Andrew Isenberg's Mining In Californi An Ecological History?

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Recommended: The California gold rush The big idea

Thomas Walker
History 138
Professor Hackel
24 April 2014
Mining for the Future

The California Gold Rush is one of the most interesting events in American, as well as, California History. The event gathered many in search of quick riches and opportunity globally. The opportunity of mining stretched American east coast influence to the West coast. Also bringing many from South America, Canada, and the Pacific Islands. Andrew Isenberg wrote, Mining in California: An Ecological History, which gives a detailed account of the California Gold rush and how it affected the California economy as well as California social environment during the 19th century. Isenberg conveys his argument in two parts throughout the book the economic side as well as the social side.
Isenberg explains that three actions took place to help build and stabilize the California economy during the time period, hydraulic mining, city building in Sacramento, and logging of the redwood forests. The hydraulic mining promotes more machinery-based mining. This technology helped increase effectiveness of mining and allowed ...

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