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The california gold rush dbq
Essay on california gold rush
Essay on california gold rush
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California Gold Rush: by Lauren Burt
James Wilson Marshall was a skilled carpenter trained by his wheelwright father
in New Jersey. Marshall was building a sawmill for California land developer John Sutter
in Coloma Valley near Sacramento when he observed something glittering in the new
millrace that had been allowed to flow overnight. He described the nugget as "half the
size and shape of a pea." "It made my heart thump," he later recalled, "for I was certain it
was gold." Examining the nugget, he exclaimed to his fellow workmen, "Boys, by God, I
believe I have found a gold mine."
The impact of Marshall's find that afternoon at Sutter's Mill in the Sierra Nevada
foothills was enormous, and became known worldwide. Although Marshall's discovery
occurred in 1848, the electrifying news did not reach the East Coast and other parts of the
world until a year later, triggering the Gold Rush of '49, the greatest stampede of gold
seekers in history.
The only hope was to keep the discovery quiet. Sutter and Marshall swore the mill workers to secrecy, but word got out. When Jacob Wittmer took two wagons up to the mill on February 9, the Wimmer children apparently told him of the gold. When he scoffed at the story, it was confirmed by Mrs. Wimmer and the other adults. Wittmer brought the news back to the fort, and even used some of the gold to buy a bottle of brandy at the fort store. The store operator sent word to his partner in San Francisco, the enterprising Sam Brannan. Henry Bigler shared the news with three of his fellow Mormons who were working on the new flour mill near Sutter's Fort. They visited Coloma and then on the way back to Sutter's
Fort prospected at a spot that shortly became the rich diggings of Mormon Island.
On February 10, Sutter himself wrote his impatient creditor, General
Mariano Vallejo: "My sawmill is finished and I have made a discovery of a gold mine ... which is extraordinarily rich." As the word seeped out, Sutter was soon openly telling visitors to the fort about the discovery.
The first printed notice of the discovery was in the March 15 issue of "The
Californian" in San Francisco. Shortly after Marshall's discovery, General John Bidwell
discovered gold in the Feather River and Major Pearson B. Reading found gold in the
Trinity River.
On January 24, 1848, Gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill In Coloma California. This discovery, immediately spread around the globe. People from all different parts of the world came to California. People called it the place for a new beginning. California quickly became the most popular state in the United States. Even immigrants from Asia and Europe were coming to California just to get their hands on this precious gold. This also greatly affected the United States as we know it today.
marketplace. While this was going on, Zachary and a few other boys from the ghetto had
He first removed the women and children from the supply of provisions. They were sent to Fort Johnson on Dec. 26 in vessels. The firing of three guns at Moultrie was to be the signal for them to be conveyed to Sumter. In the evening the garrison went to Sumter. The people of Charleston knew that the women and children were at Fort Johnson and thought that Anderson would take his troops there.
By 1849 more than 80,000 gold-seekers, or "Forty-Niners," had made
A handsome boy kneels down for prayer beside a tree in his father’s orchard. It is a nice sunny spring day with the warm rays of the radiant sun gently kissing the boy’s face. “God, give me a sign,” he pleads to his heavenly father. He is only 14, yet religion fascinates him. Confused by what Christian faith to believe in, he was not sure whether he wanted to become a Baptist like his parents, or a Methodist, which church’s teachings appealed more to him. A slight cool breeze passes through his chestnut colored hair. In a moment he finds himself paralyzed, unable to move, at the mercy of some evil force. A shadowy mist surrounds him. The boy is afraid and does the only thing he could think of: he prayed, “God save me!” Immediately a pillar of light descends over his head like a crown of gold. A strange calmness overcomes the boy, and the shadows around him recede. To the boy, who questioned God’s existence, this was a sure sign that his heavenly father was still there. That boy was Joseph Smith, who had just experienced the first of a series of visions that he would receive throughout his faithful life. Soon after his first vision, he received another in which he the angel Moroni visited him, who presented him with a map. Smith traveled to a nearby hill where he found several golden tablets, etched with mysterious characters of ancient languages long forgotten. Smith was ordered by the angel to translate the plates into what is now known as the Book of Mormon (from which the Mormons gained their name), the cornerstone of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or simply abbreviated as the LDS Church. (Millet 6-8).
Note that this was a whole two and a half years after Lincoln's abolition of slavery. No one can be truly certain why there was such a delay of the news. There are some ideas explaining the reason such as one of a messenger who had been killed on his journey to Texas bringing the news of freedom. Another is that the enslavers wanted to hold onto their labor force for their plantations so they purposely kept their mouths shut about the news. Or there was the idea that federal troops waited until the plantation owners could benefit from just one more cotton harvest (McPherson 61). More than anything, the cause would be due to such poor political socialization. Newspapers were only local at the time and there obviously was no television so it took a long time for the word to travel. Two and a half years is pretty extreme though, which is why there really isn't a good explanation for the delay. Still, everyone was completely shocked by what they had just heard. Immediately the freed slaves were fleeing from the plantations and many even headed to the North.
