Gold Rush

Question 1

Describe California in the 1840s?

Answer 1

Before the discovery of gold, California was populated by a small population of Californians

Question 2

When was gold discovered?

Who was it discovered by?

Answer 2

James Marshall discovered gold on January 24, 1848

Question 3

Why were John Sutter and James Marshall upset about finding gold?

Answer 3

John Sutter didn’t want competition that the gold would bring
James Marshall was building a sawmill and he didn’t want the travelers getting in his way

Question 4

What pact did Sutter and Marshall make?

Answer 4

They took a pact that they were going to keep the gold a secret

Question 5

Who was Sam Brannan?

How did he boost the gold rush?

Answer 5

Sam Brannan was a craftsmen.
Before, telling everyone about the discovery of gold, Sam purchased every shovel, pan, and pick axe, that would make him the richest man in San Francisco.
He raced throughout the streets yelling, “Gold,” with a bottle that had flakes of gold in it, this would spark gold fever.

Question 6

When did President Polk validate the existence of gold?

What was the impact of President Polk’s validation of the discovery of gold?

Answer 6

In early December 1848, President Polk confirmed that there was gold.
That would make millions of people leave their jobs, their homes, in order for them to look for gold in California.

Question 7

When was gold fever an epidemic?

Answer 7

Gold Fever became an epidemic by the beginning of 1849 and people were motivated, mostly, young men, by the money that they would have to live a good life.

Question 8

Growth of Cities

Answer 8

(1848-1870)

• Cities grew rapidly in California (San Francisco became a bustling city)
• Cities were continually growing and more and more people were migrating to California, despite the long and difficult journey.
• Many transportation businesses encouraged people to travel to California and many people could travel to and within California by ship, train, or in a horse-drawn state coach, just hoping to get a glimpse of gold

Question 9

Environmental Impacts

Answer 9

• The mining had a very big impact on the environment, such as the process of hydraulic mining (became popular in the 1850s)
• The dams built, in order to supply water, changed the course of rivers.
• The sediment washed away by hydraulic mining clogged river beds and lakes, which threatened the agriculture in the Central Valley
• They had to cut down a lot of trees because of the great deal of timber that the mining industry demanded, in order to build expensive canal systems

Question 10

Murder and Mayhem

Answer 10

• A lot of duels, murders in broad daylight, public hangings, jail breakouts, and vigilantism were happening
• Lack of law enforcement
• There wasn’t any attention to the laws being broken, so civilians had to take the law into their own hands and enforce “justice” as they saw fit

Question 11

Disasters

Answer 11

3 main disasters:

• Shipwrecks: Many came by ship, even though shipwrecks were a commonplace
• Earthquakes: California had a reputation of being the “earthquake capitol”
• Fires: They were a constant threat. They had destroyed parts of San Francisco and other cities

Question 12

Everyday Life and People

Answer 12

• A lot of people who came to California with the ideas of striking it rich eventually abandoned their dreams of gold, and started working as farmers or merchants, relaxing in saloons, or coffee houses and marrying and raising families
• The abandoned ships that were left in the bay were pulled ashore and into stores and buildings in San Francisco due to the great deal of timber that mining had triggered.
• People quickly realized that they couldn’t all be miners, so they had to start businesses, such as restaurants, stores