The Gold Rush (1925) - IMDb Directed by Charles Chaplin. Malcolm Rohrbough Is there a single human being on the face of the earth who could gaze on such a scene as this and say in his heart, 'There is no God'? JoAnn Levy, Writer: That's a week's wages at home. Holliday. The sudden influx of gold into the money supply reinvigorated the American economy, and the sudden population increase allowed California to go rapidly to statehood, in the Compromise of 1850. Doug Quigley Lou Verrico, Full House Productions On New Years Day 1850, one of California's newly-elected Senators set sail for the nation's capital to press for his state's immediate admission to the Union. Mark Koenigsberg Vivienne Bekeart But gold quite simply is in some places and not in other places. Narrator: Some 90,000 gold seekers rushed into California over the course of 1849, roughly three quarters of them from the United States -- northerners and southerners, slaves and free blacks. Instead, they headed west toward the coast. Land is higher here than in Boston or any other city, and a small piece of land to pitch a tent on rents for 150 dollars a month. All of us got much less than an ounce. This was known as alluvial gold and could be found by individual miners using very basic equipment such as a spade and a dish. They were doing new polka steps. They were bakers and tailors, carpenters and farmers -- but they now called themselves "forty-niners," after the year many believed would change their lives. When finally it sunk in that it's true, they say they couldn't keep their legs still. Richard White, Historian: The Gold Rush ends up being a series of negotiations. After dinner we went ashore. Gary Ewer Madeline Hsu, Historian: White Americans had a consciousness of Chinese as being this other civilization, this other race of people, and in the mindsets of many, as being intrinsically different and incompatible. It transformed obviously California, but more importantly, it transformed America. Within one year of that law's passage, an estimated 10,000 Mexican miners left California. Reading, Vicente Perez Rosales: He said that the reports in Chile were not a shadow of the reality; that the most no-account hayseed squandered gold like a Croesus, since to acquire that much-sought metal it was only necessary to bend down and pick it up. Holliday, Historian: What you're dealing with are rocks, and the more you remove, you just keep finding more and more rocks. Sometimes a crime was committed in Los Angeles in the morning, and another crime committed in Sacramento at noon, and they would say it was Joaquin Murieta. Pamela Dixon Reading, Hiram Pierce: We have expended about 3,000 dollars in time and money -- 12 of us -- and I am afraid it will not pay. Darrell M. Lee The river has risen three feet on account of rains. Dodge has appeared in 99 episodes of the Gold Rush series dating back from 2011. She's stunned. Reading, Alfred Doten: I dreamed that he appeared to me and bade me "good-bye" as he was about to die. Richard White, Historian: You might be getting a better wage than you were back east, but you're a wage laborer. Narrator: Perez Rosales gave up on mining, but not on his hopes of striking it rich in California. H.W. Two men were hung for stealing two hundred dollars, and a little boy had his ears cropped close to his head, for stealing 1400 dollars. And so he feels quite free to pursue these short-lived sexual relationships, and feels little moral compunction about it. No one was in favor of a return to Chile; rather it was unanimously determined to reenter the struggle against adverse fortune. I bought provisions at a neighboring store, and when my husband came back at night he found 20 miners eating at my table. Few in San Francisco had believed the story. We began to think that the day we set up a hat factory, men would be born without heads. Unwilling to delay any longer, 48 Californians had convened in the town hall at Monterey in September, and had hammered out their own constitution. Narrator: Doten wiled away his last years on a barstool, trading nickel glasses of whiskey for romantic tales of the days of forty-nine. ELKINS, W.Va. — The popular “Gold Rush” trout stocking effort will return for 2012 in West Virginia. Narrator: From time to time, Doten would be haunted by thoughts of his life back in Plymouth. James Rawls, Historian: The first response of most people who heard that news was incredulity. The whole Joaquin valley was covered with an impenetrable mist, and from the base of the mountain to the coast range, naught could be seen but one vast sea of fog with a surface unbroken, while the coast range loomed up clear and distinct in the distance. J.S. Nothing would have prepared them for the departure of members of the family, particularly for long periods at such a long distance. John N. McWilliams Liz Clifford And so from the perspective of the Anglo American miners, who were frustrated with their own failure, the Latino miners became their prime object of hatred, to eliminate them as a source of competition. And typically, it's seen by observers as funny. H.W. Russ Cochiolo But everything had changed. Isabel Allende, Writer: It was a very freeing experience. Fueled by the constant comings and goings of thousands of miners, it had grown exponentially -- its population skyrocketing to almost 30,000 by the end of 1850. Supervising Sound Editor Reading, Antonio Franco Coronel: Everyone began to work at daybreak. Betsy Bacon Narrator: Worse still, everything in the gold district was wildly overpriced: one dollar for an egg, five for a pound of tea, and upwards of eight for a second-hand shovel. What they found were other miners, hundreds of them. Brands, Historian: The gold that was discovered originated in the quartz veins of the Sierra Nevada, but over eons had been washed downstream by glaciers and especially by water. Reading, Luzena Wilson: Ahead, as far as the eye could reach, a thin cloud of dust marked the route of the trains; and behind us, like the trail of a great serpent, it extended to the edge of civilization. It's not me. And when they weren't at work, there wasn't much else for them to do except to go to the gambling halls, to go to the brothels, and to pretty much run wild. Narrator: By the summer of 1848, the news of gold had reached the pueblo of Los Angeles, some 350 miles south of San Francisco. I recovered about forty-five ounces of coarse gold. His mining company, like scores of others, had failed. The Huntington Library Seaver Center, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History That was what gold accomplished. One man makes his fortune, the other one doesn't. Isabel Allende, Writer: