1. The California Gold Rush
Ch. 13 sec. 4

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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 of every 10 immigrants was Chinese
patient miners
took over abandoned sites and profited from them
resented by other miners

7. 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

8. 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

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

10. 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

11. 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