Lesson Four
LESSON FOUR
The World Rushed In
“Who are these people? and how came they here?”
I.
OBJECTIVES
♦ To describe the racial and ethnic diversity that was forged during
this period in California history.
♦ To recount the struggles of many Californians, newcomers and longtime residents alike, to deal with the diversity brought about by the
Gold Rush.
♦ To trace California’s origins as a bilingual state, codified in the bilingual Constitution of 1849.
II.
TEACHER BACKGROUND INFORMATION
T
he decade that encompassed the Gold Rush and the early years of
California statehood, 1848–58, is arguably the most important era in
the state’s history, and one of the most compelling periods to study in the
nation’s history. In a mere ten years, California was transformed from a
sparsely settled Mexican frontier territory made up of a handful of seaport
towns, dozens of scattered Native American tribes, small farms and large
ranchos, into the prime destination for adventurous, gold-seeking people
from all over the globe. Before the dust even began to settle, California had
joined the Union, hundreds of thousands of emigrants had arrived, gold
worth millions of dollars was found, and the work of establishing the social, economic, and political foundation of the newest of the United States
was underway.
The remarkable ethnic and racial diversity that exists in California today
was forged in this founding decade. Native American inhabitants of California and the resident Californios—be they Latin or Anglo-American stock
(or a mixture thereof)—could not have anticipated the demographic wave
that broke upon the region. All manner of Americans—both white and black,
and mostly male—arrived in droves, as did Europeans, Mexicans, Chileans, Peruvians, and Asians (principally Chinese), among others. (Nearly a
quarter of all emigrants were foreign-born.) The frenetic scenes of overland
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Lesson Four
and overseas travel, gold mining and town-building, and hard work and
hard play were made even more remarkable by pouring racial and ethnic
diversity into the mix. The nature of this multi-ethnic heritage is the basis
of the lesson that follows.
III.
MATERIALS
Document 1
“California; or, the Feast of Gold,” Henry Valentine, London,
England, c. 1849
The worldwide hysteria about California’s riches inspired
parody in many forms, such as plays, novels, and cartoons.
Composers of widely varying talents ground out music and
lyrics about the “feast of gold,” as seen in this 1849 English
sheet music. Note the full-color title page depicting the multinational influx into California.
Document 2
California lettersheet, “Way-side Scenes in California”
An excellent illustration of the multicultural scene in California
during the Gold Rush.
Document 3
“Chinese Camp in the Mines,” J. D. Borthwick, color lithograph, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1857; in Colton, Three Years in
California
Although few Chinese arrived in California during 1849 or
1850, they were numbered in the thousands by 1852 as the
enthusiasm for “Gold Mountain” took root. Some of the
Caucasian argonauts appreciated Chinese energy and
determination but most found the Chinese way of life
disturbingly alien.
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Lesson Four
Document 4
A Humble Plea Addressed to the Legislature of the State of
California . . . , William Speer, San Francisco, 1856
Here William Speer pleads on behalf of the Chinese population
living in California.
Document 5
Lettersheet published at the Union Office, “Indian Rancherie
on Dry Creek”
The gnawing hunger for land felt by many newly arrived
Californians only aggravated relations between them and the
Indian peoples who occupied many parts of the state. Indian
villages (often known as rancherias) were driven off land
desired by whites for farming or mining.
Document 6
Diary of Augustin Hale, entry for September 1, 1850
This diary entry captures the poignant saga of Native
Americans who found their way of life destroyed by the onslaught of emigrants to California, and it contains interesting
insights about both Native American and Anglo-American
humanity.
Document 7
California lettersheet, “Tremendous Excitement!”
Given the huge influx of population, and the corresponding
lack of governmental regulations, vigilante justice was the
order of the day. Not surprisingly, foreigners bore the brunt of
such “justice.”
Document 8
(2 documents)
Constitution of the State of California, San Francisco, 1849,
and Constitucion del estado de California, San Francisco, 1849
These two state constitutions, one written in Spanish and the
other in English, are significant because of the recognition they
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Lesson Four
give of the need to accommodate both the Californio and
American cultures in California at the time.