Vigilantism is the black eye on the history of the American frontier. During the 19th century due to a lack of trust, competence, or unreliable law enforcement, the settlers on the frontiers took it upon themselves to provide security and safety for their newly progressing cities. Life in the developing American west was difficult and created many problems for everyone involved. Texas’ history is riddled with skirmishes, wars, and feuds that called upon the local civilians to turn to vigilantism. So to, Arizona and New Mexico, while struggling to gain their statehood, saw instances of civilian uprisings to quell local violence. Of course, however, neither Texas nor the American Southwest saw the hotbed of violence and destruction that was seen in San Francisco following the introduction of the Gold Rush. The descriptions that were used to describe the excitement that the discovery of gold created could also be just as easily applied to the ways it affected the peoples mentality. “In 1848 and 1849 it was usually known as the ‘Gold Fever,’ the ‘California Fever,’ the ‘Yellow Fever,’ the ‘California Mania,’ and the ‘Gold Mania.” People from all over the globe were abandoning their responsibilities and duties for the chance of striking it rich and making a big splash. This dramatic influx of people, cultures, and beliefs into one location created the right mix of hope, frustration, anger, and pride that would lead to chaos and even though “San Francisco had the most efficient, most professional police department in the United States [during the 19th century]” it could not quell the need for vigilantes to rise up and provide order amongst lawlessness.
Gold Rush 1849 was the reason for such a frenzy. It caused people to migrate to California from near and far too dig for gold from the river. According to the film, The Chinese Exclusion Act Explained: US History Review, “This attracted Chinese entrepreneurs to try to make it rich”. The Chinese was one of the cultures that was one of the cultures that left their home to find a better life for their families. However, after being greeted in the United States, they were discriminated against them since they were feared by the Europeans. Racism towards the Chinese immigrant caused a lot of hardship on them in the Western civilization, enabling them to enter or exit without returning to the States.
In 1799 young Conrad Reed, a 12 year old boy, found a big shiny rock in Little Meadow Creek on the family farm in Cabarrus county North Carolina. Conrad lugged it home but the Reed family had no idea what it was and used it as a clunky door stop. Thinking that it must be some kind of metal, John Reed, Conrad’s father, took it to Concord North Carolina to have a silver smith look at it. The silver smith was unable to identify it as gold. John Reed hauled it back home. Three years later in 1802 he took the rock to Fayetteville North Carolina where a jeweler recognized it for what it was right away. The jeweler asked him if could smelt it down to a bar for him, John agreed. When John returned to the jeweler had a gold brick measuring six to eight inches long. It’s hard to believe but John Reed had no idea of the metals worth. The jeweler asked him what he wanted for it and John thought that a week’s wages would be fair so he sold it to the jeweler for $3.50. It is rumored that John purchased a calico dress for his wife and some coffee beans with his wi...
How would feel to be a multimillionaire in just a couple years, but you have to get the Klondike in Alaska. Many people took this challenge either making their fortune or coming up more broke than they already were. The Klondike Gold Rush played a major role in shaping peoples lives and a time in American history. My paper consists of 3 main topics: first, what people had to go through to get there; second, the harsh conditions they had to endure when they got there; and lastly, the striking at rich part or if at all they did get rich.
California, the place to turn cant’s into cans and dreams into plans. The same situation and scenarios apply to today and even over one hundred and sixty five years ago. Then and now are not so different, people are thriving or failing from the land of plenty, supplying themselves with knowledge, wealth, or skill to either spread their wings and take flight or crash and burn. Each state in the United States of America has a correlating nickname to either why it’s famous or an explanation of its history. California’s state name is The Golden State, and going all the way back to 1849 is why this was such an influential time for California and all of America. This is the period of the Gold Rush. Reasons why this event was so impeccable, to the development of California, are the years leading up to the discovery, the first findings, the journey, and so much more.
In 1849, the California Gold Rush attracted the massive people immigrated to gold finding from all over the world. The gold-seekers travelled by the ship boarding in San Francisco port or by feet to leave their hometown and families from west because they believed that they could gain more money and had a better life than their original place. In the early days of California was an unknown place however after the gold-seekers arrived to California growth rapidly with crowded population. Later, the Rocky Mountains establish to be a state which called California. The gold-seekers came over to California because they wanted to achieve their goals for a better life, as they experienced by their hard working and created lots of the potential development in this gold place.
The Oatman’s adventure began as a result of their decision to join a new sect of the Mormon faith. This particular belief, whose followers were named Brewsterites, had its roots in Kirtland, Ohio around 1836. A young boy, about ten years old, named Colin Brewster, showed promise in the eyes of Joseph Smith, the great Mormon prophet. Many had already noticed the boy’s “gift for seeing in vision distant objects not seen by the natural eye” (McGinty 40). Eventually, Brewster’s vision of a round table lead to his acceptance as “a prophet, a seer, a revelator and translator” (McGinty 31), by Joseph Smith Sr. and two other church elders, one of which was referred to as Lord.
The Gold Rush was one of the most influential times in California History. During the four years from 1848-1852, 400,000 new people flooded into the state. People from many countries and social classes moved to California, and many of them settled in San Francisco. All this diversity in one place created a very interesting dynamic. California during the Gold Rush, was a place of colliding ideals. The 49ers came from a very structured kind of life to a place where one was free to make up her own rules.
On the morning of a beautiful clear day in the year of eighteen hundred and twenty, Joseph Smith retired to the woods where he would not be disturbed. It was the first time in his life he had ever ma...