The California Gold Rush

When: On January 24, 1848, James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill in northern California.

By 1849, people from all over America and the world were racing to California.

Known as Forty-Niners (people that came to California looking for gold)

Traveled to CA 3 ways:

Sail 18,000 miles around South America risking storms, sea sickness and spoiled food

Sail to the Isthmus of Panama, cross over by land and continue sailing to CA (but they had to risk catching tropical diseases)

Travel across the U.S. over mountains and rivers (took 4-5 months and very dangerous)

2/3 of Forty-niners were white Americans; 1/3 were Native Americans, free African Americans, slaves and immigrants from Europe and China

Few of them actually found gold

Had to pay high prices for supplies (People made more money selling supplies than from finding gold)

The Effects of the California Gold Rush

California became a state

1. By 1849, 80,000 people had migrated, or moved, to California

2. It applied for and became a free state in 1850

3. This would upset the balance of power in Congress and lead to sectional conflict between the North (free states) and South (slave states)

Developed several major cities

1. San Francisco became a major port city and the center of trade, manufacturing and banking for the West

2. Sacramento (the site where Marshall discovered gold) grew into a booming city and became the capitol of California

Brought immigrants from all around the world

1/10 of all immigrants were Chinese

They opened shops, restaurants and laundries in Chinatown (in San Francisco)

They faced discrimination throughout the Gold Rush

California passed the Foreign Miners’ Tax

placed a $20/month tax on all foreign miners (specifically directed at the Chinese)

Negative Effects

Several Californios, settler of Spanish or Mexican descent, had their land taken away from them; their legal rights were ignored by the state of California.

Hundreds of Native Americans were either killed or died from diseases brought by the forty-niners (150,000 to 58,000).

“Early in January of 1849 we first thought of emigrating to California. It was a period of national hard times and we being financially involved in our business interests near Clinton, Iowa, longed to go to San Francisco and “pick up” gold enough with which to return and pay off our debts… Some half dozen families of our neighborhood joined us and probably about 25 persons constituted our band.” –Catherine Smith’s Diary 1849

1. Why did Catherine Smith’s family go to California in 1849?

2. Citing evidence from the text, what does the passage indicate regarding the economic situation in the east- in particular Clinton, Iowa?

3. What are THREE ways the Gold Rush changed California? (Use your notes)