gold rush

1. The California Gold Rush of
1849

2. Sutter’s Mill
 In January of 1848, James Marshall a
carpenter working for John Sutter,
finds gold in a river near Sutter’s Mill!
Mill= a
factory

3. Sutter’s Mill Location

4. Eureka!
 “I reached my hand down and picked it
up; it made my heart trump, for I was
certain it was gold.” – James Marshall
Eureka= a cry of joy or satisfaction
when one finds or discovers
something.

5. Oro! Oro! Oro!
 After the discovery, Sutter and
Marshall both agreed to keep the
discovery a secret, but when they went
to investigate the next day, they found
a Spanish-speaking Native American
holding a gold nugget shouting “Oro!
Oro! Oro!”

6. Extra! Extra!
 News of the discovery of gold soon
spread across the country like wild fire.

7. Forty-Niners
 A group of 80,000 gold-seekers, called
forty-niner, traveled to California in
hope of striking it rich.
80% of the
49ers were
American.

8. Gold Fever
 “At that time the ‘gold fever’ was contagious,
and few, old or young escaped the malady
[sickness]”

9. Gold Mining Equipment

10. Gold Mining
Gold mining required very strong pants as miners constantly
ripped their pants… so Levis Strauss invented jeans!

11. Gold Mining

12. Chinese immigrants & the Gold
Rush
 The California Gold Rush brought a
large number of Chinese to America.
 They looked for better opportunities
and hoped to become rich.

14. Chinese immigrants
 The Chinese Miners Faced:
 Harsh Working Conditions
 Discrimination

15. The positive effects of the gold rush
 Towns and cities
were charted
 Roads, schools,
and churches were
formed
 Improved
transportation
between California
and the east coast
All of these
developments led to the
statehood of California
on September 9th
, 1850
as the 31st
state.

16. Boomtown - The General Store, Corinne, Boxelder Co., Utah
Boomtowns - towns that grew up near major mining sites
Some boom towns developed into cities, such as
Denver, CO, and Reno, NV.

17. Many of these new towns became abandoned
ghost towns when the ore disappeared.
Silver City, Idaho

19. Trails to the West

20.  It was the only practical,
overland path for entering
the western United States
 The trail was about 2,000
miles
 It would take about 6
months to cross
 Pioneers started the trail
in St. Louis or
Independence, Missouri
 The end of the trail is
Oregon City
What is the Oregon
Trail?

22. • The trip west lasted 5 to 6 months.
• Pioneers began in the spring in order to complete the
trip before winter snows blocked the mountain passes.
• Dangers included:
About 1 out of every 10 pioneers died on the trail from either
disease, overwork, hunger, or accidents.
Disease – Cholera killed more emigrants than anything else
Crossing Rivers with out losing your wagon or drowning
Injuries – Usual no doctors - cuts and broken bones could
become infected
Supply and quality of water
Lack of food – run out and can’t hunt
Wagons braking down on the trail