[ought-six]

"No it wasn't racially-unified at all. Segregation was the rule of the day."

Not in California. Besides, what I think the poster was alluding to was there were not the wide range of "special interest groups" and "protected classes" and whole segments of the population engaged in "identity politics." We have that now; we didn't have it then. In those days one was an American, regardless of race, creed, ethnicity, religion, gender, etc. Today, however, we are the nation of hyphenates, and the American must have a qualifier that places him or her into a select identity group, somehow separate and distinct from other Americans. That is the start of balkanization, and it has sown the seeds of destruction for every nation and empire that ever fell under its putrid spell.

[RightWhale]

There is some validity to that point of view. However, a major difference between segregation then and now is that while today's segregation is self-initiated for political gain, the old segregation was involuntary on the one segregated. Both segregations are codified. Did somebody say America is a land of philospohers?