman, 1862, Reports of Land Cases Determined in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Numa Hubert, San Francisco
^ 1900 USGS topographic map[permanent dead link]
^ Map of old Spanish and Mexican ranchos in Los Angeles County
^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas
^ United States. District Court (California : Southern District) 371 SD
^ Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886 Archived 2013-03-20 at the Wayback Machine
^ Marc Wanamaker (2005) Early Beverly Hills, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 0-7385-3068-9
^ Beverly Hills history Archived 2009-03-27 at the Wayback Machine
^ David Weddle (2003) Among the Mansions of Eden: Tales of Love, Lust, and Land in Beverly Hills, HarperCollins Publishers, ISBN 978-0-06-019817-6
^ History of Beverly Hills
I think Mariá Rita Quinteros Valdez de Villa was painted by Ignacio Maria Barreda 18 century
[1] Exterior view of an adobe on the Hammel and Denker ranch, formerly Rancho Rodeo de Las Aguas in Beverly Hills, 1920
History of California
Native Californian
Precontact
First explorations
Later explorations
Mexican rule
California Trail
Mexican–American War
Californio
California Republic
United States rule
Postwar culture
Legal revolution
Tech boom
Ranchos
Coordinates: 34°04′12″N 118°23′24″W / 34.070°N 118.390°W / 34.070; -118.390
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rancho_Rodeo_de_las_Aguas&oldid=863779513"
California ranchos
History of Los Angeles
1838 in Alta California
1838 establishments in California
19th century in Los Angeles
Henry Hancock
Henry Hancock was a Harvard trained lawyer and a land surveyor working in California in the 1850s. He was the owner of Rancho La Brea. Henry Hancock was born in Bath, New Hampshire, a son of Thomas Hancock and his wife Lucy Hancock, grandson of Henry Hancock and Abigail Hancock, he was of his grandfather having emigrated from Somerset in the 18th century. Hancock entered the Norwich Military Academy studied law at Harvard University. Graduating in 1846, he went St. Louis, where he became a surveyor. During the Mexican–American War, he was quartermaster of the 1st Regiment Missouri Mounted Volunteers under Colonel Alexander William Doniphan. At the war's end, he soon decided to go west. Hancock sailed from Chicago to San Francisco, he opened a law office. He tried his hand at gold mining on American River, but in 1850 moved to Los Angeles. Hancock engaged extensively in government surveying. In the early 1850s, the rancheros who had received their land grants during the Mexican and Spanish occupation of California were required to prove their claims to the new American government.
They filed claims with the United States Land Commission and had to have their property surveyed and mapped by government surveyors. Henry Hancock surveyed Rancho San Pedro for the Dominguez family, Rancho San Francisco for the Del Valles, Rancho San Jose owned by the Palomares and Vejar families, he served as the city surveyor for Los Angeles. In 1854, along with Benjamin Davis Wilson, bought Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas. Hancock was elected to the California State Assembly as a Democrat, representing the 1st District from 1858 to 1860; as a lawyer, Henry Hancock worked for the Rocha family to aid them with their efforts to prove their claim to Rancho La Brea. The Rochas won their claim, but like so many other rancheros, their legal expenses left them broke. In 1860 Jose Jorge Rocha, the son of Don Antonio Jose Rocha, deeded Rancho La Brea to Henry Hancock. During the American Civil War, when there was considerable Confederate sympathy in Southern California, Hancock sided with the Union, he became major of the 4th California Infantry Regiment and for a time was commanding officer of Camp Drum, established to guard against pro-Confederate activities near Los Angeles.
He was sent to Santa Catalina Island to survey it and chose the location for its Union garrison. After the war, Hancock engaged in the commercial development of the asphaltum deposits on Rancho La Brea, he promoted its use for sidewalk and paving purposes, shipped considerable quantities to San Francisco by schooner. The brown asphaltum was used as fuel by Los Angeles manufacturing establishments during the 1880s, it was at Yiorgos Caralambo's cabin on Hancock's ranch that the notorious outlaw Tiburcio Vásquez was captured in 1874. In 1863 Hancock married Ida Haraszthy, the daughter of Agoston Haraszthy, the "Father of Modern Viticulture in California", they were the parents of George Allan Hancock and Bertram Hancock. Henry Hancock died in Los Angeles at age 61 in 1883. La Brea Tar Pits Rancho La Brea J. M. Quinn "Los Angeles and Environments" "Hancock Memorial Museum" Rancho La Brea Windsor Square – Hancock Park Historical Society "Page Museum – La Brea Tar Pits"
Benjamin Davis Wilson
Benjamin Davis Wilson was an American politician. He was known to the Native Americans as Don Benito because of his benevolent manner in his treatment of Native American affairs. Wilson, a native of Tennessee, was a fur trader before coming to California. Detained in Southern California while attempting to obtain passage to China, Wilson decided to remain there, he married Ramona Yorba, daughter of Bernardo Yorba, a wealthy and prominent landowner, purchased part of Rancho Jurupa in what would become Riverside County. Wilson was made Justice of the Peace for the Inland Territory and was entrusted with the care of Native American affairs, he was commissioned to deal with the hostile Ute tribe over their cattle rustling and other crimes against the ranchers. His marriage to his second wife, Margaret Hereford produced a daughter Ruth who would be mother to General George S. Patton Jr. commander of U. S. and allied forces during World War II. Wilson became the first non-Hispanic owner of Rancho San Pascual, which encompassed today's towns of Pasadena, South Pasadena, San Marino and San Gabriel.
Wilson was the second elected Mayor of Los Angeles for one term, Los Angeles County Supervisor 3 terms and served three terms as a California State Senator. Wilson came to California with the Workman-Rowland Party in 1841 seeking passage to China. In 1842 Wilson bought a key portion of Rancho Jurupa from Juan Bandini, a section that would be named Rancho Rubidoux. Encompassing most of present-day Rubidoux, California, as well as a significant portion of downtown Riverside, Wilson became the first permanent settler in the Riverside area. In 1844 he married his first wife, Ramona Yorba, whose father Bernardo Yorba, was the prominent Spanish landholder of Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana. Wilson gained esteem and was asked to assist with Native American affairs. Wilson accepted by becoming Justice of the Peace of the Inland Territory. In 1845 he was asked to pursue a band of marauding Native Americans led by an escaped neophyte from the San Gabriel Mission, who stole horses from the local ranchers; the Indians drove numbering in the thousands, up to the high desert near Lucerne.
In his pursuit, Wilson sent 22 men through the Cajon Pass and led another 22 into the depths of the San Bernardino Mountains. According to Trafzer, the resident Serrano let Wilson pass through their territory in pursuit of the raiders. Wilson sent his 22 men in pairs on a bear hunt, gathering 11 pelts. On their return trip to Jurupa, they gathered another 11 pelts, he named the place Big Bear Lake. The lake today is known as Baldwin Lake, after Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin, while the name Big Bear Lake was re-applied to a reservoir built nearby in 1884. In 1850, Wilson was elected to the Los Angeles Common Council, a year he became the second elected mayor of Los Angeles after California was made a state, he served as a Los Angeles County supervisor. He was elected to three terms of the California State Senate. In 1854 Wilson established Lake Vineyard, his own ranch and winery near modern-day San Gabriel, California, he came into possession of adjoining Rancho San Pascual through a series of complicated land deals, which began with his lending money to the Rancho's owner Manuel Garfias in 1859.
In 1863 Wilson and Dr. John Strother Griffin, who had lent Garfias money — and with whom Wilson undertook many business deals in early Los Angeles, including railways, oil exploration, real estate and ranching — bought the entire rancho property outright, diverted water from the Arroyo Seco up to the dry mesa via an aqueduct called the "Wilson Ditch." In 1864 Wilson took the first white man's expedition to a high peak of the San Gabriel Mountains that would be named Mount Wilson. He hoped to harvest timber there for the making of wine vats; the Wilson Trail became a popular one or two-day hike to the crest of the San Gabriel Mountains by local residents for years to come. In 1873, Wilson and Griffin subdivided their land. Griffin sold 2,500 acres of his property to the "Indiana Colony," represented by Daniel M. Berry. In 1876, after the Colony had sold most of its allotted land and established what would become the City of Pasadena, Wilson began subdividing and developing his adjacent landholdings which would become the eastern side of the new settlement.
Wilson lived out his days in present-day San Gabriel. He gave several acres of property to his son-in-law James de Barth Shorb. Other parts developed as Alhambra. Wilson's first wife died in 1849, they would have four children of which one daughter Ruth would marry George Patton, Sr. and have a son who would become the World War II General George S. Patton, Jr; the Pattons would purchase Lake Vineyard. Wilson was buried in San Gabriel Cemetery; the last of his land holdings in the downtown Pasadena area were bequeathed to Central School on South Fair Oaks Avenue. Mount Wilson, a metromedia center for the greater Los Angeles area, is the most famous monument to Benjamin Wilson. Wilson Avenue in Pasadena and Don Benito School of the Pasadena Unified School District honor his name. Kielbasa, John R.. "Flores Adobe". Historic Adobes of Los Angeles County. Pittsburg: Dorrance Publishing Co. ISBN 0-8059-4172-X.. Read, Nat B.. Don Benito Wilson: From Mountain Man to Mayor: Los Angeles 1841 - 1878. An
History of California 1900–present
This article continues the history of California in the years 1900 and later. After 1900, California continued to grow and soon became an agricultural and industrial power; the economy was based on specialty agriculture, tourism, shipping and after 1940 advanced technology such as aerospace and electronics industries – along with a significant military presence. The films and stars of Hollywood helped make the state the "center" of worldwide attention. California became an American cultural phenomenon. Silicon Valley became the world's center for computer innovation. California is now the most populous state in the United States. If it were an independent country, California would rank 34th in population in the world. California has had waves of emigration over the years; the first big wave was the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 of miners, farmers, etc. as well as their many supporters. There were fewer than 10,000 females in a total California population of about 120,000 residents in 1850.
About 3.0% of the gold rush Argonauts before 1850 were female or about 3,500 female Gold Rushers, compared to about 115,000 male California Gold Rushers. Massive immigration from other states continued throughout the nineteenth century. California did not reach a "normal" male to female ratio of about one to one until the 1950 census. California for over a century was short on females; the 1900 census showed emigrations down to "only" a 20% growth rate. The early 1900s showed a massive population increase of over 60% between 1900 and 1910; the population more than doubled again in the next 20 years by 1930. Foreign immigration ceased during the Great Depression, as immigration to the United States was held to a low of 23,068 per year by 1933, many foreign workers were deported. There were not enough jobs to go around. After World War II and the Great Depression, there was a increasing buildup of United States workers in California as wartime industries boomed. Most of these workers were from other states as they settled in California and increased the California population to 10,586,223 by 1950.
Immigration to the United States only started to increase in 1946, when immigration to all of the United States was back up to 108,721 per year The continuing prosperity and emigration from other states and immigration from other countries in the 1950s and 1970s doubled the California population again to 19,953,134 by 1970. The 1970–2010 population growth has still been substantial but has slowed to "only" about a 15% growth rate per decade. By 2010 the California population growth rate slowed to 10%. Earthquakes in California are common occurrences since the state is traversed by six major strike-slip fault systems with hundreds of related faults, many of which are "sister faults" of the infamous San Andreas Fault that runs nearly the full length of California at the juncture of the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate; the fault systems include the Hayward Fault Zone, Calaveras Fault, Clayton-Marsh Creek-Greenville Fault, the San Gregorio Fault. Significant blind thrust faults are associated with portions of the Santa Cruz Mountains and the northern reaches of the Diablo Range and Mount Diablo.
