The discovery of gold in 1848 brought thousands of prospectors to Northern California, though the South opposed California's admission as a free state. Aviation pioneers like the Wright brothers and Donald Douglas established early companies in California. The Panama Canal, completed in 1914, was a massive engineering project that cut weeks off ocean travel between the Atlantic and Pacific by connecting them, though yellow fever had killed thousands of earlier workers from France.
2. Gold Rush
The discovery of gold in 1848
in Northern California brought
thousands of men from other
parts of the U.S. and other
countries
A constitution was proposed
for admission to the Union but
banning slavery
The South didn’t want
California as a free state and
that gold mine work was
perfectly suited to slaves
South believed it would
change the number of free
states, slave state power
would be upset and other
states would follow suit
3. Aviation
In 1883 John Montgomery flew his gull-
winged glider.
Thirty years later, the Lockheed brothers
designed a passenger-carrying
seaplane and the team of Donald
Douglas and Glenn Martin started an
aviation company near LAX.
In the early 1920’s T. Claude Ryan was
producing mail and passenger planes
from San Diego. Then in 1927, Charles
Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic in
1927 as one of Ryan’s pilots.
Later, Douglas designed the DC
passenger carrier planes. During WW II
many DC-3’s were assembled. In the
late 40’s Chuck Yeager broke the sound
barrier with his flight over the California
desert leading us into space.
4. Panama Canal
In the 1880’s the Panama Canal was the engineering phenomenon of the
period. It was built to transport people and goods by ship from the Atlantic to
the Pacific Ocean in weeks instead of taking several months by travelling
around Cape Horn.
Ferdinand de Lesseps, a Frenchman, raised support to build the Panama
Canal. He started in 1886, however the technology of the era was limited and
20,000 workers died in 20 years due to landslides, accident or disease,
especially yellow fever. The program went bankrupt and he sold the rights of
the project to the United States.
In 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt wanted the U.S. to control the canal.
Therefore, he signed the treaty with Panama to build the canal.
John Stevens, Chief Engineer, was a successful railroad engineer. He and his
team of engineers were able to build the canal with the science and technology
of the time.
Dr. William Gorgas eradicated the mosquitos that were carrying yellow fever.
After Stevens quit, President Roosevelt hired Col. George Washington Goethais
who worked with the Army engineers and a workforce of 50,000 men to
complete the project on August 15, 1914
