The California Gold Rush of 1849 marks an important date for the settlers coming from all over the world in search of gold first found in the Sacramento Valley. The five questions and responses addressed below will explain why the gold rush was so important. How was gold found in the specific area? Why was James Marshal credited for finding the gold? Why was gold valuable to so many people? Why did the Native American population shrink in California during the gold rush? Lastly what happened to California as a result of the gold rush? Gold first appeared in the areas of Sierra Valley and Sacramento. On January 24, 1848 James Wilson Marshall, a carpenter originally from New Jersey, found flakes of gold in the American River at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. At the time James Marshall was working on a water-powered sawmill owned
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An estimated 150,000 Native Americans were present in the beginning of the Gold Rush. After a short amount there were only 30,000 Indians estimated to still be living in the area. Sixty percent of the Native American population was killed by diseases brought to the area by the settlers. The white settlers killed the Native Americans and sold their scalps. Americans gave the government one million dollars as a result of selling the scalps. The new settlers would also sell Native American children to one another. About 4,000 Native American children were sold as slaves to settlers. The prices of the enslaved children ranged from $60 for the young boys up to $200 for young girls. The Treaty of Guadalupe surprisingly had a huge effect on the Indians. The Treaty sent Mexican people pouring into California with new property rights. The Mexican settled on roughly thirteen million acres of Native American land. This caused Native Americans to be forced out of their own land. (http://www.history.com/topics/gold-rush-of-1849 paragraph
An estimated 150,000 Native Americans were present in the beginning of the Gold Rush. After a short amount there were only 30,000 Indians estimated to still be living in the area. Sixty percent of the Native American population was killed by diseases brought to the area by the settlers. The white settlers killed the Native Americans and sold their scalps. Americans gave the government one million dollars as a result of selling the scalps. The new settlers would also sell Native American children to one another. About 4,000 Native American children were sold as slaves to settlers. The prices of the enslaved children ranged from $60 for the young boys up to $200 for young girls. The Treaty of Guadalupe surprisingly had a huge effect on the Indians. The Treaty sent Mexican people pouring into California with new property rights. The Mexican settled on roughly thirteen million acres of Native American land. This caused Native Americans to be forced out of their own land. (http://www.history.com/topics/gold-rush-of-1849 paragraph