The California Gold Rush
By Zachari Holt
Table of Contents Section Title
Page Number
Chapter 1: All About The Westward Expansion Louisiana Purchase Lewis and Clark expedition Westward movement
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Chapter 2: All about the California Gold Rush
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Chapter 3:Impact on the California Gold Rush
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Glossary
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Bibliography
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Chapter 1 All About The Westward Expansion
The Westward Movement turned life around for the people in the 1800’s. Just because of Lewis and Clark’s j ourney west thousands of people started heading out West seeking for a better life out West of the Mississippi River .
All about the Louisiana Purchase
In 1803, Thomas Jefferson made a difference making decision by purchasing the Louisiana Territory. The territory cost 15 million dollars. Thomas Jefferson bought the land from France. The purchase encouraged the westward movement.The purchase also doubled the size of our country overnight. It was a big chunk of land that was unknown west from the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains. The territory was 828,000 square miles (2,174,000 square kilometers!)that means it was 3 cents an anchor.
Lewis and Clark After Thomas Jefferson purchase, he sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and 40 other men to explore the 828,000 square miles west of the Mississippi River. Thomas Jefferson made sure that Lewis and Clark took journals on plants they learned about and Indian tribes that they met with along the way. Thomas Jefferson also wanted Lewis and Clark to find a water route called the North West Passage. The North WEst Passage was also very unknown. Lewis and Clark's expedition started May 14, 1804 in St. Louis. They took a boat up the Missouri River. Along the way they met a shoshone woman name Sacagawea. She joined the expedition and helped them with communicating with other indian tribes and she guided them to the Pacific Ocean. They Finally made it to the Pacific Ocean in 1805 and they made it back to St. Louis in 1806. Lewis and Clark traveled an outstanding 7,000 miles! 2
Westward Movement in 1840, after Lewis and Clark’s journals were read, many people started moving out west. The pioneers took many trails like the Oregon Trail, Mormon Trail, California Trail, and the Santa Fe Trail. It was a hard trip west, many didn’t make it. They went on trails in wagons often in wagon trains. “We turn our faces toward the land of golden promise that lay beyond the Rocky Mountains.”The long westward movement finally ended in 1890.
Chapter 2 All about the California Gold Rush In 1848, a man named James Marshall, along with other workers were working and testing his almost complete saw mill. When he was working he spotted something shiny in shallow water close to the mill. The shiny object was in a mixture of sand and gravel at the bottom of the shallow waters. He grabbed it and found out it was gold. He even tested it by hammering it and it didn’t brake. Marshall tried to keep the news to himself but it was spreading fast.
The News Spread California or bust! Many people started pouring into California’s borders just for gold. On April 1, 1848, Sam brannan ran six pages or articles talking about the gold discovery. Sam’s goal was simple, he wanted to attract many people. Sam wanted so hard to attract tons of people he sent the news far East to Missouri. The pioneers who went west usually went in a covered wagon or they went by ship and they brought lots of supplies. They brought Sugar,beans,bacon,flour,lights,bedding,a pickaxe,a shovel, and a mining pan, and lots of more supplies. The pioneers who took wagon to the gold rush loaded their supplies in the wagon but the people who walked put their supplies in horse saddle pouches. Some pioneers that came from the East coast traveled 18,000 plus miles! Pioneers on ships mostly traveled through the Pacific Ocean. The pioneers that took cover wagons or walked they took the Oregon Trail and the California Trail. The pioneers came from all around the world just for gold. They all had the gold fever. After Sam Brannan sent out tons of 3
newsletters his goal was complete.He attracted over 300,000 People!
The Rush Begins After the news spread about the gold rush, Mexicans were the first to travel to California. Mexicans had to $20 a month as taxes because they got to the mines early. When the Gold Rush started the average someone found each day was $300worth of gold. Not all miners made money, Sam brannan made money by writing newspapers and selling mining supplies. the cost for getting to the mines were not cheap for example, Staying for two weeks it costs $42.00 and for four weeks it costs $112.72! The 4 9ers mines sun up to sun down either panning,mining with a pickaxe, or doing hydraulic mining. about one year after the gold rush started 49ers only made on average about $30 a day. So they started mining in shafts to find buried gold. Miners would usually mine for six months and get enough gold to live off of. But not all miners struck it rich. Even after mining for years only a few miners found gold. The miners started moving up to the peaks of mountains and mining there was a bigger supply of gold. The gold rush finally ended around 1856. More than half of all the prospectors were native americans. After the goldrush San Francisco's population jumped from 1,000 all the way up to 35,000.
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Chapter 3 The impact on the California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush had a huge impact on the United States. A little before the gold rush started, the westward movement began. If james Marshall didn’t make his outraging gold discovery California probably wouldn’t be what it is today. The pioneers who traveled to California either got rewarded or not. and some pioneers didn’t make it there or back. Along with the gold the 49ers found they also brought home a lot of Quartz .Quartz is almost always found right by gold. Most miners either took the quartz or gave it to other people who couldn't find anything in the mines.Miners had a gold fever they didn’t have quartz in mind.
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Glossary 49ers---people who traveled to California to find gold. Hydraulic mining---Operated or powered by moving water or another liquid to find gold. Quartz---Colorless mineral or rock and is the most common mineral. covered wagon--- a horse- or mule-drawn wagon topped with a spacious. pioneers---people who traveled out to the west during the westward movement. Bibliography Ducksters.”the California Gold Rush.”2016.online.1/15/16.www.Ducksters.com Monroe, Judy.The California Gold Rush.Mankato Minnesota,2002. Perritano, John. The Lewis And Clark Expedition.New York:Childrens Press.2010.
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