Mexican-Amer warUSA gained control of USA gained control of

CaliforniaCalifornia• Mexican-American

War ended

• USA had control over Mexican territories in the West—including California

John SutterJohn Sutter

• Swiss immigrant

• Started a colony—Sutter’s Fort

• Encouraged many American settlers to move West to his colony

Donner PartyDonner PartyDonner Party• Group of western travelers who went to California but were stranded in the Sierra Nevada Mountains during the winter

• 42 of 87 died

Gold in CAGold in CaliforniaGold in California•1848, Sutter’s carpenter, James Marshall, found a piece of gold by a river near Sutter’s

mill.

• Sutter’s other workers found out and quit to search for gold.

Learn more about the discovery of gold: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cbhtml/cbgold.html

Forty-niners• Stories spread and, in 1849, about 80,000 gold-seekers came to California looking for gold

Forty-niners in CaliforniaForty-niners in California

• These gold-seeking migrants to California were called forty-niners.

• Most forty-niners arrived in San Francisco

Learn more about the forty-niners: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cbhtml/cbforty.html

Gold Fever‘‘Gold Fever’Gold Fever’• Many forty-niners did not have mining experience

• They would prospect, or search for gold, along the banks of streams or in shallow surface mines

• The first person to arrive at a sight would

“stake a claim.”

Learn more about the mines: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cbhtml/cbmines.html

MiningMiningMining

• When one ‘gold digger’ abandoned a claim, other people would take over, hoping for success.

• Place miners used pans or other devices to wash gold nuggets out of loose rock and gravel.

• $60 million in gold production in 1853

Life in the Mining CampsLife in the Mining Camps• Most miners were young, unmarried men• Lots of people, supplies limited, prices

rose = inflation

• Value of land increased • Loaf of bread might cost $.05 in the east and $.75 in California

Immigrants to CaliforniaImmigrants Immigrants to Californiato California

• Gold attracted immigrants to California from around the world

• 24,000 Chinese immigrants—they faced much discrimination, yet continued to work in gold mines

• Many immigrants stayed—California is the most populous state today

Impact on CaliforniaImpact on California

• - Many people discriminated against those who looked different (mainly Californios and California Native Americans), and felt they had no right to have the gold

San Francisco Population, 1847-1850

0

10

20

30

1847 1848 1849 1850

Year

Popu

latio

n (in

th

ousa

nds)

•+ Because of the population boom- USA made California the 31st state in 1850

Economic GrowthEconomic Growth• + New businesses and

industries stimulated the economy

• + People found other ways to make a living besides mining--farming and ranching

• - Obstacle to growth: California isolated from rest of country

• Import/export difficult

• + Railroad extended to CA in 1869 to aid import/export

Learn more about the economic growth: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cbhtml/cbrush.html