1. EQ: How did the Gold Rush change California?
California Gold Rush
EQ: How did the Gold Rush change California?

2. Finding Gold
CA populated by Native Americans and Californios, settlers of Spanish or Mexican decent.
John Sutter, a Swiss immigrant, acquired 50,000 acres from Mexico in Sacramento Valley
Sutter asked James Marshall, a carpenter, to build a sawmill
Marshall inspected the canal that brought water to Sutter’s mill and discovered GOLD in

3. Rush for Gold News of Marshall’s discovery of gold spread rapidly
People rushed to the American River
Miners found gold in other rivers flowing from the Sierra Nevada
Young gold seekers (Forty-niners) rushed to make profits
Forty-niners from the east had 3 routes to get to California
18,000 miles around the Pacific Coast (storms, seasick, spoiled food)
Sail to Isthmus of Panama and sail to California (tropical disease)
Across North America (rivers, prairies, mountains, etc.)

4. Life as a Miner
Mining camps began with tents along the river, then wooden buildings for stores and saloons
Life was hard and mining camps were dangerous
Standing in icy water knee-deep
Sifting mud and sand all day to only find small amounts of gold
Exhaustion, Poor food, Disease
High prices for basic supplies
Dealt with Con artist, murders, “accidents”, etc.

5. Conflicts Among Miners
Miners came from around the world
Including Mexicans(Sonora), Europe, Australia, and China
Also included Native Americans, and free and enslaved African Americans
American miners resented Chinese success
Suspicious of food, dress, and customs
Americans began to push foreigners out when easy-to-find gold was gone
Imposed Foreign Miner Tax ($20 a month)
Chinese stopped mining and opened shops, restaurants, and laundries

6. Impact of the gold Rush Migration of people caused economic growth
San Francisco became center for banking, manufacturing, shipping and trade
Sacramento became a productive farming region
Population grew from 400 in 1845 to 35,000 in 1850
Gold Rush ruined Californios
Americans seized property
Customs not respected
Native Americans died from diseases and were hunted and killed
Population went from 150,000 to 58,000
California could apply for statehood (1849)
Problem: if CA was admitted as free state, slave states would be outnumbered.
Admitted in Union in 1850 as a free state (16th free state to 15 slave states)

7. Cause and Effect Thinking Map
Title: Effects of the California Gold Rush
List both short term and long term effects (use a different color for each); and then using two other colors outline the positive or negative effects (Create a key to show what each color means). Finally on the back of your paper write two short paragraphs about the CA gold rush based on the perspective of an Americans and that of a Mexican or Chinese.
1848 -Gold Found in California