The California Gold Rush Ch. 13 sec. 4

California Before the Rush populated by 150,0000 Native Americans and 6,000 Californios (settlers of Spanish or Mexican descent) John Sutter owned the land on which gold was discovered James Marshall, a carpenter hired to build Sutter’s Mill, discovered gold in the river that fed the mill in 1848

Rush for Gold Starting in 1849 the forty-niners (someone who went to California to find Gold) raced to the American River this started the California Gold Rush – when large number of people move to a site where gold has been found – in this case the gold found at Sutter’s Mill most gold seekers were young men

Three routes to reach California around South America and up the Pacific Coast risks: storms, seasickness, spoiled food sail to the Isthmus of Panama, cross overland, sail to California risks: deadly tropical disease travel across the trails of North America risks: the hardships of the trail

Life in the Mining Camps camps began as rows of tents and grew into rough wooden building with stores and saloons dangerous violence exhaustion, poor food, and disease damaged the miners health few struck it rich big strikes were rare had to pay high prices for supplies gamblers and con artists were common in the camps

Miners from around the world 2/3 were Americans most were white men from New England some Native Americans, free blacks, and enslaved African Americans thousands of experience miners came from Sonora in Mexico Others came from Europe, South America, Australia, and China by the end of 1851 1 of every 10 immigrants was Chinese patient miners took over abandoned sites and profited from them resented by other miners

Conflicts Among Miners a mix of greed, anger, and prejudice caused some miners to cheat others once easy to find gold was gone Americans wanted to force Native Americans and foreign competitors off the land resulted in the Foreign Miners Act – a $20 tax on miners from other countries most couldn’t pay force many to leave displaced Chinese opened shops, restaurants, and laundries in San Francisco

Impact of the Gold Rush huge migration caused economic growth port of San Francisco was a center of banking, manufacturing, shipping, and trade Sacramento was the center of a productive farming region

Impact of the Gold Rush ruined many Californios newcomers did not respect them, their customs, or their legal rights Americans seized their property

Impact of the Gold Rush Native Americans suffered died of diseased brought by newcomers hunted down and killed by miners who saw them as being in the way of progress population fell from about 150,000 in 1849 to about 58,000 in 1870

Impact of the Gold Rush California is admitted as a free state in 1850 opportunity for some slaves gained freedom when slavery was outlawed created turmoil on a national level no longer a balance of power in the Senate Southerners feared the Northern majority might try to abolish slavery