California Gold Rush

Databases

American History (ABC CLIO): California Gold Rush

Discusses discovery of gold in 1848, methods used to extract gold, impact on California

American History (Infobase): Gold Fever and the California Gold Rush

Reasons why people rushed to California, planning trip west, routes to California, 

Britannica: California Gold Rush

Overview, women associated with gold rush, effects on Native Americans, journeys and challenges, life in mining towns, property rights/miner’s code, racial strife

eLibrary: California Gold Rush 

Make sure to look at sidebars and links to primary documents and other resources. 

Gale:  Middle School in Context: California Gold Rush

Overview of Gold Rush, routes, mining

Websites

Library of Congress: The Discovery of Gold 

Check out the left sidebar for links to more information (on The Forty Niners, the Mines, and more)

California State Library:California Gold Rush

Links to more information, images, and primary documents below. 

Specific Articles of Interest:

Impact of Gold Rush on Native Americans (American History/Infobase)

In Search of Chinese Camp Immigrants Who Labored in California During 19th-Century Gold Rush (Orlando Sentinel article through ELibrary)

Essay: 1848-1865: Gold Rush, Statehood, and the Western Movement (Calisphere/University of California)

Effect of Gold Rush on Californios, Native Americans; experiences of Chinese and African Americans 

Other Californians (Library of Congress) 

Impact of Gold Rush on Native Americans, Californios, and women

Gold Rush (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) 

Mormons during the Gold Rush

Her Side of the Story: Tales of California Pioneer Women (KQED)

Radio broadcast and article about an exhibit at History San Jose

Chinese Americans and the Gold Rush (Library of Congress/Blog)

California Dreams (UC Press)