Peace With Mexico In 1848, the Mexicans signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. They had to cede all of California and New Mexico to the United States. We agreed to pay them $15 million and to respect the rights of Spanish-speaking people in the region. In those days, it was a very common practice in warfare to seize the land of defeated enemies.

As part of the treaty ending the Mexican War, the U. S. paid $15 million for the Mexican Cession.

The U. S., by thoroughly beating Mexico, and seizing control of Mexico City, could have taken much more, but did not for some key reasons. Many Americans, especially northerners, felt the war had not been justified to begin with. If more land was added, it could possibly become slave territory, increasing the power of the South. Most Americans were Protestant Christians, while most Mexicans were Catholic Christians. Historically, there had been problems between people of the different faiths.

The Gadsden Purchase A few years after the Mexican War, the United States purchased from Mexico, a small amount of land in what is now southern Arizona and New Mexico. The land was purchased so potentially, a railroad could be built across the southern part of the country. By 1853, our borders took on their present-day shape, and the idea of Manifest Destiny became a reality, and many Americans rejoiced.

In 1853, $10 million was paid to Mexico for the Gadsden Purchase. The land was desired for a potential Southern trans-continental railroad.

The U. S. now reached From Sea to Shining Sea

Gold in California! While the Mormons were going to Utah, immigrants were on the trail to Oregon, and settlers continued going into New Mexico, people were also were heading to California in huge numbers. Some exciting news from the Sacramento Valley had come out. Gold had been discovered!!!

Gold was first discovered on the American River near the town of Coloma…

When Mexico had owned California, one of the few foreigners they had let in was John Sutter from Switzerland. He was granted 50,000 acres in the Sacramento Valley. He wanted to build an agricultural empire. In 1848, Sutter sent a carpenter named James Marshall to build a sawmill on the American River.

The American River

One day, Mr. Marshall inspected the canal that brought water to Sutters Mill. He later said: My eye was caught by a glimpse of something shining….I reached my hand down and picked it up; it made my heart thump for I felt certain it was gold.

Site of the 1848 California Gold Strike

The news was impossible to keep secret. People excitedly abandoned their regular jobs in nearby San Francisco, and flocked to the gold fields in the Sacramento Valley in hopes of getting rich. Soon gold was also found in the rivers and streams flowing out of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

San Francisco prior to the Gold Rush

San Francisco in 1851

In 1849, 80,000 people from around the world came to the region. They became known as forty-niners.

A 49er who wished to reach California from the East had a choice of 3 routes, all of them which were very dangerous. Almost as dangerous as the throwing combo of Joe Montana to Jerry Rice!!!

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Option #1 Sail 18,000 miles around South America and up the Pacific coast. Dangers faced, included rough storms, seasickness, and spoiled or rotten food.

Option #2 Sail to the narrow Isthmus of Panama, cross overland where you had the chance of catching a deadly tropical disease, and then hoping for a boat to sail on to California.

Option #3 Travel the trails across North America. On the way, you had to brave flooded rivers, prairies, mountains, and the other hardships of the trail.

At first, gold was found near the surface, and you could dig for it with knives. Later, people panned for gold.

Surface Mining

If gold or other important minerals were found, a town might suddenly start growing, whereas a few weeks prior, no one had lived there.

Thousands came to get rich, and often Boom Towns sprang up quickly. If towns were abandoned, they became known as Ghost Towns. The vast majority of people never struck it rich, but many miners stayed and California grew rapidly. Often, people made more money selling supplies to the miners, than people ever made mining for gold.

The denim jeans created by German immigrant Levi Strauss were wildly popular. He is a great example of someone who made money off of the Gold Rush.

San Francisco turned into a major, bustling city, that for decades was the most important city on the West Coast. Its population went from 500 people in 1847 to 150,000 in Today, it is still a major center of banking, trade, and tourism. Its population today is around 800,000 people, with the surrounding metropolitan area numbering in the millions.