IV.
LESSON ACTIVITIES
1. Using Documents 1 and 2, hold a discussion about the multicultural
nature of California during the Gold Rush. Have students make
connections with the present multicultural scene.
2. As a jig-saw activity, have students consult Documents 3, 4, 5, 6,
and 7 for firsthand accounts of how multicultural tensions played out
during the Gold Rush era. Use the “Questions to Consider” to guide
the discussion.
3. Show students Document 8 (two versions of the 1849 State
Constitution: one written in English and one in Spanish). Discuss
this document as an example of how California was truly a bilingual
state at its inception. The constitution was framed by Californios and
Americans together.
4. Choose from the following activities:
a. Have students create a lettersheet depicting diversity in Gold Rush
California.
b. Have students create a bilingual lettersheet in any two languages.
c. Have students create a lettersheet depicting Native American life
before the Californios and Americans arrived, and after. (Students
can consult Document 5, depicting how peaceful life was on the
rancheria, and Document 6, Hale’s letter depicting potential
conflict.)
d. Hold a classroom discussion on how vigilante and mining-town
justice differed from the modern-day legal system of “innocent
until proven guilty.”
e. Ask students to create a journal entry about their experiences
from the perspective of a foreign-born emigrant, a Native American, or an African American.
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Lesson Four
V.
EXTENDED LESSON ACTIVITY
1. Have students create a bilingual constitution for the class.
VI.
VOCABULARY
1.
onstitutional convention
a formal meeting of delegates to write a constitution
2.
cornucopia
mythical horn of plenty, providing whatever is desired
3.
delegate
representative
4.
justice
fair treatment in accordance with the law
5.
lynching
execution without due process of law, especially to hang, as by
a mob
6.
state capital
the city where the state government is located
7.
vigilante
one who takes law enforcement into one’s own hands
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Document 1
Lesson Four
“California; or The Feast of Gold”
Henry Valentine, London, c. 1849
Questions to Consider
1. What is depicted in the image?
2. How many different types of gold mining can you identify?
3. How many different groups—ethnic, social, and gender—are depicted?
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Exhibit number 35684
Document 2
Lesson Four
“Way-Side Scenes in California”
California lettersheet
Questions to Consider
1. What does the scene illustrate?
2. Can you find images of people from different ethnic groups in the scene?
Identify them.
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Document 3
Lesson Four
“Chinese Camp in the Mines”
J. D. Borthwick, color lithograph, Edinburgh, 1857
In Colton, Three Years in California
Questions to Consider
1. What does the image depict?
2. Describe all the activities taking place in the camp.
3. What aspects of traditional Chinese culture are evident?
4. What aspects of Western, or “American” culture are evident?
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Document 4
Lesson Four
A Humble Plea Addressed to the
Legislature of the State of California
William Speer, San Francisco, 1856
. . . To obtain a satisfactory view of the Chinese as we find them in
California, it will be necessary first to ask, who are these people? And how
came they here? . . .
THE QUESTIONS AT ISSUE
Two questions come before your Honorable body for discussion: first,
the terms and second, the extent, according to which mining by Chinese
should be permitted. The first is involved in petitions that the rate of license
for Chinese miners shall be again reduced to the sum of $4 per month, the
same as for other foreigners; the second, in petitions that the head tax of
$50 each on landing be reduced to $5 each. We ask for a simple repeal of
two separate acts that the last legislature passed, and the restoration of the
laws previously existing on these points. The two questions, it may be noticed, are entirely distinct. The granting of the first class of petitions alone
allows a continuation of the privilege of mining to the Chinese already in the
state, but prevents further immigration. This is the most important concern. The granting of both classes of petitions would restore the privileges of
the miners, and also permit further immigration, which many in the agricultural districts, particularly in Southern California, and those interested
in cultivating the swamp lands, are seeking. It is quite possible that some
members may prefer action on the first petition alone, . . . leaving the rate
of the head tax unchanged. . . .
