LESSON 71: The California Gold Rush & Chinese Immigration

LESSON 71: The California Gold Rush & Chinese Immigration

Today we will explain the reasons for Chinese immigration during the California Gold Rush using a reading selection.

Today we will respond through Pear Deck the reasons for Chinese immigration during the California Gold Rush.

What were some reasons for Chinese immigration during the California Gold Rush?

DO NOW:

It Matters Because

The Gold Rush encouraged people to move to California in the mid 1800s. This incredible population growth led to California becoming a state in 1850. 

Open Ended

List one feature of the California Gold Rush.

STAAR VOCABULARY

California Gold Rush

Chinese Immigrants

History of California

The remote region of California was originally settled by the Spanish in the 1700’s. The main economic activity was cattle ranching. There were many Catholic missions that ministered to native populations throughout the state as well.  It was sparsely populated with only from 8,000 to 12,000 people of Spanish descent called “Californios” living there by the time of the Mexican War. Americans living there declared independence during the “Bear Flag Revolt” at the start of the war. An American army and small fleet defeated the Mexican forces there in 1847 and took control of the state. It was formally purchased by the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. It achieved statehood in 1850.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best completes the diagram above?

• Slaveholding state

• Bordered by the Pacific

• Formerly part of Mexico

• Dependent on heavy industry

Multiple Choice

What is the name given to the belief that the United States had the right and duty to expand across the North American continent?

• Manifest destiny 
• Monroe Doctrine 
• Great Awakening 
• Louisiana Purchase

The "Forty-Niners"

In 1848 gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill, near present-day Sacramento. News quickly got out to the world and prompted thousands of people to make the long and treacherous journey to California in order to strike it rich. The California Gold Rush was on. People had to get there by sailing the long journey around the southern tip of South America, or by crossing the continent on foot. These men became known as “Forty-Niners” because of the year they arrived in California.

Gold Mining Effects

Gold mining was difficult work. Miners spent days knee-deep in icy streams sifting though tons of gravel searching for gold nuggets. Exhaustion, poor nutrition, and diseases cost men their health. Miners had to pay high prices for goods. Crime was extremely high and there was very little law and order. As a result, very few miners struck it rich, but most stayed in California and found other work.  

Multiple Choice

What effect did the mining technique described in this excerpt have on the local environment?

• Rivers became filled with sediment.

• Reduced flooding led to an increased reliance on irrigation

• Forests were clear-cut, and the timber was used to line tunnels and shafts

• Farmland benefited from a change in soil composition

Chinese Immigration

Thousands of miners also came from Mexico, Europe, Australia, South America, and China. The Chinese workers were peasants trying to escape crop failures. By 1851, one out of ten immigrants were Chinese. Chinese immigrants were sometimes discriminated against, but they remained a solid source of labor in the American west and a permanent part of American culture. They proved to be invaluable in constructing the Transcontinental Railroad by digging tunnels through the mountains and laying railroad track. The first “Chinatown” in America was in the city of San Francisco. 

 

Quickly, the population of California exceeded the 60,000 requirement of the Northwest Ordinance.  

Multiple Select

What are the key words for Chinese immigrants?

• gold

• potato famine

• annexation

• railroads

Multiple Choice

When a territory gained _______ free adult people, it could write a Constitution and apply to the U.S. government to become a state

• 5,000

• 50,000

• 60,000

• Any number of