 January 24, 1848 James Marshall is building a sawmill in the American River in Northern California.  During the sawmills construction Marshall discovers GOLD.  The sawmill was owned by John Augustus Sutter.

 This discovery led to the California Gold Rush, one of the greatest migrations in American History.  Migration- large scale movement of people from one locality to another over a long time.  Thousands from all over the world poured into California to make their fortunes.  Miners found gold in many streams in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  It was estimated that there was enough gold to pay for the War with Mexico 100 times over.

 With news of the discovery of Gold, gold seekers came to California to make their fortunes.  Three Routes 1. Sail 18,000 miles around South America and up the Pacific coast.  Enduring storms, seasickness and spoiled food.

2. Sail to the narrow Isthmus of Panama, cross overland and the sail to California  Risk catching a deadly tropical disease

3. Travel the trails across North America and all the Hardships of the Trail  Braving rivers, prairies, mountains, storms, drought, etc.

 2/3s were American, most were young men (women were rare in CA)  Native Americans  Free and enslaved blacks  Chinese  By in 10 immigrants was Chinese.  Most Chinese miners were peasant farmers who fled hardships in China.  The Chinese would often take over sites that American miners had left because the easy gold was gone  Their hard work, strange customs and increasing numbers cause resentment by American miners.  Mexicans  Thousands of experienced miners came from Sonora, Mexico  South Americans  Australians  Europeans

 Most miners found little gold.  The majority of people that became wealthy became rich through other methods.  Selling supplies, opening hotels and restaurants, and other service industries  Exhaustion, poor food, and diseases of all kinds damaged the miner’s health.

 By ,000 people had migrated to California  California became a free State in  It banned Slavery but did not give Blacks the right to vote.  This freed all the Slaves living in California  Ex. Nancy Gooch became free, worked to buy her children in Missouri, and bought Sutter’s sawmill

 In 1849 there was about 6,000 Californios  People of Spanish or Mexican Decent  Most were cattle Ranchers  The 49ers did not respect Californios legal rights and took their property.  Mariano Vallejo was a member of one of the oldest Spanish families in America.  He owned 250,000 acres of land with California statehood he lost all but 300 acres of his estate.  However, Californios still play an important role in California culture today.

 In 1849 the was over 150,000 Native Americans  By 1870 the Native American population had fallen to about 58,000  Thousands died from diseases brought by 49ers.  Settlers killed thousands more.  49ers forced Native Americans out of the mines  49ers altered or destroyed Native American Homelands  Rivers and waterways were diverted and polluted.  Hunting grounds were taken over by the settlers

 Americans resented foreign miners and would force them out to reduce competition.  Mexicans and Chinese were forced out of the Gold mines to reduce competition  This increased after California Statehood in 1850  California Legislature passed a Foreign Miners Tax  Most of these foreign miners couldn’t afford the $20 a month, so they left.  Chinese as a result opened shops, restaurants, and laundries in areas that still today are called Chinatowns.

 San Francisco became a center of banking, manufacturing, shipping, and trade.  San Francisco population grew from 400 in 1845 to 35,000 in  Sacramento became a center of the Farming Region in Northern California, since there was a demand for food.  The population explosion created huge demand for water, (since water was used to pan for gold) and 49ers created the complicated water system.

 California’s statehood created National problems it caused an imbalance between free and slave state  Southern States feared slavery would be banned.  Conflict over this issue would threaten the survival of the U.S.

 Describe three options a person from the east had to travel to California. What were the potential dangers of each route?  Describe the effect the California Gold Rush had on California. Think about state growth, Native Americans, Californios, Chinese, etc.