California Gold Rush.docx

California Gold Rush.docx

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CaliforniaGoldRush

CaliforniaGoldRush

FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

HistoryofCalifornia

To1899

GoldRush（1848）

USCivilWar（1861-1865）

Since1900

Maritime

Railroad

Highways

Slavery

LosAngeles

Sacramento

SanDiego

SanFrancisco

SanJose

SailingtoCaliforniaatthebeginningoftheGoldRush

TheCaliforniaGoldRush（1848–1855）beganonJanuary24,1848,whengoldwasdiscoveredbyJamesWilsonMarshallatSutter'sMill,inColoma,California.[1]Newsofthediscoverysoonspread,resultinginsome300,000men,women,andchildrencomingtoCaliforniafromtherestoftheUnitedStatesandabroad.[2]Ofthe300,000,approximately150,000arrivedbyseawhiletheremaining150,000arrivedbyland.

AroundthebeginningoftheGoldRush,Mexicanlawswerenolongerineffect,buttherewasverylittlelawregardingpropertyrightsastheUShadjusttakenoverCalifornialand.Thus,Californiawasforcedtoquicklydevelopvariousinstitutions.Thesolutiontothepropertyrightsproblemwasafirst-come-first-servebasiswiththerighttoclaimjumponabandonedsites.

Theearlygold-seekers,called"forty-niners,"（asareferenceto1849）traveledtoCaliforniabysailingboatandincoveredwagonsacrossthecontinent,oftenfacingsubstantialhardshipsonthetrip.WhilemostofthenewlyarrivedwereAmericans,theGoldRushattractedtensofthousandsfromLatinAmerica,Europe,Australia,andAsia.Atfirst,theprospectorsretrievedthegoldfromstreamsandriverbedsusingsimpletechniques,suchaspanning.Moresophisticatedmethodsofgoldrecoverydevelopedwhichwerelateradoptedaroundtheworld.Atitspeak,technologicaladvancesreachedapointwheresignificantfinancingwasrequired,increasingtheproportionofcorporatetoindividualminers.Goldworthbillionsoftoday'sdollarswasrecovered,whichledtogreatwealthforafew.However,manyreturnedhomewithlittlemorethantheyhadstartedwith.

TheeffectsoftheGoldRushweresubstantial.SanFranciscogrewfromasmallsettlementtoaboomtown,androads,churches,schoolsandothertownswerebuiltthroughoutCalifornia.Asystemoflawsandagovernmentwerecreated,leadingtotheadmissionofCaliforniaasafreestatein1850aspartoftheCompromiseof1850.

Newmethodsoftransportationdevelopedassteamshipscameintoregularserviceandrailroadswerebuilt.Thebusinessofagriculture,California'snextmajorgrowthfield,wasstartedonawidescalethroughoutthestate.However,theGoldRushalsohadnegativeeffects:

NativeAmericanswereattackedandpushedofftraditionallands,andgoldminingcausedenvironmentalharm.

Contents

[hide]

▪1History

▪2Forty-niners

▪3Legalrights

▪4Developmentofgoldrecoverytechniques

5Profits

5.1Pathofthegold

6Effects

6.1Immediateeffects

6.2Long-termeffects

▪7Geology

8Seealso

8.1CaliforniaGoldRush

8.1.1Songs

8.2California

8.3Goldrushes

8.4EarlyUSmining

▪9Notes

▪10References

▪11Furtherreading

▪12Externallinks

[edit]History

CaliforniagoldfieldsintheSierraNevadaandnorthernCalifornia

TheGoldRushstartedatSutter'sMill,nearColoma.[3]OnJanuary24,1848JamesW.Marshall,aforemanworkingforSacramentopioneerJohnSutter,foundpiecesofshinymetalinthetailraceofalumbermillMarshallwasbuildingforSutter,alongtheAmericanRiver.[4]MarshallquietlybroughtwhathefoundtoSutter,andthetwoofthemprivatelytestedthefindings.ThetestsshowedMarshall'sparticlestobegold.Sutterwasdismayedbythis,andwantedtokeepthenewsquietbecausehefearedwhatwouldhappentohisplansforanagriculturalempireiftherewereamasssearchforgold.[5]However,rumorssoonstartedtospreadandwereconfirmedinMarch1848bySanFrancisconewspaperpublisherandmerchantSamuelBrannan.ThemostfamousquoteoftheCaliforniaGoldRushwasbyBrannan;afterhehadhurriedlysetupastoretosellgoldprospectingsupplies,[6]BrannanstrodethroughthestreetsofSanFrancisco,holdingaloftavialofgold,shouting"Gold!

Gold!

GoldfromtheAmericanRiver!

"[7]Withthenewsofgold,manyfamiliestryingtheirluckatCalifornianfarmingdecidedtogoforthegold,becomingsomeofCalifornia’sfirstminers.

Atthistime,CaliforniawasnotastateoftheUnion,butratherpartofthestateofAltaCaliforniainMexico.Shortlyafterward,thisregionandtherestofAltaCaliforniawascededtotheU.S.aftertheendoftheMexican-AmericanWarwiththesigningoftheTreatyofGuadalupeHidalgosignedonFebruary2,1848.

