America 1835-1900 Learning Objective To evaluate to what extent the discovery of gold influenced movement west in the USA. Targeting Assessment Objectives AO1 and AO2

Success Criteria • To recall the most significant gold rushes. • To describe how gold influenced movement west. • To assess the impact of the on the growth of the USA. Ka-Ching! Gold has a special place in the imagination of people around the world. With a partner, come up with a list of descriptive words for this precious metal. The Gold Rush A gold rush occurs when gold is found in an area. Miners, prospectors and others all rush to the area to gather the precious material. A small amount of gold could make a person rich, meaning that many people would be attracted by the hope of changing their lives. Gold rushes had occurred in the eastern states of the USA before 1830. North Carolina had seen a small rush in the 17th century and Georgia struck gold in late 1829. The of Georgia were forced away from their traditional lands by the rush, with 20% of the Cherokee losing their lives in the following , (see lesson 1 for more information on this).

Source 1 The news got abroad, and such excitement you never saw. It seemed within a few days as if the whole world must have heard of it, for men came from every state I had ever heard of. They came afoot, on horseback and in wagons, acting more like crazy men than anything else. All the way from where Dahlonega now stands to Nuckollsville there were men panning out of the branches and making holes in the hillsides. Benjamin Parks, ‘Atlanta Constitution’, 1894

Explain what this source tells us about the Georgia gold rush on your Activity Sheet. The California Gold Rush As gold became scarce in Georgia, it was discovered in California. This territory had been added to the USA following the Mexican-American war in 1847. Gold was discovered by a carpenter in the hills in 1848. At this time, California was inhabited by Indigenous peoples and a small number of farmers who had followed the Oregon and California trails to make a new life for themselves. The discovery of gold led to one of the largest gold rushes in history and brought thousands of people to California from all around the world. The rush led to some people becoming very rich; in 1852 alone, $80 million worth of gold was discovered. The biggest single haul was shared between the Murphy brothers, John and Daniel. They managed to mine $1.5 million of gold – that would be the equivalent of about $40 million today! An International Event The first miners to descend on California were Americans from states such as Georgia, (where many gold miners lived already), and Oregon, where two-thirds of healthy men were said to move to California to mine! It was not only white Americans who came. Indigenous peoples, (including Cherokee who had learned to mine gold during the Georgia gold rush), ex-slaves and Latinos from Mexico and Central American came too. These groups were followed by fortune-hunters from , Russia, China and Australia. Most countries in the world had people who travelled to California to join the rush.

In groups of five, read one information sheet each on a person who moved to California during the gold rush. When you have read your own sheet and answered the questions about it, use your findings to teach the rest of your group about people from this period. How Did People Mine? Individuals would often pan for gold. They would use a metal pan with small holes in it, gather up sediments and water from a river and shake the pan around. The water would leak out of the holes in the bottom and small flakes of gold, (if the prospector was lucky), would fall to the bottom as gold is heavier than other materials. Rocker boxes were later used. These boxes sped up the process of panning as they contained a mechanism that would rock the sediment back and forth with a box that could hold more sediment than a pan. As companies started to form to mine the gold on a larger scale, they used . This process used jets of water to blast away the sides of rock faces, exposing the gold within. Later, dynamite was used to blast huge sections of rock away from a hillside so that miners could access the seams within.

Use your activity sheet to describe each method next to the appropriate pictures of mining techniques. Environmental Impact is a destructive activity. As thousands began to fill California, their impact on the local environment was devastating. Hydraulic mining destroyed huge swaths of California’s land. As hillsides were hosed with water they were eroded and broken down. The resulting loose rock and sediment would cover farmland and kill crops. The water used led to floods. River courses were changed to supply the mines and to support the huge number of miners. Mining also demanded a large amount of wood to make mining equipment and build the booming mining towns. Trees were destroyed across California, including the giant sequoia. The source here shows 36 people dancing on the stump of one such tree. The environmental damage affected Indigenous populations and earlier settlers such as farmers. The devastation caused by hydraulic mining during this period led to its ban under American law in future decades.

Use this information to describe two ways in why the environment was damaged by the California gold rush. The Growth of California

1848: 1848: gold 1850: influx 1850: 1852: population discovered of 300 000 California population 50 000 people becomes a 250 000 state The Growth of California

Immigration from eastern states, Europe, New towns: Los Angeles and Australia, etc. San Fransisco

Businesses: shops, saloons, Influx of people banks, brothels

Asian immigration

Trade for goods Mining sites with China

Pacific Railroad African American Indigenous population connects east and west immigration The Growth of California California was more cosmopolitan than in the east, with African Americans, Indigenous people, white Americans and Chinese people living side by side. The culture of California became more diverse and liberal than the conservative east, although things were not always harmonious; racism against African Americans and Chinese people was particularly prevalent.

Use your activity sheet to analyse the influence of the California gold rush on the settlement of the west. The 1874 saw a new gold rush begin, this time in the Black Hills region of Dakota Territory. This gold rush was sparked in part by the urging of General George Armstrong Custer. Custer had been on military duty in Dakota when he sent word back east that gold had been discovered. He overplayed his case a little, stating that the area was full of gold. Many people did make a fortune, but this gold rush would further anger the Sioux who were already participating in the Great Sioux War.

In pairs, take on the role of either Custer or Sitting Bull. Read the information on your card and use this to write a speech that outlines your character’s view of the gold rush in the Black Hills. Continuum Think about this statement:

‘The California gold rush was the most important factor in the settlement of the western .’

If you totally agree with a statement, move to the right side of the room. If you totally disagree with the statement, move to the left. If you partially agree or disagree, move to an appropriate space in-between.

Be ready to explain why you are standing in the position you have chosen.