A Rush To The West

1. A Rush To The West Chapter 13 Section 4

2. Mormons Settle Utah • In 1830 Joseph Smith founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints • The Church grew quickly, but some of its teachings placed its members in conflict with neighbors • Early teachings emphasized the ideas of common property ownership and polygamy

3. Mormons Settle Utah • Mormon communities moved from New York to Ohio to Missouri • In 1844 many settled in Nauvoo, Illinois where many believed they had found a permanent home • Conflict arose again, however, and Joseph Smith was murdered by an angry mob

4. Mormons Settle Utah • The Church’s new leader, Brigham Young, realized Nauvoo was not safe and encouraged followers to go with him to the Great Salt Valley • Many left with him in 1847 on a trail that paralleled much of the Oregon Trail • 15,000 made the journey over the next few years

5. Mormons Settle Utah • Farming the dry desert was difficult • In order to make it work leaders enclosed and distributed farmland, then established a system of irrigation • In the summer of 1849 swarms of crickets nearly destroyed the first harvest; however, seagulls flew in from the Pacific and devoured most of them!

6. Mormons Settle Utah • After Utah officially became part of the U.S. three issues divided Mormons the U.S. government: • The Church controlled the election process in Utah and non-Mormons could not participate • The Church supported Mormon-owned businesses and non-Mormons had difficulty doing business • Polygamy was illegal in the rest of the country

7. Mormons Settle Utah • It took 40 years to resolve all of the differences, but eventually Congress took control of the election process, the Church agreed to stop favoring Mormon businesses alone, and Church leaders banned polygamy • Utah finally became a state in 1896

8. California Gold Rush • In 1848, after the War with Mexico, California became part of the U.S. • 10,000 Californios—Mexican Californians—lived there • Californios and eastern settlers were unfriendly to each other and avoided contact when possible

9. Gold! • In January 1848 John Marshall was building a sawmill on John Sutter’s land near Sacramento when he found a gold nugget in a ditch near the American River • He tried to keep it secret, but couldn’t and the gold rush began by 1849 • 80,000 “forty-niners” came in search of gold • California’s population grew from 14,000 to 100,000 in just two years!

10. California Gold Rush • Miners used picks and shovels and panned in streams (placer mining) • The deeper gold deposits—lodes—required expensive machinery and were typically extracted by large companies • Soon, scarce water resources led to arguments over water rights • Miners, farmers and ranchers all needed it and whoever got to it first usually took it—sometimes whole streams were diverted!

11. Life in Mining Towns • Mining towns came and went with the discovery of gold • Miners would pay high prices for food, supplies, entertainment and liquor in saloons • Because California was not a state, federal laws did not apply • Miners often banded together as vigilantes (self-appointed lawmen) and enacted quick and brutal punishments for criminals

12. Role of Women • Most “forty-niners” were young men—the ration of men to women in 1850 was 12:1 • Some women did go to CA, however, and while some did become miners, most owned or worked in boardinghouses, hotels, restaurants, laundries and stores

13. Disappointment • Most forty-niners failed to strike it rich • Many moved to other gold and silver mines in Nevada, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Colorado or Arizona • Many returned to the east and some settled into other occupations and remained in California

14. California’s Changing Population • Some cities in California grew rapidly during the gold rush and continued to grow after it was over • San Francisco grew from 200 to over 100,000 between 1848 and 1870 • Many came from across the globe—Europe, Asia, Australia and South America • By 1860 40% of California’s population were foreign born

15. California’s Changing Population • Immigrants usually enjoyed greater freedoms in CA than in their home countries and faced less prejudice than in the eastern U.S. • In the 1840s, with China’s economy failing and because word of the gold rush spread, more than 45,000 Chinese men went to CA • Most found work completing menial labor tasks like cooking or doing laundry • Many thousands built railroads and worked on farms

16. African American in CA • African Americans also went to CA • Some went as slaves with their masters but were freed by the state’s courts since CA was not a slave state • They created their own newspapers, churches and other businesses • They could not vote or serve on juries, however

17. Native Americans in CA • The gold rush was difficult on Native Americans in CA • Miners spread onto their lands in hordes • Vigilante gangs killed them indiscriminately and claimed ownership of their lands • 100,000—or 2/3 of CA’s Native American population died during the gold rush

18. Impact on Californios • Californios quickly became outnumbered—only 15% of the population were Californios by 1850 • State laws were enacted that discriminated against their people and their was little they could do about it. • High taxes were imposed on ranches and rancheros were required to prove ownership • Many couldn’t prove it because their grants had originally come from Spain or Mexico and many lost ownership or were forced to sell land to cover legal expenses