1. The Fight for Slavery in California
written by: James M. McPherson
Presented by: Joshua M. Holloway

2. The Beginning of the Gold Rush
• 1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo transferred California from
Mexico to the U.S., Sawmill workers found flakes of gold near
the American river.
• No one believe the rumours until a tea caddy filled with Two-
hundred ounces of pure gold was sent to President Polk in
December, he then confirmed it.
• By spring of ‘49, tens of thousands of men populated the area;
by fall, the region had as many people as some states on the
East coast

3. Anti-Slavery
• Most Forty-Niners were against having slavery in
California because they did not want to compete
against slave labor
• People who arrived from the south brought their
slaves with them and had them working in the
mines for them.
• Many Southern-based newspapers(such as The
Charleston Mercury, The Southern
Quarterly, etc.)in San Francisco were promoting
the idea to keep slavery in California
• Southerners held political control for years after
and started a pro-slavery coalition called the
“Chivalry”

4. Broderick-Terry Duel of ‘59
David Broderick David Terry
• New Yorker • Texan
• Opposed the “Chivalry” • Prominent Chiv
• Elected in Senate in 1857 • Resigned from Supreme
Court in order to
challenge Broderick
Terry won coin toss and chose pistols with hair triggers to be used.
Broderick, unfamiliar with these guns, shot too early and missed. Terry
took his time, aimed, and shot Broderick dead. This was the third duel in
which a Chiv killed an opposing “Chivalry” man

5. Terry’s 2nd (attempted) duel
• Stephen J. Field—appointed by Lincoln as an associate justice
of the U.S. Supreme court in 1863—jailed Terry and his wife
for contempt(1888)
• Terry vowed revenge
• Body guard was appointed to Field
• One year after jailed, Terry found Field at a railroad station in
Stockton, slapped him in the face to instigate duel, but
bodyguard shot Terry instantly.