GOLD RUSH BOOMT OWNS

• The discovery of gold in the California territory sparked not only national interest, but even world-wide attention. Since California was not even a state yet at this point in 1849, regulations on treasure hunting were few. Gold was there for the taking. The adventurous risked everything and came by the thousands. The cities of Sacramento, Stockton, and San Francisco seemed to expand from tiny little villages to huge, active towns almost overnight. This kind of town that grows so rapidly due to new business opportunities became known as a boomtown. Towns grew increasingly larger as more and more settlers came to the area. People from all over the world came to San Francisco in particular. They brought a diversity of goods and services with them, making San Francisco an international cultural center. People of the day compared it to London, England because so much information about a wide variety of topics was readily available. Prices were very expensive, but goods from around the world could be purchased.
•  Boomtown populations tended to be mostly men. Few women came to California in the early days of the Gold Rush. People who came to find their fortunes truly believed they could come and quickly make lots of money to take back home to loved ones. When it became clear that people were not going to become wealthy overnight, some miners returned home. Those who stayed began to send for their families. Women’s skills with things like cooking, washing clothes, and sewing were highly regarded. Men did not like to do these things for themselves, so women willing to travel out west could make a very good living marketing their homemaking skills. If single women wanted to marry, they had their pick from hundreds of men. 
• Though gold is what attracted people to the boomtowns, few made their
  
  fortunes by finding it. Those who really struck it rich were the entrepreneurs who took advantage of the opportunity to sell things to the large numbers of people around them. A good example of this is Levi Strauss. He invented and sold durable pants for miners. They caught on in a big way. Today, you don’t have to be a miner to wear jeans. Some discoveries endure over time.
  
  

 Name:

Answer the following questions based on the reading passage. Don’t forget to go back to the passage whenever necessary to find or confirm your answers.

1. Risk-takers and adventure-seekers quickly made up the population of California, and many stayed. What impact do you think this has had on future voting in California? 
2. Why do you think so few women came in the Gold Rush at first? 
3. What were some of the things that motivated women to come eventually?  
4.  Why do you think entrepreneurs like Levi Strauss were so successfull? 
5. Many miners who stayed in California became farmers. What impact did this have on the economy?