Western Mining: ( ) –The economic impact of mining changed the face of the West –Miners raced across the continent, hoping to be the first to strike it rich. –Mining opened many new regions in the West to settlement

Western Mining: ( ) –Gold and Silver: ( ) The first promising mining discoveries after the California Gold Rush took place in Colorado. Prospectors found gold near Pikes Peak in late 1858; thousand of people flock to Colorado. The Carson River Valley in present-day Nevada was another center of frantic activity in In addition to Gold, the area contained the famous Comstock Lode, one of the world’s richest silver mines Hispanic miners introduced mining methods that originated in Mexico and South America. –These methods included a mill that separated gold from quartz and the patio process – which used mercury to extract silver from ore

Western Mining: ( ) Northern Ventures: (456) –Russia, which owned Alaska, offered to sell Alaska to the United States –U.S. Secretary of State, William H. Seward, negotiated to purchase Alaska in –Seward believed the price, which came out to less than two cents an acre, was a good deal –Many Americans, however, considered Alaska worthless, ridiculing the purchase as “Seward’s Folly” or “Seward’s Ice Box.” –In 1896, prospectors discovered gold in the Klondike district of Canada’s Yukon Territory – this discovery launched the Klondike Gold Rush –Gold discoveries in Alaska in 1898 and 1902 attracted even more settlers

Life in Mining Communities: ( ) –Mining camps sprang up overnight wherever news of possible wealth brought prospectors together. –Most camps were almost entirely male

Life in Mining Communities: ( ) –The Settlers: (457) Mining camps drew a wide range of settlers: Californios, Chileans, Mexicans, and Peruvians. Also English, Irish and Chinese immigrants At first, life in the mining camps was crude, and comforts were few. Atmosphere in camps was intense competition. Some competition led to discrimination. Most Chinese miners left the Rocky Mountain camps because of such hostile treatment

Life in Mining Communities: ( ) Instability: ( ) –Western mining camps were some of the most violent places in the United States during the late 1800s –Tensions between ethnic groups led to fighting –Gamblers and swindlers swarmed in, and conflicts over claims set off brawls –The absence of law enforcement sometimes led people in mining camps to form vigilante committees to combat theft and violence. –Stability came to the mining camps as they grew into towns. –The camps attracted a host of businesses eager to feed and clothe miners.

Life in Mining Communities: ( ) Instability: ( ) –The few children living in the camps had unique opportunities to earn money: hunted for gold dust, sold fresh food to miners. –One brother and sister earned $800 one summer selling butter and bacon to local miners –With the arrival of more families, many camps turned into permanent communities. –Prosperity brought law and order and the establishment of churches, newspapers, schools, and even theaters and music groups.

Mining as Big Business: ( ) –Mining ore deposits deep below Earth’s surface required resources and technology far beyond the means of the average prospector. –As a result, mining became dominated by large, well-financed companies –Mining companies relied on technological know- how rather than on guesswork or luck.

Mining as Big Business: ( ) –To reach the ore companies used one of two methods: 1.Hydraulic mining: water shot a high pressure ripped away gravel and dirt to expose the minerals beneath. This process devastated the environment. The displaced soil choked rivers and caused flooding 2.Hard-rock mining: involved deep shafts to obtain ore locked in veins of rocks

Mining as Big Business: ( ) –New technology changed the working conditions in the mines. –Laborers: built the tunnels, drilled, and processed ore. The work was dirty. Temperatures deep in the mines sometimes got to 150 degrees –There were: cave-ins, rock falls, and the use of explosives such as dynamite sometimes caused injury or death –William Kelley: was blinded in a mining accident. The Montana Supreme Court ruled that the mining company did not have to pay for William Kelley’s blindness

Mining as Big Business: ( ) –Miners grew dissatisfied with wages and working conditions. –In some communities, miners formed unions. –Unions helped injured miners and the families of miners who had been killed on the job –Unions negotiated with or battled against owners who tried to cut wages.