California Gold Rush Reading Passages

Read the paragraph from the section "News Spread Quickly."

Marshall and Sutter tried to keep news of the discovery under wraps. Nonetheless, word got out. By mid-March, at least one newspaper was reporting that large quantities of gold were being turned up at Sutter's Mill. At first, most people in San Francisco doubted the story. However, storekeeper Sam Brannan created wild excitement when he paraded through town displaying gold he had obtained from Sutter's Creek. By mid-June, some three-quarters of the male population of San Francisco had left town for the gold mines. By August, the number of miners in the area had reached 4,000."

Which phrase from the paragraph helps you understand that the gold was a secret at first?

• Under wraps

• large quantities

• doubted the story

• wild excitement

Read the sentence from the section 'The 49ers Come to California:

"The Gold Rush undoubtedly sped up its admission to the United States."

Why did the author use the word "undoubtedly"?

• to show that U.S. leaders were not sure whether California should be part of the Union

• to show that people all around the United States stopped questioning whether there was gold in California

• to show that the Gold Rush definitely helped California become a state

• to show that California would have more quickly become a state if the Gold Rush had not happened

How would the article change if "Lasting Impact Of The Gold Rush" were moved to the beginning of the article?

• The reader would learn about the '49ers before learning about who first discovered gold in the mountains

• The reader would learn about the number of people who participated in the Gold Rush before learning about the number of people living in California.

• The reader would learn about the dangers of gold mining before learning about the benefits of gold mining.

• The reader would learn about the ending years of the Gold Rush before learning about what started the Gold Rush.

What is one reason why the author includes information about James Wilson Marshall?

• to help explain what ended the Gold Rush

• to help explain what started the Gold Rush

• to highlight the most famous '49er

• to highlight the wealthiest miner at the time

What can you infer happened to the non-native population of California from the following sentence:

"By the end of 1849, the non-native population of California had reached 100,000, compared with less than 1,000 prior to 1848."

• The population decreased

• The population remained about the same

• The population increased

• We can't determine what happened to the population

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in 1848 shortly after Marshall's discovery at Sutter's Mill. It effectively ended the war between the United States and _______________ .

• Canada

• Spain

• Britain

• Mexico

Read the following passage from the text:

"Soon, news of the fortunes being made in California was spreading wide and far. A wave of fortune-hunters began to arrive. At first, they mostly came by boat from such places as Oregon, Hawaii, Mexico, Chile, Peru and even China. Only later would the news reach the East Coast."

Of the places listed below, where would you least expect fortune-hunters to travel from towards the beginning of the Gold Rush?

• The western coast of the United States

• Northern territories in Mexico

• South America

• Florida

The Compromise of 1850 included all of the following except:

• California would enter the Union as a free state

• Slavery would be abolished north of California

• Utah and New Mexico were given the option to decide the slavery issue

Read the following sentence from the passage:

"After 1850, the surface gold in California largely disappeared, even as miners continued to arrive. Mining had always been difficult and dangerous labor. Striking it rich required good luck as much as skill and hard work."

Based on this passage, which of the following statements would probably not be true?

• Gold became more difficult to find above the mines

• Hard work in mining would always pay off

• People continued to move to California after the Gold Rush

• Mining was not known to be a safe endeavor

Thanks to the Gold Rush, this city became the "central city of the new frontier."

• Los Angeles

• San Diego

• San Francisco

• Sacramento