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Gold Rush

Total questions: 29

Worksheet time: 21mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

people who search for minerals such as gold or silver

a)

entrepreneurs

b)

prospectors

c)

treaty

d)

economy

2.

the sudden movement of many people to an area where gold has been found

a)

treaty

b)

erosion

c)

gold rush

d)

fortune

3.

a large amount of money

a)

gold

b)

prospectors

c)

entrepreneurs

d)

fortune

4.
1. What was "gold fever?" 
a)
A. A disease caused by exposure to radioactive gold 
b)
B. A sudden rise in gold prices caused by the discovery of gold in California 
c)
C. A mental illness that caused people to mistake worthless metals for gold 
d)
D. The desire to get rich quick by acquiring California gold
5.
5. You were most likely to strike it rich in the California Gold Rush if you: 
a)
A. Got to California very quickly after gold had been discovered 
b)
B. Used devices like the long tom and the cradle 
c)
C. Avoided mining camps 
d)
D. Took the sea route to California instead of the land route 
6.
Which grouped came from overseas to join the gold rush?
a)
Russians
b)
Chinese
c)
Germans
d)
Gauls 
7.
What were the people who searched for gold called?
a)
Gold diggers
b)
49ers
c)
Crazy
d)
76ers
8.
Who were the 49ers?
a)
Gold miners
b)
Locals of California during the gold rush.
c)
Football tram
d)
The boom-town
9.

Why did people leave their fields half plowed, houses half-built, the families and their jobs?

a)

They needed a break

b)

They wanted to find gold

c)

They were offered paid time off

d)

They moved to cities instead of farms

10.
What was the most permanent effect of the Gold Rush?
a)
Everyone developed tumors from the water
b)
California went to war with Texas 
c)
Everyone left California for Mexico 
d)
Immigration in California caused diversity
11.
Which of the following was a result of the California gold rush?
a)
American settlers rebelled against the Mexican government.
b)
Los Angeles became a center of banking, manufacturing, and trade.
c)
California gained enough settlers to apply for statehood.
d)
Thousands of Chinese died from diseases brought by newcomers.
12.
______ was the time period named for the thousands of gold-seekers moved to California in hopes of striking rich  
a)
California Gold Rush
b)
Forty-niners
c)
Population Boom
d)
Economic BOOM!!!!!!
13.

Who was John Sutter and what was his dream?

a)

John Sutter had a dream to get wealthy by building a community.

b)

John Sutter had a dream to get wealthy by building a large community of cattle, horses and crops.

c)

John Sutter had a dream to move to California

14.

Who was James Marshall and how did he discover gold?

a)

James Marshall was a carpenter who built a watermill on the American River

b)

James Marshall was friends with John Sutter

c)

James Marshall was a carpenter who built a watermill on the American River. During the construction he found gold in the water.

d)

James Marshall was walking by the river and saw something shiny.

15.

Why did John Sutter want to keep the discovery a secret?

a)

John Sutter wanted the watermill completed.

b)

John Sutter wanted the watermill completed so that he would have lumber to build a town. He didn’t want anything to get in the way of his dream.

c)

John Sutter didn’t want anything to get in the way of his dream of getting all the gold.

16.

What did John Sutter and James Marshall think of the Gold Rush?

a)

They were glad it hadn't happened.

b)

John Sutter went bankrupt. Neither man benefited from the Gold Rush. They wish it hadn't happened.

c)

They wish they had not told as many people as they did.

17.

What year were thousands of people coming to California for the Gold Rush with dreams of striking it rich?

a)

1999

b)

1949

c)

1849

18.

What river did James W. Marshall find gold in?

a)

The American river

b)

The Mississippi river

c)

River side

d)

Nile River

19.

Where was the most famous gold rush?

a)

North Carolina

b)

California

c)

Clinton

d)

None of the above

20.
Who were the first Native Californians?
a)
American Indians
b)
Mexican-American War
c)
Missionaries
d)
Explorers
21.
An explorer is a person who_?
a)
Travels places to learn more about them.
b)
A farmer who grows crops?
c)
A erson that mines on someone else's claim.
d)
A person who journeyed to California's gold country in hope to strike it rich.
22.

If you wanted to pan for gold, where would you go?

a)

Mountains

b)

River

c)

Stream

d)

Ocean

23.
Where was gold first discovered in California? 
a)
Comstock Lode
b)
Sutter's Mill
c)
San Francisco
d)
Lowell Mills
24.
Some store owners became rich selling gold prospectors their supplies.
a)
True
b)
False
25.
What was it called when miners used pans to separate dirt from gold? 
a)
Gold sifting
b)
Dirt panning
c)
Panning for gold
d)
Pan searching
26.
Who was an entrepreneur, or business creator, during the Gold Rush?
a)
Levi Strauss
b)
Elon Musk
c)
John Sutter
d)
John Bidwell
27.
What was the most destructive type of mining for the land?
a)
gold panning
b)
hydraulic mining
c)
coyote holes
d)
sluice boxes
28.
Which was not an option for journeying to California during the Gold Rush?
a)
overland routes in wagons
b)
ships around Cape Horn
c)
ships with shortcut through the Isthmus of Panama
d)
the Transcontinental Railroad
29.
What was the first thing miners did when they arrived in California?
a)
stake a claim for their land
b)
take a shower
c)
start gold panning
d)
try to meet friends

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