Gold Rush!

GOLD!

GOLD!

GOLD!

GOLD!

GOLD!

GOLD!

GOLD!

GOLD!

GOLD!

GOLD!GOLD!

GOLD!

GOLD!

GOLD!

GOLD!

GOLD!GOLD!

GOLD!

GOLD!

GOLD!

What was the Gold Rush? – Period from 1848/49-1858 when hundreds of

thousands of men traveled west to improve their fortunes. (…find gold!)

Prospector -person who scouts out an area in search of gold

Stinky Pete

How did it begin? – January 24, 1848 James Marshall discovers

gold at Sutter’s Mill near Sacramento, CA

• Samuel Brennan– Sparked the Gold Rush of 1849 by publishing an

article about the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill – Became California’s first millionaire by investing in

General Stores that sold goods to miners • His stores made enormous profits by selling as much as

$5,000 ($120,000 today) in goods per DAY to minersGold! Gold!

Gold from the

American River!

Gold! Gold! Gold from the

American River!

1848: CA is largely unsettled• 100,000 Native Americans,

10,000 Mexican Californians “Californios”, 7 Chinese, 2,000 U.S. citizens, and a few hundred Europeans

1849: 100,000 miners travel to CA“49-niners” or “Argonauts”

1850: California became a state• San Francisco’s population

exploded from 1,000 people in 1848 to 25,000 in 1850

Population Timeline

Who were the 49ers?

“San Francisco is a hodgepodge of cities. You can hear all the languages on earth in its streets: Chinese, Norwegian, Russian, and Polynesian. You can see the garb of all the nationalities. There are Chinese with belted black pantaloons and blue blouses, with pigtails down to their knees; a Mexican with his sarape or blanket; the Chilean in his poncho; a Parisian in his smock; an Irishman with coat and crushed felt hat; and the Yankee in his red flannel shirt, heavy boots, and trousers belted at the waist. Cultural diversity remains a Gold Rush legacy.”

-Benjamín Vicuña MacKenna

Discrimination:

http://museumca.org/goldrush/audio/discrimination.html

Groups Discriminated:• African Americans• Chinese • Native Americans• Hispanics

Actions Taken:• Foreign Miners Tax ($20 per month)• Anti-immigration Acts• Physical harm “Society of Hounds”, Extermination• Racism

Mining for Gold TerminologyOre- rock that contains valuable minerals (gold) that can be extracted

Gold deposits exist in 2 forms:1. Placer deposits- when gold is moved as a result of some

type of erosion (wind, water, ice, gravity) – Gold nuggets, small particles, gold dust

2. Lode deposits- place where gold originates (mountains)

Mining for Gold

Mining Placer Deposits:

“Panning”

“Cradles” or

“Rockers”

Mining Lode Deposits:

Did I do that?

“Coal Hill” a.k.a

Mt. Washington

Effects of the Gold Rush1. Population Shifts

• Boomtown: community experiencing a sudden growth in business or population – Ex. San Francisco

• Ghost Towns: former mining towns that became deserted

• Discrimination, lawlessness (rise of outlaws) and death– Vigilantes- someone who takes the law into their own hand

2. Wealth and Poverty • B/t 1848 and 1856 about $465 million worth of gold is taken out

(1st year: $10 million)– ‘Bonanza’ a large find of extremely rich ore (Comstock Lode, NV)

• Business owners are the real winners in the Gold Rush

3. Destruction of the Environment Levi Strauss

“Blue Jeans”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ewmH-n4ScU

1803: Monroe buys the Louisiana Territory 1819: Spain sold Florida for $5million 1836: Marcus and Narcissus Whitman become the first settlers to travel to Oregon in a covered wagon 1838: The Trail of Tears, the Cherokee Nation was forced to give up lands east of the Mississippi and head to present day Oklahoma 1845: Texas becomes the 28th state 1846: Polk agreed to a compromise with Britain at the 49th parallel sharing the Oregon Territory

January, 1848: Gold is discovered at Sutter’s Mill in California which sparked a huge migration of settlers into California

Timeline Key

February 2, 1848: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed at the end of the Mexican War; this gives the U.S. control of New Mexico and California (1861-1865 CIVIL WAR)

1867: William Seward purchases Alaska from the Russians 1869: The First Transcontinental Railroad is completed at Promontory Point, Utah ultimately ending the covered wagon trails 1872: Manifest Destiny, the U.S. mission to spread Democracy and Christianity by expanding the country from coast to coast is coined by John O’Sullivan 1887: The Dawes Severalty Act is passed which calls for the breakup of the reservations and an integration of the Native Americans 1959: Hawaii is admitted as a state