The California earthquake forecast gives a rough estimate of where the main earthquake zones in California are. Earthquake damage depends on what area is hit, how close to the surface the center of the earthquake is located, its magnitude. Earthquake damage, for a given magnitude earthquake, to human structures depends on how well the buildings are built and what the structures are located on. Buildings on soft or filled-in soil suffer the most. Buildings on bedrock suffer less damage. Sometimes the ensuing fires, floods or tsunamis caused by the earthquake are where the greatest damage occurs; the 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck the city and nearby communities at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. Devastating fires broke out in the city that lasted for several days, destroying about 28,000 buildings; as a result of the quake and fires, over 3,000 people died and over 80% of San Francisco was destroyed. The death toll from the earthquake and resulting fire is the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California's history.
The most accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude or Richter magnitude of 7.8. Shaking was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles, inland as far as central Nevada; the San Francisco 1906 earthquake was caused by a rupture on the San Andreas Fault, a continental transform fault that forms part of the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. The fault is characterized by lateral motion where the western plate moves northward relative to the eastern plate; the 1906 rupture propagated both northward and southward from its epicenter for a total of about 300 miles. The San Andreas Fault runs the length of California from the Salton Sea in the south to Cape Mendocino to the north, a distance of about 810 miles; the earthquake ruptured the northern third of the fault for a distance of about 300 miles. The maximum observed surface displacement was about 20 feet (6.1 m
The history of California can be divided into: the Native American period. California was settled from the North by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, it was one of the linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America. After contact with Spanish explorers, most of the Native Americans died out from European diseases. After the Portolá expedition of 1769–70, Spanish missionaries began setting up 21 California Missions on or near the coast of Alta California, beginning with the Mission San Diego de Alcala near the location of the modern day city of San Diego, California. During the same period, Spanish military forces built three small towns. Two of the pueblos would grow into the cities of Los Angeles and San Jose. After Mexican Independence was won in 1821, California fell under the jurisdiction of the First Mexican Empire. Fearing the influence of the Roman Catholic church over their newly independent nation, the Mexican government closed all of the missions and nationalized the church's property.
They left behind a small "Californio" population of several thousand families, with a few small military garrisons. After the Mexican–American War of 1846-48, Mexico was forced to relinquish any claim to California to the United States; the unexpected discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848 produced a spectacular gold rush in Northern California, attracting hundreds of thousand of ambitious young men from around the world. Only a few struck it rich, many returned home disappointed. Most appreciated the other economic opportunities in California in agriculture, brought their families to join them. California played a small role in the American Civil War. Chinese immigrants came under attack from nativists; as gold petered out, California became a productive agricultural society. The coming of the railroads in 1869 linked its rich economy with the rest of the nation, attracted a steady stream of migrants. In the late 19th century, Southern California Los Angeles, started to grow rapidly. Different tribes of Native Americans lived in the area, now California for an estimated 13,000 to 15,000 years.
Over 100 tribes and bands inhabited the area. Various estimates of the Native American population in California during the pre-European period range from 100,000 to 300,000. California's population held about one-third of all Native Americans in what is now the United States; the native horticulturalists practiced various forms of forest gardening and fire-stick farming in the forests, mixed woodlands, wetlands, ensuring that desired food and medicine plants continued to be available. The natives controlled fire on a regional scale to create a low-intensity fire ecology which prevented larger, catastrophic fires and sustained a low-density agriculture in loose rotation. California was the name given to a mythical island populated only by beautiful Amazon warriors, as depicted in Greek myths, using gold tools and weapons in the popular early 16th-century romance novel Las Sergas de Esplandián by Spanish author Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo; this popular Spanish fantasy was printed in several editions with the earliest surviving edition published about 1510.
In exploring Baja California the earliest explorers thought the Baja California peninsula was an island and applied the name California to it. Mapmakers started using the name "California" to label the unexplored territory on the North American west coast. European explorers flying the flags of Spain and of England explored the Pacific Coast of California beginning in the mid-16th century. Francisco de Ulloa explored the west coast of present-day Mexico including the Gulf of California, proving that Baja California was a peninsula, but in spite of his discoveries the myth persisted in European circles that California was an island. Rumors of fabulously wealthy cities located somewhere along the California coast, as well as a possible Northwest Passage that would provide a much shorter route to the Indies, provided an incentive to explore further; the first European to explore the California coast was Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, working for Spain. He died in southern California in 1543. Cabrillo and his men found that there was nothing for the Spanish to exploit in California, located at the extreme limits of exploration and trade from Spain it would be left unexplored and unsettled for the next 234 years.
The Cabrillo expedition depicted the Indians as living at a subsistence level located in small rancherias of extended family groups of 100 to 150 people. They had no apparent agriculture as understood by Europeans, no domesticated animals except dogs, no pottery; some shelters were made of branches and mud. The Cabrillo expedition did not see the far north of California, where on the coast and somewhat inland traditional architecture consists of rectangular redwood or cedar plank semisubterranean houses. Traditional clothing was minimal in the summer, with tanned deerhide and other animal
Alpine County, California
Alpine County is a county in the U. S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,175; the county seat is the Census Designated Place of Markleeville. There are no incorporated cities in the county. Alpine County is between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park. Alpine County was created on March 16, 1864, during a silver boom in the wake of the nearby Comstock Lode discovery, it was named because of its resemblance to the Swiss Alps. The county was formed from parts of Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado and Tuolumne Counties. At its formation, there was a population of about 11,000 with its county seat at Silver Mountain City. By 1868, the local silver mines had proven unfruitful; the county seat moved to Markleeville in 1875. After the silver rush, Alpine County's economy consisted entirely of farming and logging. By the 1920s, the population had fallen to just 200 people. With the construction of the Bear Valley and Kirkwood ski resorts in the late 1960s, the population increased to the present level.
According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 743 square miles, of which 738 square miles is land and 4.8 square miles is water. The federal government owns about 96 % of the highest percentage in California. El Dorado County – northwest Douglas County, Nevada – northeast Mono County – southeast Tuolumne County – south Calaveras County – southwest Amador County – west Eldorado National Forest Stanislaus National Forest Toiyabe National Forest The 2010 United States Census reported that Alpine County had a population of 1,175; the racial makeup of Alpine County was 881 White, 0 African American, 240 Native American, 7 Asian, 0 Pacific Islander, 19 from other races, 28 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 84 persons; as of the census of 2000, there were 1,208 people, 483 households, 295 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile. There were 1,514 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile; the racial makeup of the county was 73.7% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 18.9% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.4% from other races, 5.1% from two or more races.
7.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 12.1% were of German, 12.1% Irish, 9.3% English, 6.5% American and 5.7% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 95.0 % spoke 2.0 % Washo as their first language. There were 483 households out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.9% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.9% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.4% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.96. In the county, the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 110.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.2 males. The median income for a household in the county was $41,875, the median income for a family was $50,250.
Males had a median income of $36,544 versus $25,800 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,431. About 12.0% of families and 19.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.4% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over. Throughout the 20th century, Alpine County was a Republican stronghold in presidential and congressional elections. From 1892 until 2004, the only Democrat to carry Alpine County in a presidential election was Franklin Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936. In 1964, Alpine was one of only five counties in the state to back Barry Goldwater, it was among the five most Republican counties in the entire nation in 1892, 1908, 1920, 1928. Warren Harding and Herbert Hoover gained over ninety percent of the county's vote. However, Alpine has become more of a Democratic-leaning county in recent elections, it has stayed in the Democratic column since. In November 2008, Alpine was one of just three counties in California's interior in which voters rejected Proposition 8, the ballot initiative to amend the California Constitution to reject the legal extension of the title of marriage to same-sex couples.
Alpine voters rejected Proposition 8 by 56.4 percent to 43.6 percent. The other interior counties in which Proposition 8 failed to receive a majority of votes were neighboring Mono County and Yolo County. According to the California Secretary of State, as of January 2016, there are 696 registered voters in Alpine County. Of those, 257 are registered Democratic, 210 are registered Republican, 46 are registered with other political parties, 183 declined to state a political party. Alpine County is in California's 4th congressional district, represented by Republican Tom McClintock. In the State Assembly, the county is in the 5th Assembly District, represented by Republican Frank Bigelow. In the State Senate, the county is in the 1st Senate District, seat vacant. Due to its low population density, Alpine County votes by mail, one of two counties in California which do so. In the June 2014 primary elections, about 22% of registered voters went to the polls. In Alpine County, the number was 70%, the highest of any county in the state.
In the late 1970s, the Posse Comitatus organization attempted to
Maritime history of California
In the California coast, the use of ships and the Pacific Ocean has included water craft, shipbuilding, Gold Rush shipping, shipwrecks, naval ships and installations, lighthouses. The maritime history of California can be divided into several periods: the Native American period. In the northwest coast of California near the redwood forests several Indian tribes developed large dugout canoes they used for fishing and warfare; these canoes were constructed by taking a large tree and shaping it with hand tools and fire to a boat's configuration. A redwood log 4 metres long and 240 centimetres diameter weighs about 2,000 kilograms; this large weight meant that the logs were selected that required a minimum of movement—usually driftwood or dead fall trees, blown over by the wind. Sometimes logs were cut to length and rolled into water where they could be floated to a selected work area; the logs were cut to length by fire and stone age hand tools and the interior of the canoe was burned out with small fires.
The basic procedure was to start a small fire on the tree where it needed shaping extinguish it after a short burn. This would leave one or more centimeters of charred wood where the fire was built that would be easier to remove. By successively using small fires to char the areas that needed to be worked the logs could be shaped by the crude scrapers and rock and horn based tools available. A finished 4 metres long dugout canoe with a nominal 5 centimetres thickness still weighed over 100 kilograms. Most larger dugouts weighed too much to move and were just pulled up on a beach far enough to get them above high tide. Constructing these types of dugout canoes took considerable time and skill with stone age tools and fire. Dugout canoes lasted several years. Tule have a rounded green stems that grows to 1 to 3 metres tall, they grow well at the edges of bodies of water. The tule stem has a pithy interior filled with spongy tissue packed with air cells—this makes it float well on water as well as a good insulator.
