CH. 12-Manifest Destiny #4 (California Gold Rush)

The Gold Rush

• 1848-James Marshall discovered gold on Sutter's Mill in California

• thousands headed west

• "forty-niners"-miners who traveled to California seeking gold in 1849

• Exhaustion, poor food, & disease all damaged the miners’ health

• few miners grew rich from gold itself (they sold land, tools, food)

Multiple Choice

When prospectors struck gold, they yelled “Eureka!” Eureka is an ancient Greek word that means ________.

• "I'm rich!"

• "The world is mine!"

• "Victory!"

• "I have found it!"

Multiple Choice

What is the atomic symbol for gold?

• Gd

• Gl

• Au

• Ex

Gold Rush Cont.

• About 2/3 of "forty-niners" were Americans

• others came from Europe, South America, Australia, and China

• by 1852 the "gold rush" was over

• 250,000 people came to California

• This huge migration caused economic growth that changed California permanently

Multiple Choice

Mad Mule Gulch, Hangtown, and Coyote Diggings were all—

• mining camps

• mining tools

• California cities

• famous "forty-niners"

EFFECTS OF THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH

The gold rush provided an opportunity for new lifestyles and increased wealth, but it did not have a positive impact on everyone. Many people who had long lived in California found their livelihoods destroyed. Californios had thrived on California’s abundant farmland and prosperous ranchos. Newcomers to the area did not respect Californios’ customs or legal rights, and in some cases they seized Californios’ property. In addition, thousands of Native Americans died at the hands of gold miners or from the diseases that they and other settlers brought into the region.

Multiple Choice

In 1873, a man named ______ wanted to sell sturdy pants to miners. He made his pants out of the strongest fabric he could buy—cotton denim. He reinforced the pockets with copper rivets so that they could hold heavy tools without ripping.

• I.B. Gilman

• Louise Clappe

• Levi Strauss

• Mariano Vallejo

State of California

• San Francisco became a center of banking, manufacturing, shipping, & trade

• Sacramento became the center of a productive farming region

• California became a free state on September 9, 1850

• part of Compromise of 1850

• capital is Sacramento

Multiple Choice

While the poppy is the state flower of California, its state bird is the _______.

• quail

• condor

• falcon

• seagull

Quails can only fly a short distance & have a lifespan of 2-3 years.

STATEHOOD FOR CALIFORNIA

Many American territories waited years before achieving statehood, but not California. With its population booming and lawlessness plaguing its mining camps, California needed a strong government right away. Since it now easily met the population requirements, many people felt that it was time for California to become a state.

In 1849, territory leaders met at a convention in Monterey to draft a constitution and to make a plan to petition the federal government for statehood. California’s first constitution prohibited slavery. However, it did not grant civil rights to all of the state’s nonwhite or female populations.

Multiple Choice

In 1849, Californians sought statehood and, after heated debate in the U.S. Congress arising out of the slavery issue, California entered the Union as a free, nonslavery state with the Compromise of 1850. California became the ____ state on September 9, 1850.

• 25th

• 29th

• 31st

• 33rd

Multiple Choice

What is California's nickname?

• "land of opportunity"

• "the ocean state"

• "the sunshine state"

• "the golden state"

golden poppy, quail, grizzly bear, and state flag