Women and the Gold Rush

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer maintains that all of the events of westward expansion and manifest destiny are very important, but the most significant event which caused westward expansion in the late 1840s was the California Gold Rush. The writer focuses on the women that were involved in the gold rush and what their actual roles were. The writer notes that this is very important because most people do not realize how women like Louise Amelia Clappe and others like her affected the gold rush and what took place at that time in history. The writer concludes that the extreme greed that over took many people, the violence and tragedy that broke out over the desire for wealth, and the destruction of the native people of California made the California gold rush one of the most tumultuous times in history.

From the Paper:

"The most famous tales of the California Gold Rush say that in January of 1848, James Marshall, who was an employee of John Sutter, was building a sawmill. This incomplete mill was what would later become known as Sutter's Mill, and it is where the first piece of gold that consequently started the California Gold Rush was found. Sutter received the property from the Mexican government, as he talked them into granting him 48,000 acres in the Sacramento Valley. Unfortunately, the land that the Mexican government granted to Sutter was already owned by Indians who had been in that area a great deal longer than any Mexican or American settlers. The ranch that Sutter lived on was run and staffed almost entirely by Indians. There is some discrepancy about whether or not Sutter treated his Indian workers well, or whether they were used more as slaves."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Beilharz, Edwing A. and Carlos U. Lopez (1976). "We were 49ers" California: Ward Ritchie Press.
• Clappe, K. S. Louise Amelia (1854-1855). "The Shirley Letters" California: The Pioneer Magazine.
• Johnson, William Weber (1974). "The Forty-niners" New York: Time Life Books New York.
• Levy, Jo Ann (1992). "They saw the elephant" Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press.
• Levy, Jo Ann (2004). "Unsettling the west" California: Heyday Books, Berkley.

More papers on Women and the Gold Rush:

• Research Paper # 96934 : "Gold Rush"
• Essay # 16808 : "Pioneer Women"
• Book Review # 145530 : "Fugitive Slave in the Gold Rush" - A Review"

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