Native Americans used tule for making and thatching huts, mats, decoys, hats and shoes. Tule was cut using deer scapula'saws' that had rough saw like edges cut into them. Tule has to be handled with care when green to avoid breaking the stem and gains strength when it is dried. To make a tule boat, green tule was cut and spread out in the sun to dry for several days. Tule canoes were constructed of cut stalks of tule plants bundled together around a willow'core' for extra strength; the bundle of tules could be pre-bent. The length of each bundle depends on the size of the boat that were typically about 10 feet to 15 feet; the bundle that formed the bottom of the canoe on which the boatman or boatmen sat, knelt or stood was much larger than the others. To make the sides of the tule canoe two to six tapered bundles were tied to the bottom bundle with grape vines or other native material with extensive lacing at the stern and prow to bend all the tule bundles into a tapered and raised bow and stern.
Tule canoes accommodated one to four people. Tule boats can be built from dried tule, by experienced canoe builders, in less than one day. Tule boats have a limited useful life before they rot and/or come apart—typically only lasting a few weeks. Several tribes in and around the San Francisco Bay area and in northern California made and used tule canoes. Bay Miwok, Coast Miwok, Pomo, Klamath and several other indigenous natives used the tule plant to make canoes. Tule canoes were used in ocean lagoons from Tomales Bay and Point Reyes National Seashore south to Monterey Bay. Tule–reed boats were used in lakes and slow-moving rivers in much of Northern California, they were used by the Pomo living in the Laguna de Santa Rosa and Clear Lake, Tule Lake and other areas. They were common in the San Francisco Bay and on the extensive Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and its tributary rivers; these tule canoes were used for transportation to and from their favorite spots for hunting or harvesting salmon, seeds, shellfish or oysters and other fish or foods.
Extensive beds and shoals of oysters and other shellfish lay in shallow water near the shores of San Francisco Bay and Tomales Bay and were a food source used for centuries. Tule canoes were used for gathering more tule reeds and for hunting duck or geese which were often present in the wetlands, etc. in the millions. Tule canoes were used in collecting duck and goose eggs. Ducks and geese were hunted from tule canoes with arrows or nets. Tule canoes were used in fishing with nets, spears or bone fish hooks for several native fish species present in or migrating through the rivers and bays; the boatman sits, kneels or stands in the boat and either paddles it with a double bladed paddle or with his arms in a single person canoe when lying prone. If the boat was not woven enough the boatman would find himself sitting, standing or kneeling in several inches of water; the tule canoes were used for transportation to oyster mollusk and other shellfish beds that could be harvested at low tide. The Emer
The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about 3,000 mi across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail followed the same corridor of networked river valley trails as the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail, namely the valleys of the Platte, North Platte and Sweetwater rivers to Wyoming. In the present states of Wyoming and Utah, the California and Oregon trails split into several different trails or cutoffs. By 1847, two former fur trading frontier forts marked trailheads for major alternative routes through Utah and Wyoming to Northern California; the first was Jim Bridger's Fort Bridger in present-day Wyoming on the Green River, where the Mormon Trail turned southwest over the Wasatch Range to the newly established Salt Lake City, Utah. From Salt Lake the Salt Lake Cutoff went north and west of the Great Salt Lake and rejoined the California Trail in the City of Rocks in present-day Idaho.
The main Oregon and California Trails crossed the Green River on several different ferries and trails that led to or bypassed Fort Bridger and crossed over a range of hills to the Great Basin drainage of the Bear River. Just past present-day Soda Springs, both trails turned northwest, following the Portneuf River valley to the British Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Hall on the Snake River in present-day Idaho. From Fort Hall the Oregon and California trails went about 50 miles southwest along the Snake River Valley to another "parting of the ways" trail junction at the junction of the Raft and Snake rivers; the California Trail from the junction followed the Raft River to the City of Rocks in Idaho near the present Nevada-Idaho-Utah tripoint. The Salt Lake and Fort Hall routes were about the same length: about 190 miles. From the City of Rocks the trail went into the present state of Utah following the South Fork of the Junction Creek. From there the trail followed along a series of small streams, such as Thousand Springs Creek in the present state of Nevada until approaching present-day Wells, where they met the Humboldt River.
By following the crooked, meandering Humboldt River Valley west across the arid Great Basin, emigrants were able to get the water and wood they needed for themselves and their teams. The water turned alkaline as they progressed down the Humboldt, there were no trees. "Firewood" consisted of broken brush, the grass was sparse and dried out. Few travelers liked the Humboldt River Valley passage. Humboldt is not good for man nor beast... and there is not timber enough in three hundred miles of its desolate valley to make a snuff-box, or sufficient vegetation along its banks to shade a rabbit, while its waters contain the alkali to make soap for a nation. At the end of the Humboldt River, where it disappeared into the alkaline Humboldt Sink, travelers had to cross the deadly Forty Mile Desert before finding either the Truckee River or Carson River in the Carson Range and Sierra Nevada mountains that were the last major obstacles before entering Northern California. An alternative route across the present states of Utah and Nevada that bypassed both Fort Hall and the Humboldt River trails was developed in 1859.
This route, the Central Overland Route, about 280 miles shorter and more than 10 days quicker, went south of the Great Salt Lake and across the middle of present-day Utah and Nevada through a series of springs and small streams. The route went south from Salt Lake City across the Jordan River to Fairfield, Utah west-southwest past Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Utah, Utah, to Ely, Nevada across Nevada to Carson City, Nevada. In addition to immigrants and migrants from the East, after 1859 the Pony Express, Overland stages and the First Transcontinental Telegraph all followed this route with minor deviations. Once in western Nevada and eastern California, the pioneers worked out several paths over the rugged Carson Range and Sierra Nevada mountains into the gold fields and cities of northern California; the main routes were the Truckee Trail to the Sacramento Valley and after about 1849 the Carson Trail route to the American River and the Placerville, California gold digging region.
Starting about 1859 the Johnson Cutoff and the Henness Pass Route across the Sierras were improved and developed. These main roads across the Sierras were both toll roads so there were funds to pay for maintenance and upkeep on the roads; these toll roads were used to carry cargo west to east from California to Nevada, as thousands of tons of supplies were needed by the gold and silver miners, etc. working on the Comstock Lode near the present Virginia City, Nevada. The Johnson Cutoff, from Placerville to Carson City along today's U. S. Route 50 in California, was used by the Pony Express year-round and in the summer by the stage lines, it was the only overland route from the East to California that could be kept open for at least horse traffic in the winter. The California Trail was used from 1845 until several years after the end of the American Civil War. After about 1848 the most popular route was the Carson Route which, while rugged, was still easier than most others and entered California in the middle of the gold fields.
The trail was heav
Beverly Hills, California [videos]
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Beverly Hills is surrounded by the cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood. — Sometimes referred to as "90210," one of its primary ZIP codes, it is home to many celebrities, several hotels, and the Rodeo Drive …
Beverly Hills at the corner of Rodeo Drive and Via Rodeo in 2012
Hammel and Denker ranch, c. 1905
Los Angeles County, California [videos]
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, is the most populous county in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of the U.S. state of California and is the most populous county in the United States, with more than 10 million inhabitants as of 2017. As such, it is the largest non–state …
Los Angeles at night. Aerial photo taken from San Pedro, looking North.
The Grand Avenue entrance of the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.
L.A. County Fair at dusk, 2008
Photo of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art during its 2005 Ancient Egypt exhibit.
Santa Monica Mountains [videos]
The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, paralleling the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in California. Santa Monica Mountains National …
Malibu Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains
Snow in the Santa Monica Mountains
Bobcat kitten 327, SMMNRA
First mile of CA 23 and southern coastal scrub
Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles [videos]
Benedict Canyon is an area in the Westside of the city of Los Angeles, California near Sherman Oaks northwest of Beverly Hills. — Geography — Benedict Canyon is a ravine that drops in a north-to-south direction from its high point at the crest line in the Santa Monica Mountains; to the east of …
Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon
Warner Avenue School
Los Angeles [videos]
Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L.A. is the most populous city in California, the second most populous city in the United States, after New York City, and the third most populous city in North America. With an …
MacArthur Park in Westlake
A very clear evening view of Mount Lee and the Hollywood Sign from the Griffith Observatory lawn, one day after a rain.
The Dolby Theatre, venue for the Academy Awards
Mexican–American War [videos]
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the American intervention in Mexico, was an armed conflict between the United States of America and the Second Federal Republic of Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed in the wake of the 1845 American …
Comanches of West Texas in war regalia, c. 1830
Liberal Valentín Gómez Farías, who served as Santa Anna's vice president and implemented a liberal reform in 1833, was an important political player in the era of the Mexican–American War.
U.S. Army occupation of Mexico City in 1847. The American flag is flying over the National Palace, the seat of the Mexican government.
Captain Charles A. May's squadron of the 2nd Dragoons slashes through the Mexican Army lines. Resaca de la Palma, Texas, May 9, 1846.
William Workman [videos]
William Workman, of Mount Prospect House, Montreal, was an Irish-born Canadian entrepreneur, businessman and philanthropist. He was a partner in Canada's largest wholesale hardware house of Frothingham & Workman, and President of Montreal's City Bank. He was Mayor of …
'Mount Prospect House', William Workman's home, built in 1842 within the Golden Square Mile
Mrs Eliza (Bethell) Workman
Image: Mayor William Workman
Image: Frothingham & Workman Premises
Rodeo Drive [videos]
Rodeo Drive is a two-mile-long street, primarily in Beverly Hills, California, with its southern segment in the City of Los Angeles. Its southern terminus is at Beverwil Drive, and its northern terminus is at its intersection with Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills. The name is most commonly used …
Rodeo Drive in 2012
Rodeo Drive street sign
A Vector W8 parked in front of the Gucci store
European-style buildings on Two Rodeo Drive
History of California [videos]
The history of California can be divided into: the Native American period; European exploration period from 1542 to 1769; the Spanish colonial period, 1769 to 1821; the Mexican period, 1821 to 1848; and United States statehood, from September 9, 1850 which continues to this …
Francis Drake "Nova Albion" Quadracentennial Plaque at Drake's Beach
The Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó, Loreto, Baja California Sur, was founded in 1697.
Typical sand dunes west of Yuma Arizona
The courtyard of Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, with California's oldest pepper tree (Schinus molle), planted in 1830, visible through the arch.
History of California before 1900 [videos]
Human history in California began when indigenous Americans first arrived some 13,000–15,000 years ago. Coastal exploration by Europeans began in the 16th century, and settlement by Europeans along the coast and in the inland valleys began in the 18th century. California was ceded to the United …