Questions to Consider
1. What two things does this petition ask for?
2. Do you think it was fair for the state legislature to charge a higher
license fee for Chinese miners than for other foreigners?
3. According to this petition, what were the advantages of encouraging
or discouraging Chinese emigration to California?
4. From this document, do you think the Chinese were treated the same
as other gold-seeking foreigners? Why or why not?
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Document 5
Lesson Four
“Indian Rancherie on Dry Creek”
California lettersheet
Questions to Consider
1. Describe the physical setting of the illustration.
2. What aspects of Native American life are depicted?
3. Do you think this scene remained peaceful as more and more miners
moved into this area?
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Document 6
Lesson Four
Diary of Augustin Hale
Beaver Valley Sunday Sept. 1st 1850. I stood the 4th guard this
morning & day guard today. Two of us had our Animals Saddled 7 rode out
in advance of the others as they were turned loose, the Grass being so high
that the Indians could easily creep up and steal or shoot our Animals.
By noon we had gone with them about a mile down the valley & were
resting ourselves sitting on a Rock on the point of a mountain which commanded a view of the Animals on each side, when I heard a whistle & soon
another which I mentioned to my companion as Indian signals, yet he
thought not. I soon heard it again & looking up at a high point above us we
discovered two large Indians with Quivers strung to their backs. We thought
there might be many more & my companion immediately started for Camp
to give some word.
Some of the Animals were near a point behind which I thought the
Indians might be creeping up. I shouldered my Gun & drove them back &
while doing so one of the Indians addressed me with great vehemence & in
a most energetic manner as if his life depended upon what he was saying.
He made many gestures with his hands motioning for us to go back &
pointing down the valley to their home (some two miles off). I was much
pleased with his style and earnestness, & would have given much could I
have understood him. I told them to “Vamose” as I knew if they remained
until our boys came up they would shoot them. . . .
I was much blamed for not shooting them, but under the circumstances I would not. . . .
Questions to Consider
1. Why was the author standing guard?
2. How did he know that the Native Americans were near by?
3. What “messages” did the Native American try to communicate to
Hale?
4. How did Hale react to the Native American who spoke to him? Why
didn’t he shoot the two Native Americans?
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Document 7
Lesson Four
“Tremendous Excitement!”
California lettersheet
Questions to Consider
1. Describe the scene depicted here.
2. How does “vigilante justice” contrast with our judicial system of
“innocent until proven guilty”?
3. People from which groups were most likely to be executed in Gold
Rush lynchings?
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Document 8
Lesson Four
Constitution of the State of California
San Francisco, 1849
ARTICLE II
Right of Suffrage
Sec. 1. Every white male citizen of the United States, and every white
male citizen of Mexico, who shall have elected to become a citizen of
the United States, under the treaty of peace exchanged and ratified at
Queretaro, on the 30th day of May, 1848, of the age of twenty-one
years, who shall have been a resident of the State six months next
preceding the election, and the country or district in which he claims
his vote thirty days, shall be entitled to vote at all elections. . . .
___________________________________________________________________
Constitucion del Estado de California
San Francisco, 1849
ARTICULO II
Derecho de Sufragio
Sec.1. Todo ciudadano blanco de los Estados Unidos y todo ciudadano
blanco de Mejico que haya eligido hacerse ciudadano de los Estados
Unidos bajo el tratado de paz cambiado y ratificado en Queretaro el día
30 Mayo de 1848, de la edad de viente y un años, y que haya residido
en el Estado seis meses immediatamente anteriores a la eleccion, y en
el condado o distrito en donde reclama su voto, treinta dias, tendra
derecho de votar en todas las elecciones. . . .
___________________________________________________________________
Questions to Consider
1. Why do you think the Constitution was written in both English and
Spanish?
2. According to the 1849 state constitution, who had the right to vote?
Who did not?
3. How have things changed since the Constitution was written, and
how have they remained the same? What languages are recognized as
official today, and who can vote?
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