The extreme heat hit the emigrants trying to move west for the opportunity of a better life. They faced many dangers, and many of it was from themselves. The trails that emigrants took heading west in search of gold were very crowded. Emigrants on crowded trails would fight one another just to get there first. It was not always like this when people were migrating to the west. When gold was discovered in the west by John Sutter, it brought an uproar of people to migrate to the west. Months before people rarely migrated west. They didn’t want to travel there with all their possessions and lose all that they had if things went wrong, but once word came around about the finding of gold people quickly began to flood west in chances of striking …show more content…
They did not get along very well. The rushers were traveling to California just to hopefully strike gold, and because of this, the Natives, which lived there all their lives were limited in space because of the number of rushers flooding their land. Another reason that the emigrants had conflict with the Natives was that the natives were angry at the fact that the 49ers would come for the gold and not leave any for them, the people who were the original settlers of the land they were mining. They had many conflicts with the native Americans that lived there. There was so much bloodshed that, Peter Hardeman Burnett, the first governor of California had declared his contempt for the native population and he ordered for the removal or extinction of native American. Under Burnett’s leadership, the state of California paid bounties to white settlers in exchange for Native heads. As a result, vigilante groups of miners, settlers, and loggers formed to track down and exterminate California’s native population, which by 1890 had been almost completely decimated. But in doing so the settlers and the 49ers still fought over who would cash in the native heads for money. For example, in the text, it states “between 9,000 and 16,000 Indians, though probably many more, were killed by vigilantes, state militiamen, and federal soldiers.” (Info from). This quote proves that they were …show more content…
They had no idea of the dangers the west would bring to them. They had to learn the hard way about the dangers that had so many injured or killed by things they didn't expect would kill them. Things such as the accidental discharge of firearms, falling off mules or horses, drowning in river crossings and disease. These things were their silent killer. They had let their guard down on these things and had been focused on fighting the natives. For example, on the website it states, “Obstacles included accidental discharge of firearms, falling off mules or horses, drowning in river crossings and disease.” (Info from). This quote proves that the people were struggling just to get to the west and hopefully find gold. They would go on these very difficult journeys just for a chance at a better life. They also had problems with the new geography of the place. The extreme heat in the west that they weren't used to in the east proved fatal to many people. Temperatures would rise to as high as 100 degrees Fahrenheit. At this heat anyone who is traveling has a risk of having a heat stroke. The mountains also were a huge obstacle to the migrators. They would never know when an avalanche would happen. Many avalanches had happened and took many pioneers life. But even though they would still travel and head west for the
Conquistadors came over to get all the gold they possibly could. The Spanish were cruel and took advantage of the Native Americans who were living there. Not only did the Spanish want the gold but they also wanted the land. The Native Americans were enslaved by the Spaniards and were forced to mine for gold. The Spaniards gave the Natives extremely high gold quotas to meet. Most were unable to do so and because of that they were punished. Natives would have both of their hands cut off(Document 1). The other reason was so that the Spaniards wouldn’t have a problem with resistance from them. The Native Americans were majorly taken advantage of for gold.
There are many ways in which we can view the history of the American West. One view is the popular story of Cowboys and Indians. It is a grand story filled with adventure, excitement and gold. Another perspective is one of the Native Plains Indians and the rich histories that spanned thousands of years before white discovery and settlement. Elliot West’s book, Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers and the Rush to Colorado, offers a view into both of these worlds. West shows how the histories of both nations intertwine, relate and clash all while dealing with complex geological and environmental challenges. West argues that an understanding of the settling of the Great Plains must come from a deeper understanding, a more thorough knowledge of what came before the white settlers; “I came to believe that the dramatic, amusing, appalling, wondrous, despicable and heroic years of the mid-nineteenth century have to be seen to some degree in the context of the 120 centuries before them” .
Several Native Americans from the Cherokee tribe had feared that the whites would encroach upon their settlements in the near future so they moved west of the Mississippi many years before the Indian Removal Act was put into place. This good foresight and early movement allowed for them to pick the time that they wanted to leave and they allowed themselves the leisure of moving at their own pace and stopping when they wanted which cut down on casualties extremely and this also allowed them to allocate the appropriate amount of supplies for the trip before attempting to make it prematurely and causing catastrophe to hit. They established a government and worked out a peaceful way of life with the nearby surroundings and allowed themselves to blend into the area that they desired rather than an area that was designated for them. There was always a large tension building between the whites and Cherokee which had reached its climax after the discovery of gold in Georgia. This drove a frenzy that many people wanted in on to make out with a good sum of money as gold was in high demand and worth a lot at the time. When the gold was found it started a miniature gold rush and pulled in whites and
They didn't bring many skillful workers. They brought 75 out of the first 230 settlers were gentlemen mean rich men who were not used to work with their hands (Doc C), how are they are going to survive in the wilderness. They also only brought 1 doctor, and 4 carpenters so they didn’t have enough people to cure all the sickness and many people died (Doc C).Plus it will take a long time to build new houses since there not enough people to build it. There no farmer or fishermen so who is going to get food. The people they bring are just looking to become rich and didn't have the skill to start colonizing.