California's Yosemite Valley
California was misrepresented in early maps as an island. This example c. 1650. Restored.
A portrait of Junípero Serra
1890 photograph of the first "Bear Flag". A replica of it is now at El Presidio de Sonoma, or Sonoma Barracks.
Indigenous peoples of California [videos]
The Indigenous peoples of California are the indigenous inhabitants who have lived or currently live in the geographic area within the current boundaries of California before and after the arrival of Europeans. With over forty groups seeking to be federally …
A Pomo dancer by Grace Hudson
Mariposa Indian encampment, Yosemite Valley by Albert Bierstadt
Rock art at Coso in the Mojave desert. Native American culture in California was noted for its rock art or petroglyphs
Yokut woman basket maker, Tule River Reservation ca. 1900
California Trail [videos]
The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about 3,000 mi across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail followed the same corridor of networked …
A night snowshoe hike on the California Trail near Elko, Nevada
South Pass sign
Chimney Rock, Nebraska
Scotts Bluff, Nebraska
Californio [videos]
Californio is a term for a Hispanic person native of California, who is culturally or genetically descended from the Spanish-speaking community that has existed in the Californias since 1683, of varying Criollo Spaniard, Mestizo …
The Red Lone Star Flag of California was a symbol of the Californio Revolt of 1836, led by Juan Bautista Alvarado.
The California state flag flying at San Francisco City Hall
Battle of San Pascual, a rousing Californio victory led by Don Andrés Pico against a superior force led by Gen. Stephen W. Kearny. Kearny had underestimated Californio anger toward John C. Fremont, and his troops were tired after crossing the desert from New Mexico.
Image: USS Cyane
California Republic [videos]
The California Republic was an unrecognized breakaway state that for 25 days in 1846 militarily controlled an area north of San Francisco, in and around what is now Sonoma County in California.In June 1846, thirty-three American immigrants in Alta California who …
Pío Pico was territorial governor of Alta California south of San Luis Obispo
US President James K. Polk favored expansionist policies that led to the annexation of Texas and California
The rebellion was covertly encouraged by U.S. Army Brevet Captain John C. Frémont
Bear Flag monument in Sonoma commemorating its capture by rebels
California Gold Rush [videos]
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad. The sudden influx of gold into the …
Prospectors working California gold placer deposits in 1850
Advertisement about sailing to California, circa 1850
Panning for gold on the Mokelumne River
Chinese gold miners in California
History of California 1900–present [videos]
This article continues the history of California in the years 1900 and later;for events through 1899, see History of California before 1900. — After 1900, California continued to grow rapidly and soon became an agricultural and industrial power. The economy was widely based on specialty agriculture …
Postcard view of oil fields c.1940s
The terminus of the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, near Sylmar
The Delta–Mendota Canal (left) and the California Aqueduct (right) near Tracy
Parker Dam on Lake Havasu, where Colorado River waters are initially drawn into the Colorado River Aqueduct water distribution system
History of California's state highway system [videos]
The state highway system in the U.S. state of California dates back to 1896, when the state took over maintenance of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road. Construction of a large connected system began in 1912, after the state's voters approved an $18 million bond issue for over 3000 miles of …
Recommended state highway system, 1896
The Bureau of Highways with their buckboard wagon in Riverside County, 1896
The Ridge Route, ca. 1920
San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge construction, 1935
Maritime history of California [videos]
In the California coast, the use of ships and the Pacific Ocean has historically included water craft, fisheries, shipbuilding, Gold Rush shipping, ports, shipwrecks, naval ships and installations, and lighthouses. The maritime history of …
Dugout canoe
Tule reeds growing wild near water
The California Channel Islands
Spanish missions in California [videos]
The Spanish missions in California comprise a series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in today's U.S. State of California. Founded by Catholic priests of the Franciscan order to evangelize the Native Americans, the missions led to the creation of the New Spain …
A drawing of Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo prepared by Captain George Vancouver depicts the grounds as they appeared in November 1792. From A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean and Round the World.
An illustration depicts the death of the Rev. Luís Jayme by angry natives at Mission San Diego de Alcalá, November 4, 1775. The independence uprising was the first of a dozen similar incidents that took place in Alta California during the Mission Period; however, most rebellions tended to be localized and short-lived due to the Spaniards' superior weaponry (native resistance more often took the form of non-cooperation (in forced labor), return to their homelands (desertion of forced relocation), and raids on mission livestock).
A view of the Catalan forges at Mission San Juan Capistrano, the oldest existing facilities (circa 1790s) of their kind in the State of California. The sign at the lower right-hand corner proclaims the site as being "...part of Orange County's first industrial complex."
Natives utilize a primitive plow to prepare a field for planting near Mission San Diego de Alcalá.
History of rail transportation in California [videos]
The establishment of America's transcontinental rail lines securely linked California to the rest of the country, and the far-reaching transportation systems that grew out of them during the century that followed contributed to the state's social, political, and economic development. When …
The Golden Spike ceremony held at Promontory Summit, Utah on May 10, 1869. Photograph by Andrew J. Russell.
A streetcar of the Pacific Electric Railway makes a stop at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, circa 1905.
A special "fast fruit" train of the Central Pacific Railroad prepares to head eastward on June 24, 1886.
Restored Southern Pacific Lines No. 2353, a 4-6-0 oil-burning steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1912. The cylindrical tender, specifically designed to carry fuel oil, was a signature feature of the railroad.
History of the San Fernando Valley [videos]
The history of the San Fernando Valley from its exploration by the 1769 Portola expedition to the annexation of much of it by the City of Los Angeles in 1915 is a story of booms and busts, as cattle ranching, sheep ranching, large-scale wheat farming, and fruit orchards flourished and faded …
Mission San Fernando c. 1900
Don Andrés Pico
Beale's Cut through the San Fernando Pass, c.1872
Van Nuys after the arrival of the Pacific Electric Railway 1911
Alameda County, California [videos]
Alameda County is a county in the state of California in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,510,271, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state. The county seat is Oakland. Alameda County is included in the San Francisco Bay Area, occupying much …
View of downtown Oakland looking west across Lake Merritt
View of Berkeley and the San Francisco Bay at nightfall
The reconstructed mission at Mission San José (located in Fremont)
California water wars [videos]
The California water wars were a series of political conflicts between the city of Los Angeles and farmers and ranchers in the Owens Valley of Eastern California over water rights. — As Los Angeles expanded during the late 19th century, it began outgrowing its water supply. Fred Eaton, mayor of Los …
The Los Angeles Aqueduct in the Owens Valley
Joseph Reddeford Walker explored the Owens Valley
Los Angeles Pobladores [videos]
The Pobladores of Los Angeles refers to the 44 original settlers and 4 soldiers who founded the city of Los Angeles, California in 1781. — When the Governor of Las Californias, Felipe de Neve, was assigned to establish secular settlements in what is now the state of California (after …
Names of Los Pobladores on plaque
2012 Grand Marian Procession through Downtown Los Angeles
Mexican Cession [videos]
The Mexican Cession is the region in the modern-day southwestern United States that Mexico ceded to the U.S. in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 after the Mexican–American War. This region had not been part of the areas east of the Rio Grande which had been claimed by the Republic of Texas …
Image: USA Territorial Growth 1850
Area Mexico ceded to the United States in 1848, minus Texan claims. The Mexican Cession consisted of present-day U.S. states of California, Nevada, Utah, most of Arizona, about half of New Mexico, about a quarter of Colorado, and a small section of Wyoming.
Alpine County, California [videos]
Alpine County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,175. making it California's least populous county. The county seat is the Census Designated Place of Markleeville. There are no incorporated cities in the county. — Alpine County is in the Sierra …
County Courthouse (1928) in Markleeville Architect: Frederic J. DeLongchamp
Image: Alpine county sign
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo [videos]
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, officially titled the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits and Settlement between the United States of America and the Mexican Republic, is the peace treaty signed on February 2, 1848, in the Villa de Guadalupe Hidalgo (now a …
Cover of the exchange copy of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Benjamin Davis Wilson [videos]
Benjamin Davis Wilson was an American politician. He was known to the Native Americans as Don Benito because of his benevolent manner in his treatment of Native American affairs. Wilson, a native of Tennessee, was a fur trapper and trader before coming to …
Benjamin "Don Benito" Wilson
Henry Hancock [videos]
Henry Hancock was a Harvard trained lawyer and a land surveyor working in California in the 1850s. He was the owner of Rancho La Brea, which included the La Brea Tar Pits. — Early life — Henry Hancock was born in Bath, New Hampshire, a son of Thomas Hancock and …
Henry Hancock's portrait and signature from a book published in 1921
Burton E. Green [videos]
Burton Edmond Green was an American oilman and real estate developer. He was critical in the development of Beverly Hills, California, and he is credited with naming it Beverly Hills after Beverly Farms in Massachusetts. — Early life — Burton Edmond Green was born on September 6, 1868 …
Burton E. Green's residence in Beverly Hills, California.
California in the American Civil War [videos]
California's involvement in the American Civil War included sending gold east, recruiting volunteer combat units to replace regular forces in territories of the Western United States, maintaining and building numerous camps and fortifications, suppressing secessionist activity (many of these …
Company Guidon, Company A ('California' 100), raised in Massachusetts
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston [videos]
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, located in the Houston Museum District, Houston, is one of the largest museums in the United States. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 6,000 years of history with approximately 64,000 works from six continents.The museum benefits the …
Watkin Building
Caroline Wiess Law Building
Audrey Jones Beck Building
Glassell School of Art
Kanye West [videos]
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer. His musical career has been marked by dramatic changes in styles, incorporating an eclectic range of influences including soul, baroque pop, electro, indie rock …
West in 2009
West performing in Portland in December 2005 as a supporting act for U2 on their Vertigo Tour.
West working in the studio in 2008, accompanied by mentor No I.D. (left).
West performing at the SWU Music & Arts Festival in Brazil, 2011
Early American currency [videos]
Early American currency went through several stages of development during the colonial and post-Revolutionary history of the United States. Because few coins were minted in the thirteen colonies that became the United States, foreign coins like the Spanish dollar were widely circulated. Colonial …
Obverse and reverse of a three pence note of paper currency issued by the Province of Pennsylvania and printed by Benjamin Franklin in 1764
Continental One Third Dollar Note (obverse)
A fifty-five dollar Continental issued in 1779
Image: US Colonial (CT 178) Connecticut 2 Jan 1775 OBV
Kate Bosworth [videos]
Catherine Ann Bosworth is an American actress and model. Following minor roles in the films The Horse Whisperer and Remember the Titans, she rose to prominence with her role as a teenage surfer in the box-office hit Blue Crush. — She also had roles in …
Bosworth at the Deauville Film Festival, 2011
Bosworth at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Beginner in LaTeX and tabular **Second edit:
I changed the title to make sure I didn't confuse anybody.
After seeing everybody's comments, I have realized where I was confusing about.

