1. The California Gold Rush
By Preston Gray and Cary Rakin

2. Background of the Gold Rush
Mill property owner James Marshall discovered gold in the American River on January 24, 1848.
This basically created the California Gold Rush as people from around the world flocked to try and profit from gold
The gold rush created an extremely large population increase as well as an increase in immigration

3. Places to mine gold in California
The California Gold Rush primarily started at Sutter’s Mill, (where James Marshall first discovered it)
Later, citizens that moved West and immigrants mainly stayed in Northern California and parts of the Sierra Nevada Goldfields

4. Forty Niners
In an address to Congress, President James Polk announced on December 5, 1848 that he confirmed there was gold discovered in the American River, this began the trek of the Forty Niners
The Forty Niners were basically the throngs of people that traveled up to Northern California
The Forty Niners consisted of Californians, Mexicans, US citizens, Europeans, and Chinese immigrants
In 1849, 85,000 people migrated to California!

5. Gold Mining Techniques
One of the most common styles of gold mining was hydraulic mining
With hydraulic mining, water was sprayed at clumps of dirt on a conveyer belt, then which separated dirt and gold
This is a great example of the length that the Industrial Revolution had benefited America
Towards the 1880’s, an estimated 11 million ounces of gold (worth around 7.5 billion dollars) had had been recovered by hydraulic mining

6. Profits/Economic Growth
Most of the Forty Niners had made some sort of extreme profit mining gold
Gold went to nearly all purchases from food to any sort of entertainment
A lot of the gold profit helped stimulate the expansion and the development of the West
Gold also stimulated the global economy in the long run as well

7. Conflicts and the Native Americans
Throughout American history, the Native Americans had been constantly pushed back all the way to the West
As the immigrants slowly moved to Northern California, the Native Americans were succumbing to diseases such as smallpox and influenza killing off roughly 85% of their population
Also, a lot of Native Americans would ambush mining facilities, as would miners attack Native villages as well

8. Long Term Effects of the Gold Rush
With the sudden increase in population, California was introduced to statehood on September 9, 1850, after the land was handed over from Mexico during the previous year
California is now known as the Golden State
Emphasized the American Dream and how any immigrant can become successful in America
NFL Football team called the San Francisco 49er’s

9. Fun Facts
In 1854, a 195-pound mass of gold, the largest known to have been discovered in California, was found at Carson Hill in Calaveras County. It cost roughly $109,000!
At one point, eggs (if any) were $3.00 each; whiskey was $16.00 a bottle, pills were $10.00 each without advice, $100 with.
Because of supply and demand, some areas of California reported that a glass of water was nearly 100 dollars!

10. The End
"The California Gold Rush." California's Natural Resources: A Brief History of the Gold Rush. Web. 29 Mar <
"California Gold, Migration." Home. Web. 29 Mar <
"Fun Facts and Interesting Information of the Gold Rush Era." ECashSavers- Home Page. Web. 29 Mar
Google Images/Wikipedia Pictures