Would you risk everything that you have for a chance to strike it rich mining for gold in the harsh climate of Alaska? In the late 1800’s, gold was found in Alaska, and despite the cold frozen terrain of Alaska ,it caused a rush to get the gold. Gold mining in Alaska has been going on since the late 1800’s, and people are still getting rich from it today. From the beginning to present day gold mining has changed; consequently, the equipment used and the collection procedures, have changed.
The first gold rush in Alaska took place in 1896-1899 in an area known as the Klondike. “100,000 set out. 30,000 arrived in the Klondike. Around 4,000 found gold” stated Gary l. Blackwood in his article in ‘Wild West’ magazine. The miners that arrived in the Klondike were searching for a big pay out of gold, and used old fashioned, homemade sluices. The sluices are used by the gold rich material is poured out on top and groves and metal screens catch the gold and heavier black sand. Today the Klondike region is still being mined and is still producing gold for the lucky few that find it.
With all of the chaos about gold, it made it so that boom towns began to spring up. “The new towns were crowded, often chaotic and many disappeared just as soon as they came.” as Pierre Berton states in his book about the Klondike gold rush. These towns were known for all of the robbers that would kill people just to get gold someway. One of the most famous boomtowns, still inhabited today, is Dawson City in the Yukon Territory, Canada. Dawson city had about 40,000 people living in it a year after it was formed and became the heart of the gold rush in the Klondike(Coates) .An interesting fact about the town at the time is, that to keep the murder and...
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... produced. “ Gold accounted for 15% of the mining wealth produced in Alaska. Zinc and lead, [...] accounted for 73%; silver [...] accounted for 8%; coal and aggregates accounted for nearly 2% each. Alaska produced a total of 40.3 million troy ounces of gold from 1880 through the end of 2007.” was reported by the Alaska DNR in 2007.
Would you risk everything just for a chance to strike it rich? Even with the advancements in the business, it is still a guarantee that you will spend a lot of money getting started, and the payback is not guaranteed. Gold mining, no matter where you are in the world, is a risk-reward job and could either make you one of the happiest people in the world, or it could make you live out the rest of you life in a mountain of debt. Like what is said at Bering Sea Gold “Gold Mining in general is dangerous and not a get rich quick occupation.”
To accommodate the needs of the ’49ers, gold mining towns had sprung up all over the region, complete with shops, saloons, brothels and other businesses seeking to make their own Gold Rush fortune.
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.
These two passages “There’s Still Gold in These Hills” and “Letter From a Gold Miner” help the reader understand the history and process of gold mining in the US. Both passages give detailed information, specific instructions, and an interesting background about gold mining. These passages use different strategies to help the reader perceive the history and process. These strategies may include using specific dates of when the gold rush took place, information to help the reader picture the setting of where to find gold, and also teaches the process step by step.
Three pieces of evidence from the text that shows the motivation behind the “gold fever” is that at the time many Americans were earning low wages or either had no work. This means that people with a job or that earned a little bit of money wanted to find gold to be kind of rich. Another piece of evidence that I found was that people were rushing to the grocers, hardware merchants, and the clothiers. This means that the people wanted to get ready to go find gold, so they went to different shops to go get stuff like materials like footwear, gold pans, buckets, and more items. The thing that gave the people a reason to travel to Alaska in search of fortune is that when
The creation of societies in the West resulted in the blossoming of three new industries: mining, ranching, and farming. Mining began at large with the discovery of gold in California in 1849 and continued with other discoveries and “rushes” later on; these rus...
The gold rush not only attracted miners but people in search of new starts, whether that was from love affairs gone wrong, or debts. Some see this rush as a way to make an easy profit or fortune and settle down with new everything. Pikes Peak Gold Rush is one of the most known features in the region. It became a stepping stone that drew as many as 100,000 prospectors. With these prospectors, they brought over the slogan, “Pikes Peak or Bust,” in 1859–60.
Forsythe, Mark. The Trail of 1858 : British Columbia’s gold rush past. Canada: Harbour Publishing Co. Ltd., 2007.
Many people spend their whole lives trying to make money and become rich. One imagines a lifestyle where they do not have to work to provide for their families and they can enjoy the finer things in life. Some may go to great lengths to find this source of richness, even if this involves packing up and moving far away. Many people found a way to make this dream of being rich a reality on January 24, 1848. While constructing a sawmill for John Sutter, James W. Marshall discovered gold in the American River. Many people flocked to California in search of the golden treasure and to follow their dream. This was the start of the California Gold Rush. The California Gold Rush was an important part of the history of the United States; it helped to settle the western United States, increased the economy of California, and negatively impacted the Native Americans living in the west.
As most folks do, when I think of the term “Gold Rush”, it conjures up images of the West! Images of cowboys and crusty old miners ruthlessly and savagely staking their claims. Immigrants coming by boat, folks on foot, horseback, and covered wagon form all over the US to rape and pillage the land that was newly acquired from Mexico through the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo… California. But let me tell you about a gold rush of another kind, in another place, even more significant. It was the actual first documented discovery of gold in the United States! Fifty years earlier…in North Carolina!
Along with its geographical value, Alaska was overflowing with natural resources and was mostly unexplored. Following the gold rush in California and Arizona, gold diggers began to reach westward, and soon discovered that the territory of Alaska held a massive quantity of gold. Native Alaskans Also maintained a large market in the fish, crustacean, and mollusk industry, drawing in a large profit for the country. It maintained its hold as the crab capital of the world, capturing and selling more crustaceans than any other place on earth. To put a header on the overflow of food and ...
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.
There have been many discoveries that have shaped our nation as a whole. Discoveries have allowed our country to thrive and become one of the most powerful nations in the world. When we look back at our nation's rich history, it is clear to see that there was one discovery in particular that had a vast impact on the United States; the discovery was gold in California. It was in this vastly unoccupied territory that the American dream was forever changed and California emerged as a powerful state busting at the seams. The California Gold Rush shaped California into the state that it is today. California is defined by its promise of entrepreneurial success and its acceptance and encouragement of obtaining the American Dream.
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.
“The California Gold Rush of 1849-1855 radically transformed California, the United States and the World” (Historical Impact of the California Gold Rush). The California Gold Rush all started when James Marshall found gold in the American River at Sutter's Mill in California while constructing a sawmill for John Sutter. John Sutter and James Marshall tried to keep the discovery a secret, but word got out and was spread throughout the nation. During 1849, people from all over the country made the trip to California to find gold. Lots of people were mining for gold in California and used various mining techniques. The Gold Rush had many lasting impacts on California. The gold rush had many long-lasting effects on California’s economy, environment,
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.