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The United States Gold Rush

The United States Gold Rush. 1848-1890’s. John A. Sutter Riches or Rags?.

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The United States Gold Rush

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  1. The United States Gold Rush 1848-1890’s

  2. John A. Sutter Riches or Rags? “Instead of being rich, I am ruined, and the cause of it is the long delay of the United States Land Commission of the United States Courts, through the great influence of the squatter lawyers…but I hope that justice will be done me by the last tribunal —” Excerpt from John Sutter’s Diary.

  3. The “Waves” of riches:Timeline of the Gold Rush • Jan 1848: Gold discovered at Sutter’s new Sawmill on the American River in Coloma California. • March 1848: The Californian runs the story of the discovery which started the first wave of the gold rush. • 1859 Pike’s Peak Gold discovery and hitting “pay dirt” at the Comestock mine. • 1874 Gold discovered in the Black Hills of SD. • US Gov. went back on the Fort Laramie Treaty with the Sioux Indian’s so they could get the gold. • 1896 Gold discovered in Canada’s Yukon Territory.

  4. As the waves of riches expanded, they created huge population shifts. By the late 1890’s most of the mines dried up and the once busy boomtowns became ghost towns. Ghost Town: A suddenly empty town that was once thriving economically. Boomtown: A town that has a sudden burst of economic or population growth. “Did you hear? They found gold in Latham, NY.” “No way…we have to move out there now to look for some.”

  5. Very Few INDIVIDUALS Got Rich…WHY? A letter from a gold miner, Placerville, California, March, 1850 Week 1: $2066 Week 2: $1045 Week 3: $1518 Week 4: $2808 Flour & Pork : $3112 Cheese : $38 Lard & Butter: $4979 Potatoes : $31 Molasses :$249 About $7500 About $8500 Difference of $1000/Month

  6. Evolution of Gold Mining: Individuals To Companies • Companies used… • water cannons to blast away hillsides and expose the gold. • new chemical techniques like mercury washing to recover more metal from the same ground. • deep shafts, over 1000 feet deep, to create underground mines instead of staying on the surface. • paid labor to work the mines so that the owners wouldn’t be exposed to the many dangers. • Panning and sluicing are done at the surface. • Individuals miners didn’t have the money to dig past the surface…so companies moved in. These new methods recovered a lot more gold and silver BUT… they were also very harmful to the environment.

  7. Dangers of Mining • Lung Damage • Cave In’s • Scurvy • Mercury Poisoning

  8. The Gold Rush inspired the belief that people could “Strike It Rich” http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldrush/sfeature/game_swf.html

  9. Homework Write between ½ a page and 1 page to answer the following question: How do the effects of big company mining from the mid 1800s on society and the environment compare with the effects of hydrofracking on today’s society and environment?

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