California Gold Rush

1
California Gold Rush

• The World Rushed In

2
Paradise in California?

• Lush valleys
• Mild climate
• Vast natural resources including gold!
• People and families came from all over the world
  in search of paradise!

3
Gold Discovered!

• 1848 James Marshall discovered gold on the
  American River
• Near Sutters Fort
• Sutter and Marshall tried to keep it a secret
• News spread around the country and the world
• Discovery confirmed by President Polk

4
The World Rushed In the 49ers

• People came from all around the world
• Traveled by Sea (quick, expensive)
• From Eastern US, 6-8 weeks
• Panama route
• Cape Horn route
• Under 600 - 1,200 per person
• Bugs and disease
• Traveled by Land (slow, cheap)
• From eastern US, 5-6 months
• Sickness
• No water

5
Media

• Media helped spread word
• Newspaper articles
• Advertisements

6
Types of mining

• Panning most popular, inexpensive, simplest
• Rocker place large amounts of dirt and rock
  then add water and rock back and forth
• Long toms long wooden boxes with screens and
  cleats, more efficient than rocker, required
  large amounts of water, divert a stream
• Hydraulic mining pressurized water blasting the
  mountainsides, most destructive to the environment

7
Entrepreneurialism

• Sam Brannan bought up supplies and started
  frenzy Gold has been discovered on the American
  river!
• Levi Strauss copper riveted pants (clothing)
• John Studebaker wagons and automobiles
• Henry Wells and William Fargo banking
• Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) writer

8
No paradise here

• Many people did not find paradise, but quite the
  opposite
• Food and equipment very expensive (law of supply
  and demand)
• Saw the elephant
• Gambling, drinking, murder
• Discrimination against Native Americans
• Exploitation of African Americans
• Discrimination against immigrants
• Vigilantes and hangings

• "Compadre, dont go to the Mines on any account.
  The Mines areloaded to the muzzle with vagabonds
  from every quarter of the globeand gamblers of
  no particular spot and assassins manufactured in
  Hell for the express purpose of converting the
  high-ways and by-ways into theatres of blood!"
  Hugo Reid to Abel Stearns, April 22, 1849

9
Native Americans victims of genocide

• Indians forced off their land
• Some Indians raided miners settlements for
  horses and livestock
• Some became miners
• Population declined from 300,000 in 1848 to only
  50,000 in 1870!
• Bounties (money) paid for Indian scalps and heads
  by local, state, and federal government

10
African Americans Exploitation and Freedom

• 1 of miners
• Enslaved blacks brought to California by their
  masters
• Exploitation forced to work in mines and give
  gold to masters
• Some escaped slavery
• Found freedom in California free state (but not
  fair)
• Less rights Forbidden to testify or serve on
  jury
• Biddy Mason freed slave, helped poor in Los
  Angeles

11
Mexicans

• Largest group of foreign miners from Mexico,
  Chile and Peru
• Treaty of Mexican American war ignored Mexicans
  kicked off their land
• 20 Foreign Miners License Tax in 1850, 2/3 of
  15,000 Mexicans went back to Mexico after
  refusing to pay

12
Chinese

• California known as Gam Saan Gold Mountain
• ¼ of miners
• Pay Foreign Miners Tax
• Discrimination
• Fear of low wages
• Fear of taking gold

13
Women

• Most 49ers were men
• Shortage of women, they were valued
• Made good money
• Cooking
• Cleaning
• Hotels
• Mining
• Entertainers
• Other jobs

14
The California Gold Rush

• The World rushed in to find paradise
• Most people found poverty, not gold many
  returned home with nothing
• Entrepreneurialism law of supply and demand
• Genocide
• Discrimination
• Freedom
• Environmental damage