Chapter 13: Manifest Destiny Section 4: The California Gold Rush

Until 1848 California was populated by 150,000 Native Americans And 6000 Californios (Spanish or Mexican settlers) (When Mexico owned California they didn’t want any American foreigners there) One Swiss immigrant did move there though – John Sutter (3) – who convinced the Mexican governor to give him 50,000 acres of land (for a farm) E

Sutter was having a sawmill built, and one day his carpenter found some gold on the ground. Well, you know what happens next – EVERYONE (thousands) want to come to California to get rich as part of the California gold rush (6). California was a hard place to get to (way out west and over the Rockies) but people still came (mostly young men though). These people are called 49ers because they started their migration (30/44) to California in: 18____ E Moving to a new place

1 ounce of gold: size/weight of one penny today Today: worth about ____ dollars In 1849: worth about ____ dollars (it would take a cabinet maker about 200 hours work to make that much money) E

Why was gold so “magical”/special?

In the mid 1800’s: it was an easy way to get rich - quick Today’s ways to get rich quick: Lottery / Gambling Investments? Steal Sell Drugs E

People came from all over the world About 2/3 were Americans. Also: Native Americans, free Blacks, and even some enslaved African Americans. Some from Mexico. Others from Europe, South America, Australia. Even China (by 1851 10% of the miners were Chinese – and they ended up being some of the best miners). Very few women – it just wasn’t the kind of thing “ladies” did. E

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Living there was NASTY E For one thing, you can guess how men would live if there were never any women around. Miners “camped out” a lot more than they lived in “homes.” Looking for gold was hot, sweaty and dirty work. There was great competition for the best “claims.” And there were always people looking to cheat you, or simply rob you of anything you found. E

How to find gold: Panning Crevicing / Digging E

For fun and entertainment: Bull and bear fights Bear and donkey fights Wrestling Boxing Magic Shows E

By 1852… E The gold rush was mostly over. All the easy gold had been found. The government put a tax on foreign miners – that most of them couldn’t afford There were other gold rushes, but California is the one people hear about the most Montana, Colorado, Alaska, Central/South America E

The gold rush had a huge impact on California – even up to today California (and the San Francisco area became centers of banking, manufacturing, shipping, and trade. Today – if California was it’s own country it would be the sixth richest nation IN THE WORLD (because of all it’s resources and how they’re used) E

Your culture and what you get from your ancestors But even though some good things happened for the U.S. – that doesn’t always mean good things for…. Native Americans Of course – again – they lost a lot of land. Many died from diseases brought by the newcomers. Miners would even hunt them down and kill them sometimes. Or the original Spanish and Mexican settlers. Many lost all their legal rights and their heritage (34 and 45) Many lost all their property. Your culture and what you get from your ancestors E

Enough people did move to California that it could become a state A free state California is home to more than 10 percent of all Americans and a central element in the American cultural fabric. Although more than two-thirds of native-born Americans live in their state of birth, fewer than half of all Californians were born in the state. Rather, California has been an important destination for U.S. internal migration in nearly every decade since 1850. And now there was one more free state than slave states – and that would cause more political turmoil (41 / 46) (people getting upset) E