The Move Westward The 49er’s

Who came to California?

Life on the Mine

The Chinese

There be Gold in Thar Hills

• Mexicans had discovered gold before the famous strike on John Sutter’s Mill

• John Sutter is credited with discovering gold in California but it was really a hired hand named James Marshall

• Gold is discovered in 1848 on Sutter’s sawmill

There be Gold in Thar Hills

• 2 Reasons for the Gold Rush were:• A 16 oz gold nugget is

displayed in the Northeast and leads to immigration towards the west in search of riches

• Whites believe in Manifest Destiny

There be Gold in Thar Hills

• Most 49er’s do not locate gold and strike it rich they expected to pick gold of the ground

• A typical miner locates gold flakes not gold nuggets

• Most tend to give up after a couple of months or end up working for a mining company

Life on a Mining Camp

• Once 49er’s arrived to California they experienced• Disease

• Danger from criminals, Indian attacks and dangerous work

• Hard work and exhaustion

• Uncomfortable conditions

Life on a Mining Camp

• Miners have to contend with high prices, gamblers and criminals

• San Francisco in 1845 had a population of 400 but after gold is found it increases to 32,000 by 1850!

• This lead to the scarcity of items which then lead to unusually high prices for example and egg might cost you $20!!!

Life on a Mining Camp

Who came looking for Gold?

• 2/3 came from the United States from all walks of life. They seek a new beginning based on economic opportunity

• 1/3 come are from South America, Mexico, Europe and China

Who came looking for Gold?

• The Chinese come because they are escaping war, poverty and unemployment

• They expect to strike it rich and return home to buy land and get married, most end up staying here

Who came looking for Gold?

• They transport their culture to California and encounter racism and discrimination

• Hatred is because the Chinese are hardworking and become the scapegoat for American failure during the Gold Rush

• Chinese immigrants take jobs that no American will do like cooking and laundry

Who came looking for Gold?

• The Chinese are attacked by groups called “nativists”

• To keep the Chinese from coming to the United States the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 is passed that prohibits the immigration of Chinese into America

                                                                     

      

                                                                     

      

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Statehood for California

• It becomes a state in 1850

• California enters as a free state in the United States

• California upsets the balance of Congress seats on the side of the Northern states