One Day In The Sacramento Valley

During the 1800’s, lives changed for many people. The Klondike Gold Rush began. In the article Klondike Gold Rush written by the Public Domain, the passage from A Women Who Went to Alaska written by May Kellogg Sullivan, and the video City of Gold made by the National Film Board of Canada and narrated Pierre Berton, the points of view of each show the miners’ lives. Each piece has a point of view, which helps the reader understand the miners’ lives through the word choice, and the tone

While newspapers such as the New York Herald touted the grandiose tales of gold flowing in California. Papers such as the Times of gand the Courrier des Etats-Unis were more relaxed in their reports, expecting newspapers such as the Herald to have greatly exaggerated the news in California, as was expected of Americans at the time. In addition to the skeptical attitude held by the Courrier, the gold rush did not reach national attention immediately due to more pressing matters at home. Following the uprising came the freedom of the press, universal suffrage regardless of gender, and the national elections for President of France; these topics dominated French headlines, and competed against the reports of gold. Still, the gold rumors managed to pepper the daily newspapers. The populace however, remained adamant that the reports were simply American fantasy. It wasn’t until December fifth, 1848, when President Polk delivered his State of the Union and confirmed the rumors of gold in California, did the acceptance of the gold rush become unanimous. With the elections drawing to a close on December tenth, France was in a frenzy, with the fervor of a new duly elected president, and the dreams of Californian gold.

The daily life of a miner was far from perfect. The way the papers and other means of propaganda had portrayed getting rich quick, but it was far from easy. All the equipment that was needed to start out as a miner was for the most part outrageous. The earning wages from gold was” sixteen dollars an ounce” pg.8. Even so, the work was backbreaking. There was swarms of minors trying to get rich quick. To many miners that traveled to get a piece of the precious metal they where resorted to taking land from previous land owner just to get ahead in the Gold Rush. Not to mention that the living conditions where also outrageous. The “rentals of hotels and other business structures, whether of boards or of canvas, reached even dizzier heights than did commodity prices” pg.8. This spaces where set prices at 3,000 dollars a month or 40,000 dollars for a year, there was also other prices around the area of San Francisco. And in some cases miners where resorted to living in a room filled to the brim with other miners. This lead to very poor conditions for any one to live in. But nothing was better then being rich in a few months or

Reed Karaim in “Gold Grab” analyzes the relationship between robber barons Jay Gould and Jim Fisk. They were partners in crime. In 1869, they were working on a plan to rob the U.S. gold market. This article focuses on how Gould and Fisk use their connections with inside people including President Grant, to change gold prices. This led to the economy collapsing on September 24th, 1869, this day is famously known as Black Friday.

do was ask the men at the mill to keep the secret for another six

miners who seeked to become rich, which gives the reader a better understanding of the disappointing

Getting to and surviving in the California gold mines was very expensive. Miners generally traveled alone. Many spent about six months wages or more getting to California and then found they could not afford to buy even basic supplies and commodities (Knysh, 2012). For example, a dozen eggs cost $50 and one apple cost $5 (Smithsonian American Art Museum, n.d., Arrival of the forty-niners section).Gold miners endured heavy snow and rain. They usually lived in tents. Damp outdoor camping and poor sanitation caused scurvy, frostbite and other illnesses. A poor diet of beans, bacon and local game were cooked over open fires. Fires often destroyed camps and towns with their

In the past Tuesday in class, we read Assembling California by John McPhee. In reading the first few pages of the book, I was amazed about how much gold was present in California at the start of the gold rush. I can’t even imagine gold being so prevalent that people were digging it out of rocks with knives. Eventually, as more people came for the gold and to ‘strike it rich,’ they brought other ways of harvesting the gold out of California, such as panning and gunpowder. This search for gold, and any raw material at that made me realize how extensive the desire for raw materials really is. I realized that people don’t care about the repercussions of their actions, provided that the immediate result of their actions is beneficial to themselves.

The Gold Rush of California was a “shot heard” round the world that caught the ears of many individuals who were seeking the golden opportunities of the West. (Chan & Olin 1992). With the dreams of wealth on the horizon, the Gold Rush brought on a drastic change in American society. For the women of this period, their lives would be altered in ways that would change the Western frontier. With an eagerness for wealth and equality women now found themselves struggling to survive in a society that was mainly male dominant and branch out from the normalcy of womanhood, which would transform occupational drive, prostitution and marital status.

My husband and I grew up together in Apache Junction, Arizona, a small town built on a legend. It’s believed that the Superstition Mountains hold one of the country’s largest hidden treasure. Jacob Waltz, the legendary Prospector, claims to have found the gold and revealed its location on his death bed however, it has never been found. The legend lives at the heart of this town and in the hearts of the people. Namely, many of the town’s attractions revolve around the legend such as the Mining Camp Restaurant, Goldfield Ghost Town and the Lost Dutchman Days. These mysterious mountains and the dirt we grew up on have become a part of our story.

The newcomers changed by their experience in California with different expectations. First, the gold-seekers only thought about money in their mind. They tried to use different way to gain the profit as fast as they could. Even though the gold-seekers lost their

First, I would like to consider the economic theory behind the gold rush and explain why on the surface; it is quite simple. Consider a modern theoretical case. Say a family of four is living in Cincinnati, Ohio and the main earner of the family works for a tool manufacturing company in Cincinnati. Suppose that the company decides during their yearly employee reviews that they aren’t going to give this certain individual a pay raise for the next year; also suppose that the employee does not see themselves climbing up the pay scale any further. Now suppose that this person is offered a thirty thousand dollar per year raise if they move out to Los Angeles, California for a new machine related job. Assuming

“The first vessel to carry argonauts to San Francisco was the steamship California. In October 1848, before the gold rush started, the California had left New York and headed for San Francisco. By the time the vessel rounded Cape Horn and reached Panama City — on January 17,1849 — about 1,500 American gold-hunters were waiting to board. However the ship, which had berths for 210 people, was already transporting many South Americans.” (Saffer, 14) Most of the men that traveled to California didn’t make much profit at all. Many of the 49ers missed their opportunity for fame and fortune because they came at a later time during the gold rush when there was nothing left. A majority of the miners missed their chance to become rich during the California Gold Rush. Only a very small amount of miners became rich. Most miners had to return to their families with nothing with them. Some miners couldn’t even return home to their families. "Brannan became a millionaire selling mining goods, real estate, and his publications. Many men wound up plying the trades they had practiced back home, serving as carpenters, shopkeepers, doctors, lawyers, and blacksmiths.” These people became very wealthy and all they had to do was play the system. So many minors failed to become rich and only really just lost

Letters, journals, and reminiscences written by adventurers during the Gold Rush vividly illustrate the internal struggle which people experienced.

Conceptualize being on a stage coach and all of a sudden a masked man and has a shotgun hops on the coach and commanding to relinquish all your valuables who are being mugged by the Gentlemen Robber. Charles E. Boles was born in 1829 to Maria Boles and John Boles in Norfolk England. Charles was the seventh child to Maria Boles and John Boles, he moved to Alexandra township, Jefferson County in upstate New York with his parents. Charles boles was only 2 years old when he moved there, there is not much information on his adolescence. He grew up and after owning 100 acres of land he traveled to California in 1849. he had traveled there with his cousin David Boles. In March of 1850 gold was discovered in Columbia 3000 miners were now looking for