What was happening in America during the early/mid 1800's?

Social Changes - Immigration Growing movement of people to America Britain, Ireland, Germany, China Many ‘Push/Pull Factors’ bring people to America Overcrowding in cities leads to prejudice “The Know-Nothing Party” enjoys brief success

Discovery of gold in California tips the balance of power!

The California Gold Rush John Sutter was a Swiss immigrant to California in 1839 – owned 1000’s of acres, cattle, and many people working for him In late 1847 Sutter hired James Marshall to build a saw mill on the American River to provide lumber for Sutter’s growing ranch

The California Gold Rush On January 24, 1848 with the sawmill almost finished Marshall looked down and …"I reached my hand down and picked it up; it made my heart thump, for I was certain it was gold. The piece was about half the size and shape of a pea. Then I saw another."

California Gold Rush News of the gold was not spread by Sutter or Marshall News was spread by San Francisco merchant Samuel Brannan News spread to the east coast and was published in newspapers

The California Gold Rush Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune: "Fortune lies upon the surface of the earth as plentiful as the mud in our streets. We look for an addition within the next four years equal to at least One Thousand Million of Dollars to the gold in circulation."

The California Gold Rush By 1849 the country was gripped in gold “fever” Farmers left their fields, merchants closed their shops, soldiers left their posts – and all made plans to go to California

The California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush was a mass migration of people from the eastern U.S. and around the world looking for easy riches Called forty-niners, the gold seekers swelled the population of California from 14,000 in 1847 to 225,000 in five years

The California Gold Rush Early miners able to pan for gold along the rivers of northern California – called placer mining Conditions hard in the mining camps – no law, no sanitation, prices for food and supplies very high Cholera, dysentery rampant

The California Gold Rush Towns that started were accurately named Hangtown, Gouge Eye, Rough and Ready, Whiskeytown – places to avoid, if not for the gold Few miners got rich – merchants and service people got rich When mining in the rivers played out, hard rock mining started

San Francisco More than half of the forty-niners came to California by ship – through San Francisco Miners needed supplies, San Francisco was where they were bought

What were the effects on San Francisco?

Effect of Gold Rush on SF Legend spoke that you could walk from here to here without getting your feet wet, due to the number of abandoned ships SF Bay became choked with hundreds of abandoned ships

More Ship Masts Demonstrate the Abandonment in SF Bay

Effects of the Gold Rush American miners forced out Mexicans and Chinese miners to reduce competition, legislature levied a $20/month “foreign miners” tax to discourage miners from other countries. Discouraged Chinese miners moved to San Francisco and formed Chinatown. Native Americans either died from European diseases or were hunted down by miners – In 1870, their population declined from 150,000 in 1860 to 58,000 in 1870.

The Gold Rush upset the delicate balance between free & slave - everyone was affected, and no one was spared from its effects!