California's Indians and the Gold Rush


Book Description

An historical account of the important role Native Americans played in the early stages of the California Gold Rush.




Digger


Book Description

From the award-winning author of Children of the Dustbowl comes a sobering look at two of the most frequently romanticized events in American history. For the native peoples of California, the period from 1769, when the first Spanish Mission was founded, to the 1850s, when the Gold Rush was at its height, was one of terrible violence and destruction. First, Spanish priests and soldiers sought to convert the Indians to Christianity and a civilized way of life. Yet for the Indians the story of the missions was one of hunger, disease, rebellion, and death. Then, during the Gold Rush, Indians were frequently kidnapped, murdered, and sold into slavery by white settlers. By the end of the nineteenth century, the surviving California Indians had been forced onto reservations and their way of life had been largely destroyed. With maps, a timeline, and glossaries on California's Indian tribes and mission history, Jerry Stanley tells the story of modern California from the poignant perspective of the Native American.




Daily Life during the California Gold Rush


Book Description

This comprehensive narrative history of the California Gold Rush describes daily life during this historic period, documenting its wide-reaching effects and examining the significant individuals and organizations of the time. It is easy to see the vestiges of the California Gold Rush in the state's modern culture. The San Francisco 49ers football team are named after the term given to those who flocked to California in 1849 in search of gold; California is nicknamed "The Golden State;" and the official state motto is "Eureka" meaning "I have found it" in Greek-a reference to mining success. But the Gold Rush was not only a pivotal event with lasting impact in California; it also greatly affected America as a whole and global society. This book examines the historical significances of the California Gold Rush, beginning with life in California prior to the Gold Rush and European colonization and concluding with information regarding contemporary California. Readers will gain historical insights from the highly detailed explorations of how life in California evolved and understand the enormous impact of an event over 160 years ago on present-day America.




Exterminate Them


Book Description

Popular media depict miners as a rough-and-tumble lot who diligently worked the placers along scenic rushing rivers while living in roaring mining camps in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Trafzer and Hyer destroy this mythic image by offering a collection of original newspaper articles that describe in detail the murder, rape, and enslavement perpetrated by those who participated in the infamous gold rush. "It is a mercy to the Red Devils," wrote an editor of the Chico Courier, "to exterminate them." Newspaper accounts of the era depict both the barbarity and the nobility in human nature, but while some protested the inhumane treatment of Native Americans, they were not able to end the violence. Native Americans fought back, resisting the invasion, but they could not stop the tide of white miners and settlers. They became "strangers in a stolen land."




The Gold Rush


Book Description

In this authoritative guide, readers will examine the many aspects of the California Gold Rush and the event's larger role in westward expansion. Studying the forty-niners, the Native Americans of California, gold extraction techniques, and transportation west, readers will gain insight into how the gold rush changed the region and the many developments it led to. Accessible language clarifies advanced concepts, and engrossing sidebars feature additional information. Stunning photographs add dimension to the text, and primary sources are integrated, offering an up-close examination. This book's comprehensive material is a terrific resource to supplement curricular studies.




The California Gold Rush


Book Description

Did you know that the California Gold Rush was the largest mass migration event in the history of the United States of America? More than 300,000 people settled in the previously sparsely populated California. And they all came in the period between 1849 and 1855. But sadly, the people living in California quickly fell into violence, racism, and misogyny. Mexicans, Native Americans, other non-white settlers, and indigenous peoples were persecuted, hunted, and expelled from the territory. The California Gold Rush may have been one of the great events that shaped the US into what we know today, but it was also one of the saddest events, with 370 massacres committed upon the indigenous tribes of California. Yet, the California Gold Rush was a period of rapid changes, of industrialization and the modernization of the whole US. The influx of immigrants from all over the world demanded that new industries be quickly set up, as well as railroads, farms, and communication lines. People needed supplies from the East and the rest of the world, as well as to keep in touch with their distant families. The quick development of California, as well as the many new beginnings and successful businesses people managed to start, gave California its nickname of the Golden State. It was a place where dreams came true, where people had hope and quick prosperity. A new philosophical idea aptly named the "California Dream" started, and many people rushed to gain a fast fortune in a new land. In this book, you can read about how gold was discovered and who started it all. You can also learn the following: Who were the forty-niners and the first gold miners in California? What was life in the mining camps like? How was early mining performed, and how did it develop? How did gold excavation influence the environment and the indigenous peoples? What happened to the Native Americans of California? What was the role of women in the Gold Rush? How did California gain its statehood? How did the Gold Rush influence the world's economy? Who were the real prospectors of the California Gold Rush? And much more! Scroll up and click the "add to cart" button to learn more about the California Gold Rush!




An American Genocide


Book Description

Between 1846 and 1873, California’s Indian population plunged from perhaps 150,000 to 30,000. Benjamin Madley is the first historian to uncover the full extent of the slaughter, the involvement of state and federal officials, the taxpayer dollars that supported the violence, indigenous resistance, who did the killing, and why the killings ended. This deeply researched book is a comprehensive and chilling history of an American genocide. Madley describes pre-contact California and precursors to the genocide before explaining how the Gold Rush stirred vigilante violence against California Indians. He narrates the rise of a state-sanctioned killing machine and the broad societal, judicial, and political support for genocide. Many participated: vigilantes, volunteer state militiamen, U.S. Army soldiers, U.S. congressmen, California governors, and others. The state and federal governments spent at least $1,700,000 on campaigns against California Indians. Besides evaluating government officials’ culpability, Madley considers why the slaughter constituted genocide and how other possible genocides within and beyond the Americas might be investigated using the methods presented in this groundbreaking book.




A Timeline History of the California Gold Rush


Book Description

In 1848, a carpenter named James Marshall discovered that there was gold in the riverbeds of the Sacramento Valley. Gold fever quickly spread across the country and around the world. By the thousands, hopeful people left their homes, families, and jobs in search of their fortune. The California gold rush lasted for only seven years, but in that time it transformed California and affected the whole nation. People used their new riches to start businesses and build cities. People from many nations arrived to fill those cities. And in their quest for gold, the prospectors clashed with American Indians and set the stage for long-lasting tensions. Explore the history of the California gold rush. Track the important events and turning points that made this discovery a pivotal part of the westward expansion of the United States.




Riches for All


Book Description

An event of international significance, the California gold rush created a more diverse, metropolitan society than the world had ever known. In Riches for All, leading scholars reexamine the gold rush, evaluating its trajectory and legacy within a global context of religion and race, economics, technology, law, and culture. The opportunity for instant wealth directly influenced a dynamic range of peoples, including Mormon military veterans, California Indian workers, both slave and free African Americans, Chinese village farmers, skilled Mexican miners, and Chilean merchants. Riches for All gives attention to the varying motivations and experiences of these groups and to their struggles with both racial and religious bigotry. Emphasizing gold rush social history, some contributors examine the roles and influence of women, workers, law-breakers, and law-enforcers. Others consider the long-term impact of this episode on California and the American West and on subsequent gold rushes in Pacific Rim countries and the Klondike. With lively and incisive strokes, these historians sketch the most broadly contextualized and nuanced portrait of the California gold rush to date.




The California Gold Rush and The '49ers


Book Description

Try your luck, and search for your fortune in California! Follow the joy and heartbreak of the '49ers during the California Gold Rush.