James Marshall found a nugget of gold while working at John Sutter’s mill. Marshall and Sutter wanted to keep the discovery a secret, perhaps to keep the gold for themselves, but word got out anyway. And the rest is history. Between 1848 and 1858, striking it rich was the dream that drove thousands of people to California and changed its history forever.
Kids will step into a time machine, travel back to that crazy decade, and catch sight of the life and times of gold-rush California – for those who came seeking riches to those who started the businesses that served them. Kids will explore the tremendous diversity of people the gold rush attracted to California; they’ll find out about an economy expanding at record speed; and they’ll come to appreciate its long-lasting effects on the people and environment of the state.
Kids will enjoy the many primary source images and rich illustrations that breathe life into this moment in California’s history. Kids captivated by maps will want to study the sea and land routes to California. Kids curious about life as a forty-niner will want to dive into the detailed look at what it was like to stake a claim, live in a mining camp, and do the hard work of mining for gold. It’s certain they’ll not want to leave any nugget in this Unit unturned.
8 Topics in this unit
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Gold!
What’s that shiny yellow object glittering in the stream? Could it be a chunk of val ...
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California, Here We Come!
News that large quantities of gold had been found in California soon spread around the glo ...
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Staking a Claim
Becoming rich was the fantasy, but grueling labor was the bitter reality.
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Tools of the Trade
“Gold is where you find it.”
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The Effects of the Gold Rush on People
The Gold Rush brought enormous social, political, and economic changes to California &ndas ...
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The Effects of the Gold Rush on the Environment
By 1850, it was increasingly difficult to find placer gold, the gold found in rivers and n ...
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A Changing Population
The Gold Rush was the start of something big – and diverse. California’s prese ...
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A New Economy
More people, more gold, more everything! The flood of people into California during the Go ...
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