California Gold Rush 1848-1855

1. California Gold Rush1848-1855 By YaseminSonel

2. A Quick Backround • James Marshall and several workers found gold while working in a ditch near Sutter’s mill • James Marshall agreed to keep quiet about his findings but news got out anyway • James Polk confirmed the rumors of gold being found in his farewell address to congress • The gold was found in northern California James Marshall found the gold in Coloma, Calirornia

3. Where • The gold was found at first on land such as in ditches but later found in rivers and streams causing prospectors to migrate north • People came from all around the world to find gold • They came from Oregeon, sandwich islands, and later Europe, Eastern America, Latin America, Australia, and China.

4. “Staking a Claim” • Many miners would band together to find gold agreeing to share their findings • When miners found somewhere they wanted to prospect they would “stake a claim” or claim the entire area for themselves • Since California was a new part of the U.S courts weren’t really established so it grew very lawless • “staking a claim” could sometimes result in very bad arguments

5. Money • Since it was lawless banks weren’t very balanced either • A man could find gold and be rich one day and be heavily in debt the next • Many miners went back home with little more then they had to begin with • Tens and billions of today’s dollars of gold was recovered in the California Gold Rush • A man once found two-pounds of gold after prospecting for 15 minutes • The gold was found in small pieces called nuggets

6. The End • Thank you for listening