*

**What's the efficient way to make all the texts "\flushleft"?
Problem solved. Thanks to @koleygr(see the first answer, comment 1)

**What's the efficient way to "style" all the elements of a tabular instead of styling them individually?
Problem solved. Ditto(comment 2).

**What's the efficient way to create several new lines?
Problem solved. Ditto(comment 3).
More questions to be solved:

*How do I know how many inches or centimeter in \vspace? With experience?

*When I wrote \documentclass[12pt]{article}, does the font size differ from the font size in M$ Word? Because I was reinventing wheels from the document our professor gave to me, but the font size is not exactly the same.

*If inside a \(\) have some text which I don't want it to be italic, do I have to write \text{} every time?

How's everybody! I am going to university after this semester. I am a Math major and I want to learn LaTeX in advance. I have been learning LaTeX for a while and this is the first time writing Econ assignment using LaTeX.
How do you guys think about the code? Anything that needs improvement?
One thing I noticed while writing was the table I created is a little bit offset compared to other texts above. Is there any way to fix this?
Best wishes to all of you.
Here are my results:

Here are my codes:
\documentclass[12pt]{article}

\usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{mathptmx}

\begin{document}
\begin{flushleft}
\section*{\small \bfseries First Economic Assignment: GDP Deflator}
\subsection*{\small \bfseries Consumer Spending}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c}
\small \bfseries Goods/Services & \small \bfseries 2017 Quantity & \small \bfseries 2017 Price & \small \bfseries 2016 Quantity & \small \bfseries 2016 Price\\

\small Sushi & \small 625,000   & \small \$30.00 & \small 600,000 & \small \$28.00\\

\small Jamba Juice & \small 750,000 & \small \$5.35 & \small 700,000 & \small \$5.00\\

\small Samsung 4k Television & \small 50,000 & \small \$799.99 & \small 45,000 & \small \$749.99\\

\small Samsung Note 8 & \small 125,000 & \small\$199.99 & \small 100,000 & \small \$189.99
\end{tabular}
\newline \newline

\small Calculate the Nominal GDP for 2017.\\
\(\text{Norminal GDP}_{cs2017} = \sum{\text{Quantity}_{2017} \cdot \text{Price}_{2017}} = 625,000 \times \$30.00+750,000 \times \$5.35+50,000 \times\$799.99+125,000 \times\$199.99 = \textbf{87,760,750}\)
\newline

\small Calculate the Real GDP with a base year of 2016.\\
\(\text{Real GDP}_{cs2016} = \sum{\text{Quantity}_{2017} \cdot \text{Price}_{2016}} = 625,000 \times \$28.00+750,000 \times \$5.00+50,000 \times \$749.99+125,000 \times \$189.99 = \textbf{82,498,250}\)

\subsection*{\small \bfseries Government Spending}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c}
\small \bfseries Goods/Services & \small \bfseries 2017 Quantity & \small \bfseries 2017 Price & \small \bfseries 2016 Quantity & \small \bfseries 2016 Price\\

\small Public Schools & \small 1,000    & \small \$300 m & \small 950 & \small \$280 m\\

\small Highways & \small 250 & \small \$250 m & \small 200 & \small \$250 m\\

\small Medicare & \small 50,000 & \small \$700.00 & \small 45,000 & \small \$700.00\\

\small Social Security & \small 55,000 & \small\$1,200.00 & \small 100,000 & \small \$1,100.00
\end{tabular}
\newline \newline

\small Calculate the Nominal GDP for 2017.\\
\(\text{Norminal GDP}_{gs2017} = \sum{\text{Quantity}_{2017} \cdot \text{Price}_{2017}} = 1,000 \times \$300 m+250 \times \$250 m+50,000 \times\$700.00+55,000 \times\$1,200.00 = \textbf{362,601,000,000}\)
\newline

\small Calculate the Real GDP with a base year of 2016.\\
\(\text{Real GDP}_{gs2016} = \sum{\text{Quantity}_{2017} \cdot \text{Price}_{2016}} = 1,000 \times \$280 m+250 \times \$250 m+50,000 \times\$700.00+55,000 \times\$1,100.00 = \textbf{342,595,500,000}\)

\subsection*{\small \bfseries Investment Spending}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c}
\small \bfseries Goods/Services & \small \bfseries 2017 Quantity & \small \bfseries 2017 Price & \small \bfseries 2016 Quantity & \small \bfseries 2016 Price\\

\small Commercial Towers & \small 250   & \small \$500 m & \small 170 & \small \$480 m\\

\small Used Machinery & \small 850 & \small \$525 m & \small 700 & \small \$500 m\\

\small Condominiums & \small 350 & \small \$750 m & \small 245 & \small \$740 m\\

\small Business Parks & \small 225 & \small\$450 m & \small 100 & \small \$380 m
\end{tabular}
\newline \newline

\small Calculate the Nominal GDP for 2017.\\
\(\text{Norminal GDP}_{is2017} = \sum{\text{Quantity}_{2017} \cdot \text{Price}_{2017}} = 250 \times \$500 m+850 \times \$525 m+350 \times\$750 m+225 \times\$450 m = 935000 m = \textbf{935,000,000,000}\)
\clearpage

