Day 1 of a five-part series. To see the entire series, including all five installments, video and graphics, click here. 

We Americans love to tell stories about ourselves. Californians may be the best ones at it. During his State of the State Address in January, California Gov. Jerry Brown spun a tale that reached all the way back to the first Spanish Missions, through the gold-seeking ’49ers, and up to the founding of Apple.