Lesson on how the Chinese in California confronted anti-Chinese sentiment and discrimination in the late 1800s. Comprehensive instructional activity with primary source materials.

This CalGoldRush.com site discusses the triumphs African American's had during the California gold rush. Many blacks were able to purchase their freedom and the freedom of their families back home.

This page contains a brief biography of gold rusher, John Sutter, from the book "Life in California before the Gold Discovery" by John Bidwell.

Published in "Hutching's California Magazine" in 1857 was a song expressing the hopes and dreams of those suffering from gold fever.

This site contains a poster of a new bank started by Sam Brannen in San Francisco during the gold rush.

This site highlights the westward expansion of settlers in North America and the effects this expansion had on Native Americans between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.

This in-depth resource presents a history of the American West from pre-Columbian times until World War I with profiles, documents, and images. It encourages visitors to link these into patterns of historical meaning for themselves....

A map of California from 1904 showing the State capital of Sacramento, major cities and towns, railroads, mountain systems, lakes, rivers, and coastal features. "California, first settlement made in 1769 by the Spaniards. Gold was...

In-depth look at the ceremony at Promontory Point upon the completion of the transcontinental railroad. The author discusses the preparation for the ceremony, the use of four ceremonial spikes, and what became of them. From an article in...

Establish in 1859, it became a Gold Rush boomtown in 1876. It is currently a State park preserved in arrested decay, neither restored nor destroyed. It is one of very few towns of this type to survive untouched.

This resource provides a picture and short description of the miners' use of the sluice box.

In-depth look at the ceremony at Promontory Point upon the completion of the transcontinental railroad. The author discusses the preparation for the ceremony, the use of four ceremonial spikes, and what became of them. From an article in...

A good overview of the territorial expansion and its results that occurred in the United States over the first half of the 19th century.

Have you ever read any of Karen Cushman's work? This site features links to lesson plans and other activities for her books.

Part of a longer time line describing the history of the American West, this section covers the period 1829 to 1859 with hyperlinks to stories and people of this time period.

America's Story provides a brief, two page article on the Panic of 1857. Two pictures are also given along with a timeline of events both before and after the Panic of 1857.

Discusses the conflict with Mexican American and Chinese groups as white settlers pushed westward in the nineteenth century. Explains what brought so many Chinese immigrants to America and the roadblocks and discrimination that they had...

Built up after the California Gold Rush, this historic district also includes the NHL locations of the Pony Express Terminal and the Big Four House.

This site discusses James K. Polk's place in the gold rush of California in the 1840's.

Published in 1924, the book, "The Story of California from the Earliest Days to the Present," by Henry K. Norton, relates the lives of the Chinese who immigrated to California to participate in the gold rush. He also recounts the...

This CalGoldRush site discussses the triumphs and hardships of Indians during the California gold rush. Some became rich, but many were sold into slavery.

Text of the short story "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" by Bret Harte, an American author who often wrote about the California Gold Rush. (Free site registration offers some additional features, e.g., the ability to insert annotations.)

Provides pictures and information about hydraulic mining (using jets of water to break down gold-laden gravel banks) for gold.

Provides pictures and information about hydraulic mining (using jets of water to break down gold-laden gravel banks) for gold.