The California Gold Rush

1. The California Gold Rush By Preston Gray and Cary Rakin

2. Background of the Gold Rush • Mill property owner James Marshall discovered gold in the American River on January 24, 1848. • This basically created the California Gold Rush as people from around the world flocked to try and profit from gold • The gold rush created an extremely large population increase as well as an increase in immigration

3. Places to mine gold in California • The California Gold Rush primarily started at Sutter’s Mill, (where James Marshall first discovered it) • Later, citizens that moved West and immigrants mainly stayed in Northern California and parts of the Sierra Nevada Goldfields

4. Forty Niners • In an address to Congress, President James Polk announced on December 5, 1848 that he confirmed there was gold discovered in the American River, this began the trek of the Forty Niners • The Forty Niners were basically the throngs of people that traveled up to Northern California • The Forty Niners consisted of Californians, Mexicans, US citizens, Europeans, and Chinese immigrants • In 1849, 85,000 people migrated to California!

5. Gold Mining Techniques • One of the most common styles of gold mining was hydraulic mining • With hydraulic mining, water was sprayed at clumps of dirt on a conveyer belt, then which separated dirt and gold • This is a great example of the length that the Industrial Revolution had benefited America • Towards the 1880’s, an estimated 11 million ounces of gold (worth around 7.5 billion dollars) had had been recovered by hydraulic mining

6. Profits/Economic Growth • Most of the Forty Niners had made some sort of extreme profit mining gold • Gold went to nearly all purchases from food to any sort of entertainment • A lot of the gold profit helped stimulate the expansion and the development of the West • Gold also stimulated the global economy in the long run as well

7. Conflicts and the Native Americans • Throughout American history, the Native Americans had been constantly pushed back all the way to the West • As the immigrants slowly moved to Northern California, the Native Americans were succumbing to diseases such as smallpox and influenza killing off roughly 85% of their population • Also, a lot of Native Americans would ambush mining facilities, as would miners attack Native villages as well

8. Long Term Effects of the Gold Rush • With the sudden increase in population, California was introduced to statehood on September 9, 1850, after the land was handed over from Mexico during the previous year • California is now known as the Golden State • Emphasized the American Dream and how any immigrant can become successful in America • NFL Football team called the San Francisco 49er’s

9. Fun Facts • In 1854, a 195-pound mass of gold, the largest known to have been discovered in California, was found at Carson Hill in Calaveras County. It cost roughly $109,000! • At one point, eggs (if any) were $3.00 each; whiskey was $16.00 a bottle, pills were $10.00 each without advice, $100 with. • Because of supply and demand, some areas of California reported that a glass of water was nearly 100 dollars!

10. The End • "The California Gold Rush." California's Natural Resources: A Brief History of the Gold Rush. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. <http://www.ceres.ca.gov/ceres/calweb/geology/goldrush.html>. • "California Gold, Migration." Home. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. <http://www.duke.edu/~agf2/history391/migration.html>. • "Fun Facts and Interesting Information of the Gold Rush Era." ECashSavers- Home Page. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. http://www.ecashsavers.com/sites/goldrush/funfacts.html • Google Images/Wikipedia Pictures