The 49er's / the California Gold Rush Flashcards
What instigated the gold rush ?
the gold rush commenced as a man namedJames Marshall discovered gold in the Sierra foot hills in 1848.
Why did this spark the Gold Rush ?
The prospect of gold intrigued those who craved fortune which was a large majority of people considering the insecure economic world at the time. ‘Gold Fever’ spread to places like san Fransisco and Oregon in the west where those whom had completed the Oregon trails had set up lives from themselves and soon spread to the east and to other parts of the world as by the winter of 1848 newspapers had began the publication of stories which detailed people making a fortune from the gold they were able to reap in the Sierra foot hills.
What implication on the population did the gold rush have ?
Tens of thousands of fortune seekers soon flocked to California they were known as the ‘49ers’ . During this time the non-native American population increased by over 200,000.
What was the life of a 49er like ?
the winners tended to erect small shanty towns as once gold was exhausted from one source the winners would move to a new location in the foothills to reap more gold. Due to the poor conditions in these temporary towns the miners were subject to diarrhoea , dysentry and scurvy.
The 49ers were generally poor people as by the time they arrived all the surface level gold had gone thus if any gold was found it was normally in small quantities , plus they spent their money on things like prostitiutes and alcohol or over priced foods and goods which were being sold in shops which had been erected near the claims as they could profit from selling to the fortunate men who had found gold.
There was little law and order in mining towns as they attracted the dregs of society whom were simply working for money, there was no law and order as the government at the time did not send law enforcement officers as they believed that the towns that appeared were only temporary and would soon fold when the gold ran out.
As so many people were flocking to the Sierra foot hills for gold there was soon the problem that there were people battling for the same amount of gold this caused friction and lead to violence and discrimination. Often conflict between rival 49s would result in murder and often foreign nationals that were attracted to California in the hope of finding huge quantities of gold falsely lured by exaggerated articles being circulate by the press were often the victim of racism and injustice. Mexicans were also subject to racism. the extend of racism was most fully exemplified in the rock springs massacre where white miners marched into a town in Wyoming named rock sands and murdered 28 Chinese citizens due to rising racial tensions.
Claim jumping often happened to these foreign nationals such as the Chinese as they were believed to be inferior so the other successful and powerful claim owners found not problem in occupying their claiming.
There were also lots of criminals attracted to gold among these there were con men and violent theres who tricked men out of gold or simply stole it from under their noses.
The 49s often armed themselves with weaponry such as guns this meant conflict could escalate quickly and often ended in shootings.
A mining code was drawn up to establish rules however this was disobeyed and lawlessness continued. the fact that the gold miners often were dependent on alcohol and were drunks also added to the conflicts as the winners were often under the influence of alcohol and thus provoked each other.
How was the gold abstracted ?
The first gold that was abstracted was obtained through panning the beds of streams in the Sierra foot hills , most people could easily attain gold through this method however it was laborious work and often gold could not be unearthed in substantial quantities . By 1852 all the surface level gold had been mined and big companies with machines for drilling the rock moved in . This meant some of the miners began working for these bigger companies and were treat poorly receiving little pay and living in foul conditions with little food.
What was the reality of life in the west like
Life in California / in the west wasn’t as exciting as it had been made out to be through the elaborate statement circulated by the press.