The government participated in a great "push" to get its citizens to move to west. At first few people moved to the west, but this changed when gold was discovered in California in 1848. This caused a "gold rush" to the west coast which consisted of many prospectors seeking to find their fortunes in the gold mines of California. Many traveled to the west coast, however few actually found their fortunes.
had created the Indian Removal act which sent them along the trail of tears to the
The California Gold Rush in 1849 was the catalyst event for the state that earned them a spot in the U.S. union in 1850. This was not the first gold rush in North America; however, it was one of the most important gold rush events. The story of how the gold was discovered and the stories of the 49ers are well known. Men leaving their families in the East and heading West in hopes of striking it rich are the stories that most of us heard about when we learn about the California Gold Rush. Professors and scholars over the last two decades from various fields of study have taken a deeper look into the Gold Rush phenomena. When California joined the Union in 1850 it helped the U.S. expand westward just as most Americans had intended to do. The event of the Gold Rush can be viewed as important because it led to a national railroad. It also provided the correct circumstances for successful entrepreneurship, capitalism, and the development modern industrialization. The event also had a major influence on agriculture, economics, and politics.
The Manifest Destiny was a progressive movement starting in the 1840's. John O'Sullivan, a democratic leader, named the movement in 1845. Manifest Destiny meant that westward expansion was America's destiny. The land that was added to the U.S. after 1840 (the start of Manifest Destiny) includes The Texas Annexation (1845), The Oregon Country (1846), The Mexican Cession (1848), The Gadsden Purchase (1853), Alaska (1867), and Hawaii (1898). Although this movement would take several years to accomplish fully, things started changing before we knew it. New technology took off right away!
At the time Andrew Jackson was president, there was a fast growing population and a desire for more land. Because of this, expansion was inevitable. To the west, many native Indian tribes were settled. Andrew Jackson spent a good deal of his presidency dealing with the removal of the Indians in western land. Throughout the 1800’s, westward expansion harmed the natives, was an invasion of their land, which led to war and tension between the natives and America, specifically the Cherokee Nation.
First of all, the California Gold Rush helped to settle the western United States by giving people a reason to head west. In his state of the Union Address in December 1848, President Polk broadcasted the discovery of gold, causing a rush to the west. The search for gold brought almost 300,000 people to California by the year 1850. These people did not just include Americans, but instead included people from every corner of the globe and every continent. The influx of travelers to the west required a faster mode of transportation be developed. Thus the Panama Railway, the world’s first transcontinental railroad was born. Prior to the railroad, there were only two ways to get to California. One way was to risk travel from New York to California on a six month sea journey. This was a disease ridden voyage with many different food and water rations. Anothe...
America was expanding at such a rapid pace that those who were in America before us had no time to anticipate what was happening. This change in lifestyle affected not only Americans but everyone who lived in the land. Changing traditions, the get rich quick idea and other things were the leading causes of westward expansion. But whatever happened to those who were caught in the middle, those who were here before us?
For example they traded meet,accessories, valuables, fruits ,vegetables ,clothing and many other interesting things. They would trade with different tribes that had what they wanted. They also lived in dome structures.The Miners are also known as “The Forty-Niners”. They traveled to california for the goldfields in 1849 so they earned the name Forty-Niners. The vast majority of forty-niners were Americans however, many were from Europe. Every time a rumor of a gold strike was reported a boomtown would spring up. Why was this? It was because lots of people wanted gold and if they had gold they had power. That is a lot of things people wanted back then and still happens up to this day.Gold miners also lived in mining camps. Life in the mining camp was difficult, and crime and murder were common occurrences in the early years of the Gold
On top of the farming craze, mining soon became very popular. Towns centered on mining would emerge, but shortly after they would disappear. This caused the Indians to move according to the mining towns. All this movement in the west caused life to become even more difficult for the Native Americans. When Americans and immigrants moved to the west they brought disease and violence with them. Ninety percent of Native Americans died after the gold rush in California (p. 501 Nash et al., 2010).
The injustice to the Native American Indians would carry over to the 19th Century through the spread of the US colonies to western territories. With support from the Manifest Destiny, Americans were able to legally obtain land west of the Mississippi all while disregarding the wellbeing of the Native Indians. Following the California gold rush, several Indian massacres took place that resembled the same violence and abuse they had endured ever since the arrival of European whites to America.
To begin, Americans moved west because they were hoping to find gold. Many people were willing to give up their lives to move west. The gold rush “ helped colonize