New Settlers

 The discovery of gold on John Sutter’s land brought over 200,000 people to CA  Forty-niners: those who arrived in CA seeking gold in 1849  By 1848, $6 million in gold was taken from the American River in CA

People left their farms and their jobs to seek GOLD! 80% of forty-niners were American; others were from Mexico, South America, Europe, Australia, and China They travelled via the Oregon Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, and then through the Sierra Nevada mountain range

 Hispanic-Californians were made citizens by the Treaty of Guadalupe  Land Law of 1851: Californios had to prove their claims to land in CA. Many lost to new settlers in court.

 Boomtowns: new communities that sprung up almost overnight  Cities and businesses flourished ◦ Merchants made huge profits ◦ Levi Strauss: made pants out of denim (Levi’s)  Gold Rush nearly doubled world’s supply of gold, but most miners found little or no gold ◦ Very few achieved lasting wealth; some gambled it away

 Little to no women  No police force or prisons  Robberies and murder are serious threats to these communities  Vigilantes: those who acted as police, judge, jury, and sometimes executioner in place of officials

 Agriculture, trade, and shipping expanded to meet miners’ need  California applied for statehood in 1850, and was let into union 6 months later  California’s population soared: ◦ 1848: 20,000  1852: 220,000

 Mormons: members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints  Joseph Smith founded the church in 1830  Brigham Young took over as head and moved them to the Great Salt Lake, UT in 1846 (Deseret)  They believed in: ◦ Common property ◦ Polygamy