On January 24th, 1848, James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California, sparking the California Gold Rush. Over 300,000 people traveled to California seeking gold over the next few years. The Gold Rush transformed California from a sparsely populated territory into a major economic and political force, with its population increasing over tenfold. It also had significant effects on Native Americans living in California and permanently changed the state's social and economic landscape. The Gold Rush ended around 1852 as prospecting became increasingly difficult.

1. Gold Rush
Lejla Ukic

2. How it all began…
On January 24th, 1848, the first
gold was discovered by James
Wilson Marshall, in Coloma,
California. This time period was
noted as one of the most exciting
time periods in American history.
As soon as people found out
about the first discovery of gold
people flocked to California. The
first people were from Oregon,
Hawaii, and Latin America.
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ca-
jamesmarshall.html

3. …..
 Over 300,000 people
traveled to California for the
gold
 Half arrived by sea and the
other half by land from the
East
 Most were Americans, but
Europe, Latin America, China
and Australia also engaged
in the activity

4. Fishing for some gold…
http://slices-of-
life.com/2011/06/16/buy-
bitcoins-wise-investment-
or-fools-errand/
http://tqjunior.advanced.org/5181/index.htm

5. $$$$
Miners made any where from twelve to thirty-five
dollars per ounce of gold. At this time that was a lot
of money. But, soon it wasn’t acknowledged as
much because demand and supply increased.

6. Native American tribes such Native
as the Maidu, Miwok,
Yalesumni and others who Americans
lived and prospered in
California, they were soon
forced to adapt to the change
in California. They soon
became consumers and
started digging for gold too.
The gold they found they
would exchange for food,
jewelry, and blankets.

7. Native Americans…
challengerindy.org
thirdhourcanadaproject.pbworks.com

8. 'The bulk of Californian's
Indians were conquered,
and died, in innumerable
little episodes of cruel
www.boerner.net leaders or a few squads of
rough soldiers, but in
effect, an entire people;
for the conquest of the
Native Californian was
above all else a popular,
mass enterprise.'-Jack
Forbes, contemporary
Native Historian.

9. Promoting the Gold Rush..
http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft758007r3;
chunk.id=d0e2046;doc.view=print

10. Women in the Gold Rush
Women were scarce, but were very useful. Many
of the first women worked in mining fields.
www.ironrangeresearchcenter.org

11. …..
A lot of women fled to California
during the Gold Rush to be
prostitutes. Most were called
entertainers and worked in saloons,
gambling halls, dance halls, peep
shows or brothels.
sassienie.99k.org
dipity.com

12. Women’s work
Most popular way to earn money was starting a boarding
house; which is a place that people can rent for one or
more nights. California was one of the only places women
could earn wages higher or equal to men.
railroad-line.com

13. The California Gold Rush ended in 1852, lasting
four years in total.

14. Mining turned into a major industry
http://www.miningartifacts.org/California-Mines.html

15. California’s population soared from 14,000 to
265,000
www.owensarchive.com

16. Fire companies, mills, brickyards and foundries,
railroads and stage routes developed.
www.Cae2k.com

17. Social structure and social status permanently
changed due to all the ethnic people who came
to California for gold.
www.dipity.com

18. “Many Californians who lived through the gold rush
experienced a number of economic changes.
Merchants charged higher prices for supplies as
people began to stream into California. Money was
more available than food. Price increases effected
everything from eggs to hardware” (McGill).

19. The California Gold Rush presented many
opportunities to people. This was the start of “the
land of the opportunities”. Many people traveled
from all over the world to go to California and
settled there. There were positive and negative
outcomes.

20. Work Cited
• Wikipedia contributors. "California Gold Rush." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 31 Mar. 2012. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.
• "Calliope." The Gold Rushes of North America. N.p., 01 2009. Web. 1 Apr 2012.
<http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ca-jamesmarshall.html>. Weiser, Kathy.
• "California Legends." Legends of America. N.p., July 2010. Web. 1 Apr 2012.
<http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ca-jamesmarshall.html>.
• "California Mines." . N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr 2012.
<http://www.miningartifacts.org/California-Mines.html>.
• Wikipedia contributors. "Women in the California Gold Rush." Wikipedia, The Free
Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 5 Dec. 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.
• "Fun Facts and Interesting Stuff." . www.isu.edu/~trinmich/funfacts.html, 05 03 2009.
Web. 1 Apr 2012.
• Gray, Chris. "Effects of the Gold Rush on the Native Americans." . N.p., 2004. Web. 1 Apr
2012. <http://www.kawvalley.k12.ks.us/schools/rjh/marneyg/03-04_Plains-
Projects/Gray_04_goldrush.htm>.
• McGill, Sara Ann. "The California Gold Rush." California Gold Rush (2009): 1. MasterFILE
Premier. Web. 1 Apr. 2012.
• Blossom, Robert. "The History andStory of the California Gold Rush." . N.p., n.d. Web. 1
Apr 2012. <http://learngoldcoins.com/california-gold-rush/>.

21. • "California's Natural Resources." The California Gold Rush.
N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Apr 2012.
<http://ceres.ca.gov/ceres/calweb/geology/goldrush.htm
l>.