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

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