Editing Earl Warren (section)

===Policies===
[[File:Earl Warren with young miner.jpg|thumb|left|Governor Warren meets a young "gold miner" as part of the California centennials, 1948–1950]]

Warren modernized the office of governor, and state government generally. Like most progressives, Warren believed in [[Efficiency Movement|efficiency]] and planning. During World War II, he aggressively pursued postwar economic planning. Fearing another postwar decline that would rival the depression years, Governor Earl Warren initiated public works projects similar to those of the New Deal to capitalize on wartime tax surpluses and provide jobs for returning veterans. For example, his support of the Collier-Burns Act in 1947 raised gasoline taxes that funded a massive program of freeway construction. Unlike states where tolls or bonds funded highway construction, California's gasoline taxes were earmarked for building the system. Warren's support for the bill was crucial because his status as a popular governor strengthened his views, in contrast with opposition from trucking, oil, and gas lobbyists. The Collier-Burns Act helped influence passage of the [[Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956]], setting a pattern for national highway construction.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Daniel J. B.|last=Mitchell|title=Earl Warren's Fight for California's Freeways: Setting a Path for the Nation|journal=[[Southern California Quarterly]]|year=2006|volume=88|issue=2|pages=205–238|doi=10.2307/41172311|jstor=41172311|doi-access=free}}</ref> In the mid-1940s, Warren sought to implement a state [[universal health care]], but he was unable to pass his plan due to opposition from the medical and business communities.{{sfn|Mitchell|2003|pp=205–206, 219–222}} In 1945, the [[United Nations Charter]] was signed in [[San Francisco]] while Warren was the governor of California.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://governors.library.ca.gov/30-Warren.html|title=Governors of California - Earl Warren|website=governors.library.ca.gov|access-date=September 14, 2019}}</ref> He played an important role in the [[United Nations Conference on International Organization]] from April 25 to June 26, 1945, which resulted in the United Nations Charter.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/uncio.pdf|title=Proceedings of the United Nations Conference on International Organization (April 25, 1945 – June 26, 1945)|website=Library of Congress}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hoover.org/library-archives/collections/united-nations-conference-international-organization-proceedings-1945|title=Proceedings|website=Hoover Institute}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/oral-histories/warren|title=Chief Justice Earl Warren Oral History Interview {{!}} Harry S. Truman|website=www.trumanlibrary.gov|access-date=September 14, 2019}}</ref>

Warren also pursued social legislation. He built up the state's higher education system based on the [[University of California]] and its vast network of small universities and [[Community colleges in the United States|community colleges]].<ref>{{cite journal|first=John Aubrey|last=Douglass|title=Earl Warren's New Deal: Economic Transition, Postwar Planning, and Higher Education in California|journal=[[Journal of Policy History]]|year=2000|volume=12|issue=4|pages=473–512|doi=10.1353/jph.2000.0029|s2cid=154088575}}</ref> After federal courts declared the segregation of Mexican schoolchildren illegal in ''[[Mendez v. Westminster]]'' (1947), Governor Warren signed legislation ending the segregation of American Indians and Asians.<ref>[http://faculty.washington.edu/joyann/EDLPS549Bwinter2008/Wollenberg.pdf Wollenberg, Charles. "Mendez v. Westminster: Race, nationality and segregation in California schools."] California Historical Quarterly 53.4 (1974): 317-332.</ref> He sought the creation of a commission to study [[employment discrimination]], but his plan was blocked by Republicans in the state legislature.{{Sfn|Cray|1997|p=196}} Governor Warren stopped enforcing California's [[anti-miscegenation law]] after it was declared unconstitutional in ''[[Perez v. Sharp]]'' (1948). He also improved the hospital and prison systems.{{sfn|Schwartz|1983|p=18}} These reforms provided new services to a fast-growing population; the 1950 Census showed that California's population had grown by over 50% over the previous ten years.{{Sfn|Cray|1997|pp=168–169}}