United States History Student Edition

F California Gold Miners

Immigrants from all over the world came to California during the Gold Rush, including more than 25,000 Chinese. The miners shown here are working with a sluice box. To use it, a miner shoveled gravel into the box and then ran water through it, either by pouring it from a vessel or by diverting it from a river or stream. The flowing water then separated out ordinary dirt and rocks, trapping any gold in the bottom of the box. The photographer Joseph Blaney Starkweather captured this scene in 1852 at Auburn Ravine, a mining settlement founded in 1848.

PRIMARY SOURCE: PHOTOGRAPH

EXAMINE THE SOURCE 1. Identifying Describe the photograph. Who is being shown? What are they doing? 2. Analyzing Many Americans discriminated against Chinese immigrants in California. Chinese workers were excluded from different types of jobs, and they were often prohibited from staking mining claims. Are any signs of such inequality or discrimination evident in the photo? Explain.

Fotosearch/Stringer/Archive Photos/Getty Images

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