Welcome to US History to 1900!This week we are discussing Chapter 9 in our textbooks. On this page, you will find Key points, Key people, Key events, and other information. Enjoy and visit again!
(All facts found in "The Americans Beginnings to 1914") The Gold Rush January 1848, James Marshall, an American carpenter working on John Sutter's property in the California Sierra Nevadas, discovered gold at Stutter's Mill. Word of the chance discovery traveled east. An editorial in San Francisco's newspaper, the Californian, dated May 29th made the issue of the gold that started it all. Migration became overwhelming, it (migration) skyrocketed from 400 (1848) to 44,000 (1850). So-called "forty-niners" flocked to California, these pioneers were from all over the world, people from Asia, South America, and Europe. San Francisco became "a pandemonium of a city,' according to travelers. By 1849 California's population exceeded 100,000. The Chinese were the largest group to come overseas. Free African Americans came by the hundreds, and many were struck struck rich. By 1855, the wealthiest African American in the country were living in California. Large numbers of Mexicans flowed in as well. Slaves were also included into the mix, until 1849 a constitutional convention drew up a state constitution that outlawed slavery- including that in 1850 California won its statehood in 1850.
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