The passage shows that Californian politics, and in particular, political advancement methods, were not wholly bound by law as they are now.
Governmental institutions and government control was weaker at that time, so it was difficult to enforce the law consistently. Because of it, people did not have a strong commitment to following legal paths for advancement. Revolutions and rebellions were more effective in seizing power than political campaigns, and there were few negative repercussions for those who chose that method.
It is a printing press that is being shown, a form of machinery invented by Johannes Gutenberg around 1440 which was based around already invented screw presses. Here, a company, perhaps book or newspaper related, is busy using the printing press to making multiple copies of the same text again and again.
Answer:
to use the states as "laboratories" for new ideas and programs
boom baby
dont quote me on that tho
This is what i found. hope this helps!