Name_________________
Gold Rush
What was the Gold Rush?
_________________-a person who scouts out an area for gold
How did it Begin?
CAUSE
Samuel Brennan
Who were the 49ers?
How were these groups discriminated against?
Ore- rock that contains valuable minerals (gold) that can be extracted
_______________________
____________________________________
Ex
Lode Deposits-________________________
1. Example: _________________
1. Example:
Placer Deposits-
Picture
____________________________________
Benefit: ____________
____________________
____________________
Problems: __________
____________________
____________________
2. Example: Cradles or Rockers
Picture
Benefit: ____________
____________________
____________________
Problems: __________
____________________
____________________
Effects of the Gold Rush
Benefit:
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
Problems:
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
What was the Gold Rush?
 Period from 1848/49-1858 when hundreds of thousands of men traveled west to improve their
fortunes. (…find gold!)

Prospector -person who scouts out an area in search of gold

Argonaut- Allusion to the Greek Myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece
How did the Gold Rush Begin?
 January 24, 1848 James Marshall discovers gold at Sutter’s Mill near Sacramento, CA
•
Samuel Brennan
– Sparked the Gold Rush of 1849 by publishing an article about the discovery of gold at
Sutter’s Mill
– Became California’s first millionaire by investing in General Stores that sold goods to
miners
• His stores made enormous profits by selling as much as $5,000 ($120,000 today) in
goods per DAY to miners
Who were the 49ers?
 Men who traveled to California to find gold in 1849
 Irish, Chinese, Mexicans, African Americans
How were these groups discriminated against?
•
•
•
•
Foreign Miners Tax ($20 per month)
Anti-immigration Acts
Physical harm “Society of Hounds”, Extermination
Racism
Ore- rock that contains valuable minerals (gold) that can be extracted
Gold deposits exist in 2 forms:
1. Placer deposits- when gold is moved as a result of some type of erosion (wind, water,
ice, gravity)
– Gold nuggets, small particles, gold dust
– Ex. Panning: Cheap, only required 1 person / Inefficient, Laborious
– Ex. Rockers/Cradles: More efficient, less laborious / More expensive,
required more workers
2. Lode deposits- place where gold originates (mountains)
Effects of the Gold Rush
1. Population Shifts
• Boomtown: community experiencing a sudden growth in business or population
– Ex. San Francisco
• Ghost Towns: former mining towns that became deserted
• Discrimination, lawlessness (rise of outlaws) and death
– Vigilantes- someone who takes the law into their own hand
– Wealth and Poverty
• B/t 1848 and 1856 about $465 million worth of gold is taken out
$10 million)
– ‘Bonanza’ a large find of extremely rich ore (Comstock Lode, NV)
(1st year:
• Business owners are the real winners in the Gold Rush
3. Destruction of the Environment