\small Calculate the Real GDP with a base year of 2016.\\
\(\text{Real GDP}_{is2016} = \sum{\text{Quantity}_{2017} \cdot \text{Price}_{2016}} = 250 \times \$480 m+850 \times \$500 m+350 \times\$740 m+225 \times\$380 m = 889500 m = \textbf{889,500,000,000}\)

\subsection*{\small \bfseries Net Exports}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c}
\small \bfseries Goods/Services & \small \bfseries 2017 Quantity & \small \bfseries 2017 Price & \small \bfseries 2016 Quantity & \small \bfseries 2016 Price\\

\small Technology & \small 1,000    & \small \$300,000 & \small 1,000 & \small \$280,000\\

\small Military Arms & \small 5,000 & \small \$25,000 & \small 7,000 & \small \$20,000\\

\small Textiles & \small 750,000 & \small \$49.99 & \small 845,000 & \small \$39.99\\

\small Toys & \small 925,000 & \small\$19.99 & \small 900,000 & \small \$18.99
\end{tabular}
\newline \newline

\begin{small}
Calculate the Nominal GDP for 2017.\\
\(\text{Norminal GDP}_{ne2017} = \sum{\text{Quantity}_{2017} \cdot \text{Price}_{2017}} = 1,000 \times \$300,000+5,000 \times \$25,000+750,000 \times\$49.99 m+925,000 \times\$19.99 = \textbf{480,983,250}\)
\newline

Calculate the Real GDP with a base year of 2016.\\
\(\text{Real GDP}_{ne2016} = \sum{\text{Quantity}_{2017} \cdot \text{Price}_{2016}} = 1,000 \times \$280,000+5,000 \times \$20,000+750,000 \times\$39.99 m+925,000 \times\$18.99 = \textbf{427,558,250}\)
\newline

Add all of the Nominal GDP for 2017.\\
\(\text{Nominal GDP}_{2017} = \text{Norminal GDP}_{cs2017} + \text{Norminal GDP}_{gs2017} + \text{Norminal GDP}_{is2017} + \text{Norminal GDP}_{ne2017} = 87,760,750 + 362,601,000,000 + 935,000,000,000 - 480,983,250 = \textbf{1,297,207,777,500}\)
\newline

Add all of the Real GDP with a base year of 2016.\\
\(\text{Real GDP}_{2017} = \text{Real GDP}_{cs2017} + \text{Real GDP}_{gs2017} + \text{Real GDP}_{is2017} + \text{Real GDP}_{ne2017} = 82,498,250 + 342,595,500,000 + 889,500,000,000 - 427,558,250 = \textbf{1,231,750,440,000}\)
\newline

Calculate the GDP Deflator.\\
\(\text{GDP Deflator} = \text{Nominal GDP} \div \text{Real GDP} \times 100 = 1,297,207,777,500 \div 1,231,750,440,000 \times 100 = \textbf{105.314172041}\)
\newline

Explain what is happening to the economy?\\

\end{small}
\end{flushleft}
\end{document}

A: Just some fixes of the first lines of your document:
(I used common ways as far as this can be said)
\documentclass[12pt]{article}

\usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage{mathptmx}
\usepackage{parskip}%See Comment 1
\setlength{\parindent}{0pt}
\setlength{\parskip}{0pt}
\usepackage{array}%See Comment 2
\newcolumntype{G}{>{\small}c}
\usepackage{bm}%See Comment 5
\usepackage{titlesec}%See comment 1.5
\titleformat*{\section}{\bfseries\small}
\titleformat*{\subsection}{\bfseries\small}
\begin{document}
%Comment 1
%\begin{flushleft} No needed and not really correct
% Added parskip package and \setlength{\parindent}{0pt} for this
% Also used \setlength\parindent{0pt} to let you use empty line instead of \\
\section*{First Economic Assignment: GDP Deflator}%Used titlesec package to set a style for sections and subsections
\subsection*{Consumer Spending}
\begin{tabular}{>{\small}l *{5}{G}}%Comment 2
  %Added \small in every comumn and
  %automated c columntype insertion to *{5}{G}
  %G is a newcolumntype defined above by array package usega
  %See also sunitx package too for S column type that can align numbers to their dot
  \bfseries Goods/Services & \bfseries 2017 Quantity &  \bfseries 2017 Price &\bfseries  2016 Quantity &  \bfseries2016 Price\\
  %Removed all \small because of added command in columntype
Sushi &  625,000   &  \$30.00 &  600,000 &  \$28.00\\

 Jamba Juice &  750,000 &  \$5.35 &  700,000 &  \$5.00\\

 Samsung 4k Television &  50,000 &  \$799.99 &  45,000 &  \$749.99\\

 Samsung Note 8 &  125,000 & \$199.99 &  100,000 &  \$189.99
\end{tabular}
%Comment 3
%\newline \newline
%Replaced above with vspace
\vspace{2\baselineskip}

\small Calculate the Nominal GDP for 2017.

%Comment 4: Replaced with below and removed \newline
%\(\text{Norminal GDP}_{cs2017} = \sum{\text{Quantity}_{2017} \cdot \text{Price}_{2017}} = 625,000 \times \$30.00+750,000 \times \$5.35+50,000 \times\$799.99+125,000 \times\$199.99 = \textbf{87,760,750}\)
%\newline
% Doesn't needed

%used align
\begin{align*}
  \text{Normal GDP}_{cs2017} &= \sum{\text{Quantity}_{2017} \cdot \text{Price}_{2017}}\\& = 625,000 \times \$30.00+750,000 \times \$5.35+50,000 \times\$799.99+125,000 \times\$199.99 \\&= \bm{87,760,750}%Comment 5 Used \bm command for bold math instead of \textbf
\end{align*}

