Objective To examine the causes and effects of
Objective: To examine the causes and effects of the boomtowns and ghost towns of the West.
January 24, 1848 • The California gold rush began when gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill • As the news of discovery spread, some 300, 000 people came to California from the rest of the United States and abroad
Gold and Silver Strikes - The CA Gold Rush began in 1849, attracting thousands of gold hunters known as forty-niners.
Above: Levis clothing Below: Levis Logo Audio: The Story of Levi Strauss & Co.
Techniques for retrieving gold • At first a technique called panning was used to retrieve gold from streams and riverbeds. • Hydraulic mining was later invented in California. This technique was created for larger scale gold mining
Samuel Brannan • • Samuel Brannan was the first millionaire because of the California gold rush Brannan established the first newspaper in San Francisco called the California Star and also established the first school in San Francisco Brannan was elected to the California State Senate in 1853. He was also credited with developing banks, railroads, and telegraph companies. To learn more about Samuel Brannan click here
Major "Strikes" in the California Gold Rush In 1852 the take for the year was $80 million ($1. 9 billion in 2005 dollars). 1. Sutter's Mill/Coloma - Jan. 24, 1848 James Marshall kicked off the California gold rush when he spotted some pea-sized bits of gold in a mill raceway. The news brought thousands of prospectors to the area, but neither Marshall nor his employer John Sutter prospered from the find. 8. Comstock Lode | 1859 The discovery of silver on the other side of the Sierras in Nevada brought an end to the California gold rush; at its height, about $80 million (some $1. 9 billion in 2005 dollars) had been pulled annually from the gold fields, but that figure had fallen by almost half when the Comstock Lode was discovered.
The positive effects of the gold rush • Towns and cities were charted • Roads, schools, and churches were formed • Improved transportation between California and the east coast All of these developments led to the statehood of California on September 9 th, 1850 as the 31 st state.
Gold and silver mines were discovered throughout the West. Thousands of miners from the U. S. , Europe, Mexico, and China flocked to the West. Audio: A Miner’s Life White and Chinese miners hoping to strike it rich during the California Gold Rush at Auburn Ravine in 1852. Chinese miners working an abandoned tailing.
A Song Sung by the Forty - Niners I came from Salam city with a wash bowl on my knee, I am going to California, the Gold dust for to see. It rained all night the day I left, the weather it was dry, the sun so hot I froze to death, oh brothers don't you cry. Oh California that's the land for me; I'm going to Sacramento with a wash bowl on my knee. I'll be in San Francisco soon and then I'll look around, and when I see the gold lumps there, I'll pick them off the ground. I'll scrap the mountains clean my boys, I'll drain the rivers dry, a pocketful of rocks bring home, so brothers don't you cry.
Boomtowns - towns that grew up near major mining sites · Some boom towns developed into cities, such as Denver, CO, and Reno, NV. Reno, Nevadac. 1868 1997 Reno,
Boomtown - The General Store, Corinne, Boxelder Co. , Utah
Iditarod Gold Sled (1912) Dogs hauling gold from the boom-town of Iditarod, Alaska
The negative effects of the gold rush Native Americans became the victims of disease, starvation, and genocidal attacks. - The Native American population in 1845 was 150, 000 - The Native American population in 1870 was less than 30, 000. Many people that journeyed to California from around the world never made it. - The Donner party- A total of 87 people from various families set out for California and became snowbound in the Sierra Nevada. Only 48 of the original 87 pioneers survived. To read the Donner party journals and learn more about their journey click here
· Many of these new towns became abandoned ghost towns when the ore disappeared. Silver City, Idaho
· Mexican and Chinese miners faced severe discrimination. Tens of thousands of Chinese immigrants came to San Francisco, California, in the 1850 s to participate in the gold rush. However, anti. Chinese racial prejudices among miners grew in the midst of the gold frenzy. Further anti-Chinese sentiment hampered economic prospects as Chinese miners were only allowed to work on sites abandoned by white miners.
The Rail Road • Where would you travel if this happened? • What would be a positive or negative consequence from this type of technology?
It’s finally happened! Scientists have created a machine that will allow people to transport to other places instantly! Travelers simply step into a box at their departure site and arrive in a box at their destination within seconds! Cities all over the world have purchased these machines, hoping that it will increase travel and tourism in their areas.