OnAugust19,1848,theNewYorkHeraldwasthefirstmajornewspaperontheEastCoasttoreportthattherewasagoldrushinCalifornia;onDecember5,PresidentJamesPolkconfirmedthediscoveryofgoldinanaddresstoCongress.[8]Soon,wavesofimmigrantsfromaroundtheworld,latercalledthe"forty-niners,"invadedtheGoldCountryofCaliforniaor"MotherLode."AsSutterhadfeared,hewasruined;hisworkersleftinsearchofgold,andsquattersinvadedhislandandstolehiscropsandcattle.[9]

SanFranciscohadbeenatinysettlementbeforetherushbegan.Whenresidentslearnedaboutthediscovery,itatfirstbecameaghosttownofabandonedshipsandbusinesseswhoseownersjoinedtheGoldRush,[10]butthenboomedasmerchantsandnewpeoplearrived.ThepopulationofSanFranciscoexplodedfromperhaps1,000[11]in1848to25,000full-timeresidentsby1850.[12]Aswithmanyboomtowns,thesuddeninfluxofpeoplestrainedtheinfrastructureofSanFranciscoandothertownsnearthegoldfields.Peoplelivedintents,woodshanties,ordeckcabinsremovedfromabandonedships.[13]Wherevergoldwasdiscovered,hundredsofminerswouldcollaboratetoputupacampandstaketheirclaims.WithnameslikeWhiskeyJar,RoughandReady,JackassGulch,Hangtown,andHell'sHalfAcre,eachcamptypicallyhaditsownsaloonandgamblinghouse.[14]

RoutestoCaliforniain1849

Inwhathasbeenreferredtoasthe"firstworld-classgoldrush,"[15]therewasnoeasywaytogettoCalifornia;forty-ninersfacedhardshipandoftendeathontheway.Atfirst,mostArgonauts,astheywerealsoknown,traveledbysea.FromtheEastCoast,asailingvoyagearoundthetipofSouthAmericawouldtakefivetoeightmonths,[16]andcoversome18,000nauticalmiles（33,000km）.AnalternativewastosailtotheAtlanticsideoftheIsthmusofPanama,totakecanoesandmulesforaweekthroughthejungle,andthenonthePacificside,towaitforashipsailingforSanFrancisco.[17]TherewasalsoarouteacrossMexicostartingatVeracruz.Manygold-seekerstooktheoverlandrouteacrossthecontinentalUnitedStates,particularlyalongtheCaliforniaTrail.[18]Eachoftheserouteshaditsowndeadlyhazards,fromshipwrecktotyphoidfeverandcholera.[19]

Tomeetthedemandsofthearrivals,shipsbearinggoodsfromaroundtheworld-porcelainandsilkfromChina,alefromScotland-pouredintoSanFranciscoaswell.[20]UponreachingSanFrancisco,shipcaptainsfoundthattheircrewsdesertedandwenttothegoldfields.ThewharvesanddocksofSanFranciscobecameaforestofmasts,ashundredsofshipswereabandoned.EnterprisingSanFranciscansturnedtheabandonedshipsintowarehouses,stores,taverns,hotels,andoneintoajail.[21]Manyoftheseshipswerelaterdestroyedandusedforlandfilltocreatemorebuildablelandintheboomtown.

MerchantshipsfillSanFranciscoharborin1850or1851.

Withinafewyears,therewasanimportantbutlesser-knownsurgeofprospectorsintofarNorthernCalifornia,specificallyintopresent-daySiskiyou,ShastaandTrinityCounties.[22]Discoveryofgoldnuggetsatthesiteofpresent-dayYrekain1851broughtthousandsofgold-seekersuptheSiskiyouTrail[23]andthroughoutCalifornia'snortherncounties.[24]SettlementsoftheGoldRushera,suchasPortugueseFlatontheSacramentoRiver,sprangintoexistenceandthenfaded.TheGoldRushtownofWeavervilleontheTrinityRivertodayretainstheoldestcontinuouslyusedTaoisttempleinCalifornia,alegacyofChineseminerswhocame.WhiletherearenotmanyGoldRusheraghosttownsstillinexistence,thewell-preservedremainsoftheonce-bustlingtownofShastaisaCaliforniaStateHistoricParkinNorthernCalifornia.[25]

GoldwasalsodiscoveredinSouthernCaliforniabutonamuchsmallerscale.Thefirstdiscoveryofgold,atRanchoSanFranciscointhemountainsnorthofpresent-dayLosAngeles,hadbeenin1842,sixyearsbeforeMarshall'sdiscovery,whileCaliforniawasstillpartofMexico.[26]However,thesefirstdeposits,andlaterdiscoveriesinSouthernCaliforniamountains,attractedlittlenoticeandwereoflimitedconsequenceeconomically.[26]

AttackbyNativeAmericansonminers'settlement

By1850,mostoftheeasilyaccessiblegoldhadbeencollected,andattentionturnedtoextractinggoldfrommoredifficultlocations.Facedwithgoldincreasinglydifficulttoretrieve,Americansbegantodriveoutforeignerstogetatthemostaccessiblegoldthatremained.ThenewCaliforniaStateLegislaturepassedaforeignminerstaxoftwentydollarspermonth,andAmericanprospectorsbeganorganizedattacksonforeignminers,particularlyLatinAmericansandChinese.[27]Inaddition,thehugenumbersofnewcomersweredrivingNativeAmericansoutoftheirtraditionalhunting,fishingandfood-gatheringareas.Toprotecttheirhomesandlivelihood,someNativeAmericansrespondedbyattackingtheminers.Thisprovokedcounter-attacksonnativevillages.TheNativeAmericans,out-gunned,wereoftenslaughtered.[28]Thosewhoescapedmassacresweremanytimesunabletosurvivewithoutaccesstotheirfood-gatheringareas,andtheystarvedtodeath.Novelistandpoet