United States History Student Edition

09

INQUIRY ACTIVITY

FLORIDA BENCHMARKS

Multiple Perspectives: Voices From the California Gold Rush ? COMPELLING QUESTION What pushes and pulls people to move?

• SS.8.A.4.1 • SS.8.A.4.3 • SS.8.G.4.4

• SS.8.A.1.5 • SS.8.A.1.6 • SS.8.A.1.7

• SS.8.A.1.1 • SS.8.A.1.2 • SS.8.A.1.3

Plan Your Inquiry DEVELOPING QUESTIONS

Background Information When James Marshall discovered gold on John Sutter’s property in 1848, the two tried to keep the discovery secret. The news soon leaked out, however, and people poured into California. California was already occupied by Mexicans, Native Americans, and others, so the California Gold Rush also led to conflicts. Not all the new arrivals intended to search for gold and strike it rich, but the quest for gold was the driver of the economic boom. The American West, and the country, were never the same. This lesson includes first-person accounts of experiences going west and of life in California during the Gold Rush as well as illustrations and photographs. They represent the perspectives of men and women with varied social backgrounds and ways of life. As you read each piece, think about the situations people left behind to go to California and what they hoped to find and achieve there.

Think about the reasons people move—both the reasons they move away from a place and the reasons they move to a place. Then read the Compelling Question for this lesson. What questions can you ask to help you answer this Compelling Question? Create a graphic organizer like the one below. Write these Supporting Questions in your graphic organizer.

What this source tells me about why people move

Questions the source leaves unanswered

Supporting Questions

Primary Source

A B C D E F G

ANALYZING SOURCES Next, examine the primary sources in this lesson. Analyze each source by answering the questions that follow it. How does each source help you answer each Supporting Question you created? What questions do you still have? Write these in your graphic organizer.

After you analyze the sources, you will: • use the evidence from the sources • communicate your conclusions • take informed action

This illustration shows gold seekers arriving in San Francisco during the Gold Rush.

North Wind Picture Archives/Alamy Stock Photo

345

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