The First Transcontinental Railroad
Why Build a Transcontinental Railroad? • • • Growth of West Coast gold and silver Shorter trip to move West Connect East with West for business Solidify the Union Achieve Manifest Destiny
Getting Started… • Choosing a route – Congress ordered surveys in 1853 – Debates between north and south about route – No free-state politicians would approve funds for a railroad that would spread slavery – Northerners won when South seceded • Conquering the Sierra Nevada – Giant, rocky, snowy obstacle for the engineers – Found a route through Donner Pass in 1860
Getting Started…(cont’d) • Gaining government support – Needed government cooperation, money, and LAND – Government was on board, but occupied by Civil War • Who will pay? – Big Four (Stanford, Huntington, Hopkins, Crocker) • Created and chaired Central Pacific Railroad – Thomas Durant – Ames Brothers Bought most of the Union Pacific stock
Who Made it Possible? Key Players ◦ Theodore Judah ◦ Grenville Dodge Railroad experts who conducted land surveys, worked with the government, and found investors for railroad Grenville Dodge ◦ Both understood the great benefits of a transcontinental railroad ◦ Both devoted their lives to making sure the plan was carried out
What Made it Possible? • Pacific Railway Act – Passed July 1, 1862 – Created Union Pacific to build road from the East and meet the Central Pacific – Provided companies 5 alternating plots of land on each side of the road for each mile along the route – Allowed $16, 000 for each mile of flat land, $32, 000 for hills, and $48, 000 for mountain terrain – Revised in 1864 to allow companies more land privileges
The Game Plan Central Pacific Railroad ◦ Begin in Sacramento, CA ◦ Broke ground January 1863 Union Pacific Railroad ◦ Begin in Omaha, NE ◦ Broke ground in late 1863 but no tracks laid until 1865 Route along the 42 nd Parallel Meeting place: Promontory Summit, UT
The Transcontinental Railroad In 1865, Crocker, in charge of construction, found a solution to their work force problem. Besides hiring Irish immigrants who worked for low pay, the Central pacific Railroad employed over 10, 000 Chinese immigrants. Slide #14
Significance of the Railroad Biggest and best engineering project of its time Made the country smaller Helped spur interest in Homestead Act Improved communication The beginning of the end for Native Americans Led to other transcontinental railroads and shorter branches
Dangers of the Railroad • Early Travel – Dirty, Uncomfortable, and dangerous – No protection from the weather – No Protection from engine sparks – Rail Cars would tip as they turned corners
The Building of the Railroads • Built in 1860 s • Two companies – Central Pacific Railroad Company – Union Pacific Railroad Company • Met and joined railroad in Promontory, Utah • Date of completion 10 May 1869 • By 1893 there were 6 major railroad companies
The Central Pacific Railroad • Began in California – Workers were hard to find – All wanted to work in the gold mines – Wanted to build quickly so they could earn more money • Chinese Immigrants worked for the Central Pacific – They blasted through the Sierra Nevada Mountains
The Union Pacific Railroad • Began in Missouri – Charged $50, 000 per mile – only cost $30, 000 per mile to build – Workers poured in to work after the Civil War ended – Many Irish, German, and Swedish Immigrants worked for the Union Pacific • Harder to build than the Central Pacific – – More distance Less wood Less water More Indian Attacks • Laid about 2 miles of track per day for $4 per worker
Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
Central Pacific Railroad
Central Pacific Railroad
Central Pacific Railroad
Transcontinental Railroad
Transcontinental Railroad
Transcontinental Railroad
Promontory Point, Utah
Transcontinental Railroad • • When they came to drive the last spike, Governor Stanford, president of the Central Pacific, took the sledge, and the first time he struck he missed the spike and hit the rail. What a howl went up! Irish, Chinese, Mexicans, and everybody yelled with delight. 'He missed it. Yee. ' The engineers blew the whistles and rang their bells. Then Stanford tried it again and tapped the spike and the telegraph operators had fixed their instruments so that the tap was reported in all the offices east and west, and set bells to tapping in hundreds of towns and cities. . . Then Vice President T. C. Durant of the Union Pacific took up the sledge and he missed the spike the first time. Then everybody slapped everybody else again and yelled, 'He missed it too, yow!'
Meeting at Promontory Point • Completed in 1869 – Seven years earlier than expected • Met at Promontory Point, Utah – May 10, 1869 • Chinese Workers carried in one rail • Irish carried in the other • It was a huge celebration
The Transcontinental Railroad
Why did America need Railroads? • Communication from East to West was not very good • Travelling time from East to West took 6 months + • It would help fulfil ‘Manifest Destiny’ • The U. S. needed to keep up with other countries • Trade links with China and Japan • Help to bring law and order to the West
Effect of the Railroads: Quick and easy travel to the West • Previous methods – – Wagon Train Foot By boat Pony Express • The railroad turned a 6 month journey into a maximum of 8 days
Effect of the Railroads: Cheap land for people wanting to go West • Once the Railroads were built the Railroad companies had no use for the excess land • Sold land off cheap • Benefitted Homesteaders and Ranchers who came west.
Effect of the Railroads: Destruction of the Indians • Hunters used the Railroad to go west to hunt the buffalo • Hunters were only interested in buffalo skin • 1875 southern buffalo herds wiped out • 1885 northern buffalo herds wiped out • Indians depended on the buffalo, but now they were gone!
Effect of the Railroads: Helps develop the Cattle Industry • Cattle were transported by the railroads making it easier to move them from Texas to the East • Cow Towns grew up around these railroad stops
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