“ The settlers’ success, however rested on depriving Native americans of their land” (Foner 47). The settlers succeeded in obtaining land by oppressing the indians. Before the settlers arrived to America the Indians had their own traditional methods and way of life. “ As settlers fenced in more and more land and introduced new crops and livestock, the natural environment changed in ways that undermined traditional Indian agriculture and hunting” (Foner 56). Indians were not taken into consideration when the settlers made a decision. The settlers wanted the Indian peoples land . The settlers “ were chiefly interested in displacing the Indians and settling on their land, not intermarrying with them, organizing their labor, or making them subjects of the crown” (Foner 54). The Englishmen did not want to mingle with the Indians that they were completely against marriage between the two communities . The racism to the Indians pushed them out of their lands and away from their resources. The Indians had to settle in new lands because of the …show more content…
Along with Americans, immigrants from different parts arrived to California for a chance to find gold and accumulate wealth. The immigrants were discriminated against by the white miners, they “ organized extralegal groups that expelled “ foreign miners”- Mexicans, Chileans, Chinese, french, and American indians- from areas with gold” (Foner 478). The racism made many of the immigrants leave the state and try to find other ways to obtain money. The racism towards the Indians continued during the Gold Rush time. The “ Gold seekers overran Indian Communities. Miners, ranchers, and vigilantes murdered thousands of Indians” (Foner 479). The people wanted to reduce the Native population , and the State funded the attacks on the Indian community. Many children were left orphaned after their families were killed by the private militias that the state paid. The Indian population of California was reduced to around 30,000 people. The state of California limited the voting rights to only whites. The new law excluded indians, Asians and blacks. The people who “ claimed Spanish descent or had intermarried with American settlers were deemed to be white” (Foner 478). Only white people had full rights in America. The Gold Rush helped the economy grow, cities emerged and people from all over the world made the population , and diversity of the United States