3. The California Gold Rush
Chapter 13, Section 4 (p )

4. Forty-Niners People who went to California to find gold Began in 1849
Mostly men

5. A Discovery Changes California
Before 1849
Native Americans
Californios – settlers of Spanish or Mexican descent
Mostly cattle ranchers

6. The Rush for Gold
One month before the Mexican Cession became part of the USA
“My eye was caught be a glimpse of something shining….It made my heart thump for I felt certain it was gold.” ~James Marshall, 1st discoverer
Sparked one of the greatest migrations in US history

7. The Rush for Gold, cont. Travel Options
Sail 18,000 miles around South America and up the Pacific Coast
Storms, Seasickness, Spoiled Food
Sail to Panama, cross overland, and sail to California
Tropical disease in Panama
Travel the trails across North America
Rivers, prairies, mountains, hardships

8. The Gold Seekers 2/3 American
Mexican, European, South American, Australian, Chinese
Chinese miners focused on “played-out” sites
Mined the more difficult-to-find gold
Mining Camps
Exhaustion, poor food, disease
High prices for supplies

9. Impact – Opportunities and Turmoil
Admitted as a free state in 1850
African Americans could not vote
Californios
Few, if any, legal rights
Lost land

10. Native Americans and Foreigners
Thousands died from disease and killed by settlers
Miners’ destruction of the environment affected Native Americans’ survival
Foreigners
Often forced out by Americans to reduce competition
Foreign Miners Tax
$20 per month
Many (Chinese) opened businesses in response

11. Effects of Statehood Economic Government
San Francisco grew to become a center of banking, manufacturing, shipping, and trade
Sacramento became the center of an important farming region
Government
California tipped the balance of slave and free states in the USA

12. Dates
Events
Effects
Westward trails move 1000s to new territories
Austin and others colonize Texas
Texans revolt against Mexico
Native Americans are displaced
Earlier settlers are pushed aside
Republic of Texas is proclaimed
Texas annexed as a slave state
Mexican Cession
War with Mexico
Almost 50% of Mexican territory is acquired by the United States
California Gold Rush
U.S. transcontinental railroad planned
California enters Union as a free state
Gadsden Purchase completes expansion of the United States