Transcript The Move Westward

The Move Westward
The 49er’s
Who came to California?
Life on the Mine
The Chinese
There be Gold in Thar Hills
• Mexicans had discovered
gold before the famous
strike on John Sutter’s Mill
• John Sutter is credited with
discovering gold in
California but it was really
a hired hand named James
Marshall
• Gold is discovered in 1848
on Sutter’s sawmill
There be Gold in Thar Hills
• 2 Reasons for the Gold
Rush were:
• A 16 oz gold nugget is
displayed in the
Northeast and leads to
immigration towards
the west in search of
riches
• Whites believe in
Manifest Destiny
There be Gold in Thar Hills
• Most 49er’s do not locate
gold and strike it rich they
expected to pick gold of
the ground
• A typical miner locates
gold flakes not gold
nuggets
• Most tend to give up after
a couple of months or end
up working for a mining
company
Life on a Mining Camp
• Once 49er’s arrived to
California they
experienced
• Disease
• Danger from criminals,
Indian attacks and
dangerous work
• Hard work and exhaustion
• Uncomfortable conditions
Life on a Mining Camp
• Miners have to contend
with high prices, gamblers
and criminals
• San Francisco in 1845 had
a population of 400 but
after gold is found it
increases to 32,000 by
1850!
• This lead to the scarcity of
items which then lead to
unusually high prices for
example and egg might
cost you $20!!!
Life on a Mining Camp
Who came looking for Gold?
• 2/3 came from the
United States from all
walks of life. They
seek a new beginning
based on economic
opportunity
• 1/3 come are from
South America,
Mexico, Europe and
China
Who came looking for Gold?
• The Chinese come
because they are
escaping war, poverty
and unemployment
• They expect to strike it
rich and return home
to buy land and get
married, most end up
staying here
Who came looking for Gold?
• They transport their culture
to California and encounter
racism and discrimination
• Hatred is because the
Chinese are hardworking and
become the scapegoat for
American failure during the
Gold Rush
• Chinese immigrants take
jobs that no American will
do like cooking and laundry
Who came looking for Gold?
• The Chinese are attacked
by groups called
“nativists”
• To keep the Chinese from
coming to the United
States the Chinese
Exclusion Act of 1882 is
passed that prohibits the
immigration of Chinese
into America
•
Statehood for California
• It becomes a state in
1850
• California enters as a
free state in the United
States
• California upsets the
balance of Congress
seats on the side of the
Northern states