United States History Student Edition

C “The Way They Go to California”

This cartoon by Rufus Porter was published in 1849, during the height of the California Gold Rush. Porter was an American artist who also invented a number of gadgets and devices (including an airship) and founded Scientific American magazine.

PRIMARY SOURCE: POLITICAL CARTOON

EXAMINE THE SOURCE 1. Identifying Describe the scene in this cartoon.

2. Speculating Notice how some of the elements included by the artist are not realistic for the time period, such as the man who appears to be on a flying rocket. Why might the artist have included these elements in the cartoon?

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division [LC-USZ62-104557]

Political and Geographic Changes 347