\end{document}

The rest seems ok (You may be want to add @{} in table arguments as @Zarco suggested)
Output:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
by Christopher DeFilippis
DeFlip Side, Vol. 1, No. 22
(First Appeared: March, 2001; First Light E-zine, Issue 101)
NOTE: Special thanks to the Quantum Leap fan site Al's Place and webmaster Brian Greene for providing all the .jpgs I swiped to illustrate this column.
Ever since beginning DeFlip Side, I've intended to do a column on the Quantum Leap episode "Mirror Image." But I've held off for two reasons: first, it would be very specialized, and therefore appeal only to readers who also happen to be serious QL fans, a limitation I didn't want to impose on myself or my audience; second, it would necessarily have to be very long and detailed, as there is very little extraneous material in the episode that doesn't bear directly on the plot and ideas that Don Bellisario carefully constructed.
But here we are, with only four columns left to go. So I've decided to say screw the general reader. I've been wanting to get these thoughts down for a long time and if you're not sufficiently versed in the QL universe to appreciate them, then that's your too bad. Go see what Roo has to rant about this month, or the exact things E has to say, and leave me alone.
If however, you love Quantum Leap, and are still scratching your head over just what the hell happened in the series finale, I think I have it figured out for the most part. And I harbor none of the hatred the majority of Quantum Leap fans have for the episode. In fact, I think it was one of the most wonderful endings to a series I've ever seen, and an especially fitting and touching close for my favorite show of all time.
As I feared, this column is long—in fact, the longest one I've ever done. And it's excessively detailed. But the devil is in the details, as they say, and never more so than in this episode. I found the most expedient approach to deconstructing it would be an act by act summary/analysis. I hope you stick with it until the end; it might just change your perspective…
TEASER—The Ultimate "Oh, boy!"
Sam Leaps in
The episode starts out innocently enough, though from that alone we should realize this is no ordinary Leap. Instead of some ludicrous or embarrassingly compromising situation, Sam finds himself in the doorway of an ordinary looking bar. After minimal conversation with the bartender, Sam looks into the mirror to see none other than his own reflection. Oh, boy!
ACT ONE—"Time is funny here…"
Reacting to Sam's shock, the bartender asks Sam how long it's been since he took a good look at himself. Sam's journey of self-discovery is already beginning. When he replies that it's been a while, the bartender tells him "Let too much time go by and you'll loose touch with reality." The statement is cryptic, and loaded with implications of what's to come, but innocent enough for Sam to let slip without notice.
A seemingly jovial bartender
Sam steers the conversation, trying to figure out the date—reverting back to the behavior that has become second nature upon Leaping in. The bartender remains closemouthed. Here Bellisario is setting up behavior that will become one of Sam's primary stumbling blocks as the episode progresses.
Sam turns to the newspaper and finally sees the date: August 8, 1953. "That's the day I was born," he muses. Looking up at the clock he says, "I was born at twelve-thirty in Indiana—Forty-three minutes from now." To which the bartender replies, "No seventeen minutes ago. Time's a little funny here." To say the least. Of course this is followed with a seemingly rational explanation about the town not going on Daylight Savings Time, but Sam is shown that he can't rely on what seems perfectly obvious. It's the second concrete clue that he's been removed from reality as he's come to know it. His reply: "Then I was born about the same time I walked through that door…" From an outsider's perspective, I'd say he was born the EXACT time he walked through the door; a symbolic rebirth, if you will. Conquering death (i.e.—rebirth) is a common archetype in both the Hero and Shaman myth cycles—either of which the character of Sam Beckett can easily fit into. It also symbolizes that all bets are off; we're dealing with a new level of Quantum Leaping, evident by the fact that Sam is himself.
Enter "Gooshie." The name is familiar to Sam, yet the bearded old man doesn't fit his preconceived notions of who Gooshie should be—except for the bad breath. I always saw this as God, Fate, Time or Whatever (GFTW) as having some fun with Sam, or perhaps trying to jog his memory of a man he may or may not be swiss-cheeseing about.
Either way, upon learning his name, Sam shoots out the door after the little man and sees the first of the dopplegangers he's to encounter throughout the Leap. Two boys are working on their bikes outside the bar. Sam's gaze lingers on them, but he can't place them. Viewers can recognize them as Sam's "sons" when he leaped into bigamist Martin Ellroy in "A Tale of Two Sweeties."
Al's Place. Coincidence?
Turning to go back into the bar, he sees its name, written in huge letters on the front window: "Al's Place." Walking into the bar, he begins to put things together. He starts pumping "Al" for information, confronting him with the identical names, and familiar faces of the boys. But unlike the Observer, this Al gives up nothing, forcing Sam to try and figure it out for himself.
"You no miner!"
In walks Stawpah, the first character with no apparent relationship to Sam. But that doesn't stop him from weighing Sam with his suspicious gaze and pronouncing judgment: "You no miner!" Sam confirms that he isn't, and Stawpah proceeds to tell his life story. At this point it sounds like the ramblings of an old man, though Stawpah only claims to be forty—younger than Sam! Only later will his back story become relevant.
Stawpah is interrupted by Sam's next reality-shattering experience, in the form of Tonchi walking through the door. Only Sam knows the man as Frank LaMatta. Of all the people whose lives he's Leapt into, Sam is likely to have whole memories of Frank and Jimmy LaMatta, since he Leaped into Jimmy twice. Jimmy was also a favorite of Al's, so it's a good choice for GFTW to make.
Overcome with joy, Sam rushes over and hugs him like he would a brother, and calls him Frank. To which Tonchi responds like any of us would if a stranger tried to hug us, pushing Sam away and asking him who the hell he is. Sam says "Jimm…" before remembering himself and going silent. Stawpah is all over this, recalling Sam's true name.
Now both men eye him with suspicion. Sam responds by giving his true name, but persists in asking about Tonchi's brother. He does indeed have a brother with Down Syndrome, but his name is Pete, not Jimmy. Leaving for the mine, Tonchi tells Al to put his drink on his tab. Ever suspicious, Stawpah again speaks up, saying Sam may be with the state's liquor control board, insistently demanding to see Sam's ID.
Sam's License. Expires 1999
As Sam pulls out his wallet, he receives more concrete proof that he'd stepped out of time: Velcro. If his wallet wasn't enough, his holographic mug shot stares up at him from his futuristic New Mexico Driver's License (expiring in 1999). Sam quickly puts it away, saying that he doesn't need to show them any ID. Stawpah almost incites Tonchi to take it by force, but Al intervenes. Tonchi leaves, and Sam is left to marvel at the driver's license as we finally get a look at what's going on at Stallion's Gate, NM, in 2000.
Al and Gooshie (the ones Sam is looking for) finally make their first appearance, and both are as baffled as Sam is, and can only come to one conclusion: he's leaped into himself. And that being the case, there's no way for them to find him…
As confusing as it is upon first viewing the episode, Act One lays down some ground rules and sets the stage for the drama that will unfold. We see Sam thrown into an environment that is deceptively simple, but where every memory or instinct leads him astray. It's as if GFTW is telling him to forget what he knows, forget his preconceived notions of how things should work. It's time to learn a new set of rules…
ACT TWO—"You're not where you come from."
"Things might go a little ka-ka."
At the outset of this act, Sam echoes this burgeoning realization, as he says he's surrounded by faces both strange and familiar. As if to taunt him, the TV in the corner is airing "Captain Z-RO!" a show about a research scientist who travels in Time and Space.
But he has little time to dwell upon the irony, since he's introduced to yet another familiar-yet-unfamiliar face. Moe Stein, a.k.a. Captain Galaxy, whom Sam knew in his Leap into Future Boy, plops down next to him. Only Moe, who introduced the idea of the String Theory to a young Sam Beckett, is called Ziggy in this strange place. Not only that, he's completely illiterate.
It's yet another reversal of everything Sam has come to accept as established truth. Instead of a brilliant parallel-hybrid computer that can grasp the intricacies of time and space, we have a Ziggy who can't utter a single sentence without mispronouncing a word. There is an initial shock, after which Sam dwells in serious thought.
We encounter our first shift on POV here, and it's significant that it's Stawpah's. He speculates with Al that Sam is not who he pretends to be. When Al asks who he is, Stawpah says that when he figures it out, then he'll know why Sam is there. It's the first inkling we get that Stawpah is seeing some larger picture that has yet to reveal itself, our first clue as to why the man is so relentlessly inquisitive about Sam's identity and purpose. Most telling is this exchange with Al:
Maybe he's here for the same reason you are… to get a beer.
Stawpah
I no drink beer Al. You know that.
I forgot.
You no forget nothing, Al. I wonder what happen around here if you did?
Things might go a little ka-ka.
Not only does this exchange begin revealing the true nature of "Al's Place", but it also jogs Sam's memory of his first leap when the Observer give his explanation of why Sam found himself inhabiting the body of Tom Stratton years in the past ("You're part of a time-travel experiment that went a little… ka-ka.").
Thought turns to action, and Sam pounces on Al for more info, saying he knows an Al who says ka-ka, and it's not a common expression where he comes from. Al remains obstinate as ever, curtly reminding Sam that "you're not where you come from." Not giving up, Sam asks the familiar question "Why am I here, Al?"
No jackpot for Sam.
In response, the bartender produces a punchboard loaded with chances to win fifty bucks…. and the answer to Sam's question. Sam eagerly punches a roll of paper out of one of the slots and unfolds it to reveal two cherries and a lemon. He again asks, "Why am I here Al?" Upon learning that Sam has not hit the jackpot, the bartender shakes his head and replies, "I guess you'll have to figure that out for yourself Sam."
It's another lesson preparing Sam for what's to come, meant to wean him off his customary reliance on the ready answers Al and Ziggy usually provide. It's as if the bartender is saying that maybe, one time in a million, someone will tell you exactly what you need to do in life, or in any given situation, but you'll mostly have to stumble along and figure things out for yourself.
A sudden series of sharp blasts from the mine whistle sends everyone running out the door. Sam follows, with Ziggy explaining that it means there's trouble in the mine. Upon arriving, they learn that Tonchi and Pete (ie, Frank and Jimmy) have been trapped in a mine cave-in.
Throughout this act, Sam is striving to move from reaction to action as the rules of this strange, new reality settle on him bit by bit. But he remains largely and uncharacteristically at the mercy of those around him. This theme persists into….
ACT THREE—"Who knows what Don Quixote can accomplish?"
Upon learning that Tonchi and Pete are trapped, the miners want to descend the shaft immediately to get them out. The mine superintendent, Collins, prevents them from doing so, worried about the mine catching fire, saying they're likely dead already.
Stawpah takes the lead here, authoritatively insisting that the brothers are still alive. When Collins spots Sam's unfamiliar face, Stawpah steps in and says he's the State Safety Inspector. It's vital to note here that Stawpah is driving the action forward, not Sam.
When Sam asks Stawpah why he named him as safety inspector, Stawpah replies, "I need to find way to get them out this time." NOTE: Stawpah said THIS TIME, as if he's tried unsuccessfully to get them out before. Most people I've spoken with gloss over this exchange, taking it to mean that Stawpah has been in similar situations in his mining past. But I think he means it very much in a literal sense, as if he's tried and failed to rescue Tonchi and Pete from this EXACT SAME situation many times before.
He goes on to describe what Tonchi and Pete are experiencing under ground—the darkness, the rising water, the fear. When Sam asks how he knows all this, Stawpah replies, "I been there, too many time before." Even Sam misses the import of this statement, taking Stawpah to mean that he's experienced similar disasters in the past. Again, I maintain that Stawpah means he's repeatedly been in this exact situation.
Back at the bar, Al opens up a bit, realizing that Sam is starting to see the bigger picture, and tells him that he's not there to save Tonchi and Pete, not directly. Sam asks "How about indirectly?" Al's reply: "Who knows what Don Quixote can accomplish?"
At this point Sam begins to intimate that the bartender may be God. Al denies it with a laugh.
Stawpah, who has been listening to the conversation, tells Sam that if he wants to help Tonchi and Pete, he should continue playing the safety inspector. And thanks to that act, Sam fools Collins into letting the men down the shaft to mount the rescue effort.
While waiting to learn of Tonchi and Pete's fate, Sam has yet another conversation with Al the bartender, this one focusing on Al Calavicci and the deep relationship he and Sam have formed.
We learn of Sam's regret in not being able to reunite Al and Beth during a previous leap (MIA). Thinking back on it, Sam realizes that the failure was largely due to that fact that he always "plays by the rules." Accompanying this statement we see something in Sam that we don't often: regret.
This is a significant revelation for Sam's character, because he always strives to do the correct thing, and mostly succeeds. But does correct necessarily mean right? It's a question he's been confronted with at various times throughout his years of Leaping, but never in such black and white terms, and never with so much time to mull over an answer. Who, indeed, knows what Don Quixote can accomplish, if he would just think outside of the "rules" for once?
As he's pondering this question jubilant miners burst into the bar, ushering Tonchi and Pete with them. Ziggy congratulates Sam on his ploy as mine inspector, to which Sam replies that it wasn't his idea, but Stawpah's.
He looks at the gnarled miner in time to see the man raise his Pepsi in salute, give a smile that transforms his face to pure joy, and Leap, leaving no one in his place.
ACT FOUR—"Sometimes, 'That's the way it is' is the best possible explanation."
"Stawpah was a leaper!"
Sam (along with the viewer) is left with his jaw hanging open. His confusion is compounded by the fact that no one else seems to remember the old miner. Then it dawns on him: "Stawpah was a Leaper!"
The alternate Gooshie reappears as this point to say that he knew a Stawpah (apparently the same one) who was killed in a mine explosion twenty years earlier.
Sam's narration mirrors his confusion (and ours), "My Leap had taken a quantum twist. I no longer knew what was real and what was imagined. And, if imagined, whose mind was imagining it… mine or someone else's?"
Here's where the script puts forth ideas I'm still trying to figure out:
Dead men save miners' lives and vanish in an aura of blue light?
Books are full of stories about the dead saving the living.
So Stawpah was here?
I remember him.
Why don't they?
That's the way it is.
One moment he's one of them and the next, they have no memory and all you can say is 'That's the way it is?'
Sometimes, 'That's the way it is' is the best possible explanation.
I'm not sure you're ready for more.
Try me.
The old Gooshie sidles up besides him and sips at a shot. Sam looks at his reflection in the mirror and it is a completely different man, younger, with no beard.
Can you accept what you see as reality?
Which reality do I accept?
(points to mirror)
That one?
(points besides him)
Or that one?
Haven't you accepted both, looking into all those mirrors?
As I said, I'm still trying to figure out the implications of this scene. From what I can gather, Stawpah was indeed dead, and so, most likely, is Gooshie. I don't take it to mean Sam is dead, however.
From the outset of the series, the premise has been that something reached in and took control of the project, since termed God, Fate, Time or Whatever. Given this fantastic supposition, is it any more fantastic to take the logic one step further and suppose that when he breached the barriers of time, Sam became an instrument of GFTW who, up until that point, had been using only "the dead" to do the work? I don't really know if that holds water, but it's the best I've been able to come up with based on the dialog between the characters.
Before the viewer can digest this bizarre turn of events, however, we receive the ultimate doozie: that Sam has been Leaping himself, and that technically he could go home any time he wants to, as long as he can accept that he controls his own destiny. Of course, Sam balks at that notion. But Al persists, saying Sam will do this (Leap through time) only as long as he really wants to.
Again, the implications are huge here. This would mean that despite Sam's longing for home that we've been privy to over the last five seasons, there is some secret part of him—one that not even he knows about—that wants to Leap on and on. So perhaps GFTW has been shepherding Sam up until now, sending him where he was needed so long as that desire to keep Leaping remained (whether Sam knew about it or not). Of course this is pure speculation on my part, but it seems to best fit the facts we've been presented with.
Seeming to be sinking under the weight of these revelations, Sam is finally permitted a familiar life preserver on which to cling. Al (the Observer) finally establishes a neural lock. The relief and joy that floods Sam's face upon seeing him shows just how fortuitous the timing is. The friends rush outside.
Al is proceeding under the assumption that this is like a normal Leap, but before he can say much, Sam bursts forth with the news that he thinks the bartender is GFTW, or something they've never even thought of. Further conversation reveals that Stawpah was Al's uncle, adding further fuel to this confusing fire.
Despite my high regard for this episode, I wish there was a more meaningful interchange for this, the last conversation we see between Al and Sam. Sam is mainly rambling in shock and Al is mainly confused by the weird things Sam is saying. It's totally realistic and keeping within character, given the circumstances under which they're finally able to meet. But it provided a poor send off to the relationship that was the show's mainstay for five seasons. It wasn't fair to us, nor was it fair to Sam or Al. But that's the way it is.
In fact, you could see Bellisario setting the stage for Al's actions for a season six that never came to be. His last words to Sam are: "I want you to take it easy until I can figure this out with Ziggy. I'm going to get you out of this Sam. No matter what it takes. I'm going to get you out of it." We know through five years of experience that Al will keep his word or die trying. But for now, he's out of the equation.
As the Observer disappears behind the Imaging Chamber door, Al the bartender comes out into the night and sits with Sam. Now that he sees Sam beginning to understand the truth of his situation and accepting its implications, he's more open than ever:
If the priesthood had been your chosen profession,
even though the Church might send you from parish to parish,
don't you have to accept responsibility for the life you lead?
Even priests can quit.
That's true. They can also take sabbaticals, especially
before embarking on a difficult new assignment.
Are you telling me the Leaps are going to get tougher?
Where would you like to go Sam?
Home. I'd like to go home, but I can't. I have a wrong
to put right for Al first. You knew that, didn't you?
(throwing an arm around Sam)
God bless, Sam.
Sam leaps.
"God bless, Sam."
There you have it; total acceptance by Sam of his situation. His choices are laid out before him: You can go home, or you can continue to do more good, working solo in tougher and tougher Leaps, without guidance from Al or Ziggy, most likely breaking the "rules" that have guided you up until now. You may never fully understand how things work (as you did with Project Quantum Leap) and people won't remember you after you're gone (like Stawpah)—but that's the way it is. Sam's choice is the crux of the entire Leap.
I want to say now that I don't think Al the bartender is supposed to be God. I tend to think Sam was right when he said it was something they hadn't even thought of. And "Al's Place" is obviously some sort of testing ground for Leapers (living or dead) who must pass a test before they're allowed to go to the next level. Presumably, Stawpah had repeatedly failed that test until Sam came along. That's why he was the one driving the actions that led to the rescue of Tonchi and Pete. And Gooshie (and GFTW knows who else in the bar) is currently undergoing his own trial.
Instead of Leaping home right away, Sam (being Sam) chooses to help his best friend. Al the bartender even seems a bit surprised by this; surprised and proud, as if Sam didn't disappoint his expectations, even though he'd earned the right to do so.
"Al's alive...
When the blue light fades, Sam finds himself standing in Beth's living room as she's dancing to "Georgia." Sam informs her that Al's alive, and coming home.
...and he's coming home."
Zoom in on the picture of young Al, which Leaps, leaving a black screen. In one version of the ending, the photo becomes an older shot of Al, surrounded by Beth and four girls. But in the aired version, a set of captions serves to inform us that Beth never remarried, she and Al have four daughters, and they are celebrating their 39th wedding anniversary in June.
Photo of Al, Beth and family from an unaired alternate ending.
Then up pop the six little words that have made this episode the object of passionate and everlasting hatred for Quantum Leap fans the world over:
Dr. Sam Becket never returned home.
To me, those words symbolize the best and happiest ending possible for Sam. Everybody seems to think that by helping Al, Sam sacrificed his chances for going home, or that something or someone (an evil bartender?) has forced him to keep Leaping forever.
Obviously Sam never returned home because he chose not to. It was stated time and time again in the episode that Sam is the ultimate master of his own destiny. That being the case, he can Leap home any time he wishes. Instead, he keeps on Leaping because he wants to continue to do good, to help people and put right what once went wrong. Given the man we have grown to know over five years of Leaps, the decision is in perfect keeping with his character. It's what Sam would do, no matter what the fans may want. And Don Bellisario was right to allow the character to stay true to himself, despite the negative reaction he knew it would bring.
And for those of you out there who are still wearing your sack-cloth and ashes, wailing and gnashing at Sam's lamentable fate, think of the alternative: a schmaltz-fest in which Sam returns home, an over-the-top happy ending that would have worn thin after about three viewings.
What we have now is so much better. Even after all these years, fans are still passionately discussing and debating this episode. And since Sam isn't home, that leaves the door open to further QL stories, where we might see if Al can be as good as his word. It still baffles me that there hasn't been a post-Mirror Image Quantum Leap television movie, especially since Don Bellisario, Dean Stockwell and Scott Bakula have ALL said that they'd be interested in doing it. Given the increased original production slate over at the SciFi Channel (which is the only media outlet still airing QL reruns), I'm surprised there's nothing in the works. Perhaps when JAG gets canceled, we'll hear some good news.
Despite how you may feel about it, Mirror Image represents nothing less than an evolution of the Quantum Leap universe, and took the series' premise great strides forward even as it was coming to a close. Yet it remains largely underappreciated and misunderstood by fans who feel somehow cheated that their hero never returned home.
To this I say, Quantum Leap was never what anyone expected from the outset, so why should the ending be any different? Get over yourselves and try watching again with an open mind. Put yourself in Sam's shoes and start thinking like the character, instead of a bunch of whiny fanboys (or girls, as the case may be). You might just find yourself pleasantly surprised.
Of course, there's no need to take my word for it. Watch "Mirror Image" right now:


