Gold Rush
In an obscure valley by the American River, a fortuitous stumble over gold dust would change America. The dream to acquire wealth in a matter of months became a reality for few, and out of reach for a hopeful multitude. In the early 1840's, California was a removed outpost housing a handful of residents. Less than a year after the unexpected discovery in 1848, people crossed oceans from Europe, Asia, and South America on ships destined to California. In towns all over the United States, merchants closed their shops, soldiers abandoned their positions, and farmers deserted their fields. The title for the miners "49ers" arose from the year 1849, when they embarked on their journey. The moment a man stepped towards California, he left his home, family, security, and everything that was familiar to him. He traveled alone, knowing nothing about the wilderness, frontier life, and driving covered wagons. All he knew was that gold was waiting there at the end of his trek. Hundreds of thousands of these men hustled to the Pacific Northwest during the mid- 1800's. Being uninhabited, the newly born towns were lawless and barbarous, as class society of the east was absent. Without women, the men were rough. They reve
the area. Throughout the Sierra range, cattle The miners, with the aid of the government, rallied together to exterminate the tribes. In the 1850's, white settlers negotiated false peace treaties with the government's support. State Senator J. J. Warner stated, "There is no place within the territory of the United States in which to locate them better, than to drive them at once into the ocean, or bury them in the land of their birth." (PBS.org pg. 2) Newspapers urged the expulsion of the Californian Indians. Volunteer militia massacred Indian communities in the Auburn and Nappa Valleys. The Indians had no place to go, and helplessly scrounged for food and shelter in occupied territory. They were promptly arrested for vagrancy and trespassing. When livestock was missing, the Indians were put to blame and jailed, deprived of the right to a trial. Although logical, the plan contributed a whole other set of The miners continued to scorn the Chinese, creating an Caught up in a drive for riches, the white men were in no mood to tolerate any opposition or to worry about whose land they were on, whose streams they were fouling, whose burial grounds they were defiling. In 1845, around 300,000 Indians inhabited the Sierra region (Seidman pg 124). In a couple of years, the number was reduced to 50,000. A harmonious way of life was swept away swiftly and cruelly. Never has a race been more vilified and misunderstood than the Californian Indians.
Some topics in this essay:
South America,
Throughout Sierra,
Pacific Northwest,
Chilean Frenchmen,
Peter Burnett,
Stanislaus Calaveras,
Captain Jack,
Yuba City,
Sierra Mountains',
American Indians,
gold rush,
california gold rush,
california gold,
captain jack,
bighorn sheep,
cheap labor,
hydraulic mining,
towards foreigners,
californian indians,
foreigners gold,
intense racism,
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Approximate Word count = 2802
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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