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Eolerti the Weak and Dttilttittd.
The Heme Brtters Co-St. Louis.
and Sold by Dealers Everywhere.
ents. GILMORB A CO., luceeaiors te Chlpmsn, Roa.
relent Ufllce Eitenilons before Conervu, n.
frlngement Suits In dlflorenl atatei, and all IIU,,.
Contested Lind Cain preieenled before the TJ.
after examination, will be given yoa free.
wounded, ruptured, or Injured In the late war.
however slightly, een obtiln a pension hv ail.
dreiilngOILMUUK A CO., 82, P . 8t reel, Wh.
of Claim!, and the Southern Claimi Commlision.
experienced partlei employed by the old firm.
Prompt attention to all busineu entrusted to Gil,.
lucceia by d nerving It.
A Lecture on the Nature. Treatment, and Pdl.
effectually removed without medicine, and with.
out dangeroui ittrgical operalioni, bouglei. In.
41 Ann St., Kew Tork ; Post OfPce Box, 4586.
originating in the Htomacn, Liver, and Botveli.
No griping palm lollow the use of these Pills, un.
Scrofula or King'! Evil, Hose, Ervilpelas or 8t.
of the Skin, Salt Rheum, Tetter, Kingworm, Sorei.
S on left jaw of all youns 6tock.
agent reports making over tlSQ I" a week.
ten days. Ail wbo engage Bin money fait.
home over night. Yoa caa do it aa well as ethers.
Anfti woe a la ymr m wa. SSOeintrrro.
Ucilmn te HSuxctt A Cev. PerUaai, Sla-a.