And when he heard about the Gold Rush, he went wild. Khan Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. And when they had to rub elbows with them and work side by side, they got very angry. We barged up and down and all around the town and we saw all the sights and wonders, and plenty of the "dust.". J.S. Dwain Baughman Reading, Luzena Wilson: We were fascinated by the beauty of a little valley, which already bore the name of Vaca. Their ship had barely dropped anchor when one of their countrymen came aboard. Narrator: Anglo threats soon turned to actual violence -- but many foreign miners, like Perez Rosales and his brothers, refused to be intimidated. Narrator: Rumors had been circulating for months about a group of laborers who had been building a sawmill in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, some 100 miles east, when one of them spied the gleam of gold in the racing water. He gave me a blessing, bidding me "keep a stiff upper lip and do battle with the world as long as the world would show fight." The Collections of Henry Ford Thursday, March 21. Narrator: On a bright spring morning, the Wilsons abandoned their small log cabin in Missouri, and joined the ever-growing caravan bound for California. I would have come. Kevin Starr, Historian: The myth of the Gold Rush tends to want to extract a kind of glorious adventure, untouched by any ambiguity. I shall burst some of these diggings wide open this summer. Other Chinese immigrants, meanwhile, settled in San Francisco or Sacramento, and made their money as fishermen, launderers and cooks. Chilean and Mexican miners also descended on the new state and jockeyed with Anglo Americans for the riches the Gold Rush promised. It may not be my fortune to get much, but I shall make an honest effort. Reading, Sara Pierce: My dear husband, if I can get you back, I should be willing to live on very small fare. I think strongly of home. For much of the previous century, it had been a distant outpost on the edge of first the Spanish empire and then the Republic of Mexico. I wouldn't believe that. But this sense of breakthrough, of new beginnings, of expanded possibilities, comes directly from the Gold Rush. ", Produced by In the days and months to come, the quest for gold would create an entirely new society on the Pacific coast. The Gold Rush - Social Studies Book for Kids - Great for School Projects and Book Reports (Primary Source Readers) by Monika Davies 4.6 out of 5 stars 6. As late as the 1840s, the entire region boasted only about 170,000 inhabitants. Lydia Tanji Brian Roberts, Historian: The forty-niners definitely had a sense that they were embarked on this great adventure. In that time, he'd lived in a crude log cabin that he'd built himself, slept night after night on a mattress of pine needles, and suffered everything from back aches and chills to scurvy -- all in the now-fading hope that he might strike it rich. Businessmen prepared their cargoes; those who had little sold all for what it would bring in order to make the trip; those who had nothing either paid their passage by serving as sailors or pledged themselves to work on contract in exchange for the price of the trip to El Dorado. Minnesota Historical Society Newcomers are arriving constantly. And all over the country, religious and community leaders railed against the national obsession with gold. Robert Eckhardt and John Kadel Boring James Rawls, Historian: The name of the law sounds benign, but the effect was malign in the extreme degree. For me, the gold mines were over. Jerry McGonigle Narrator: Doten senior -- the descendent of sober-minded Pilgrims -- had raised his son to resist all forms of worldly temptation. Cheryl A. McIntire, Costume Designer This gives you a sense of what it was. Reading, worker of Antonio Franco Coronel: He said he was going to the camp and then I asked permission to work his claim. Narrator: Wilson was soon doing so well that her husband decided to give up gold mining and come on as her business partner in the El Dorado. Brian Roberts, Historian: The California Gold Rush is really America's first large-scale media event. Major "Strikes" in the California Gold Rush, Gaming and Entertainment in Gold Rush Towns. Madeline Hsu, Historian: Despite the hostile circumstances, despite the discrimination, many Chinese did find the United States to be the place that they considered home. But most of them couldn't wait to get out of there and start digging for gold. Narrator: Alfred Doten was among those who never returned. Even Alfred Doten, the descendant of upright Pilgrims, soon gave himself over to temptation. Even though they do better than they might have done back east, this wasn't really what they had in mind. Meanwhile, communities throughout California offered bounties for Indian ears, scalps, heads. Stories from the Gold Rush . Narrator: In the end, the Pierces decided to gamble their future. But in the years that followed, four of his seven children would leave Troy for good -- and go to live in California. Slave owners and slaves came primarily from western U.S. states -- … Afterward, in season three, he became a permanent Gold Rush cast. In the 1840s, you have the rise of penny newspapers available to virtually any American. Bob Firato It belonged to those who could take it and carry it back home. By 1870, there would be more than 48,000 Chinese in California. It was those merchants, many of whom did not actually go up into the gold fields who were making the biggest profits. American flags flew from every staff and rooftop. Get it as soon as Tue, Mar 16. From there, he would set sail for California. “Bitcoin and the wider crypto market are the modern-age digital gold rush,” wrote FundStrat, which means crypto mining stocks could see further upside. Robert Fraser It does seem to Americans to be a sickness, and that's the way they describe it. Narrator: Sam Brannan who had done so much to spread the word of gold was doing especially well. Made a small show. It's a newly acquired territory only for Americans. This must have been quite hard on a man like him, who was accustomed to being kind of at the top of-- the top of the heap and not the bottom of the heap. Along the way, both California and America would be forever transformed. Tuna, Salmon, Rock fish, Halibut. In the interim, Brannan planned to stock his store with every pick, pan and shovel he could lay his hands on. Nine out of ten were men. Diana Newington And there is this fear that they will let their worst instincts come out. Narrator: Though he would continue to mine, Doten eventually opened a store -- a combination provisioning post and dance hall. Jim Sullivan, Mix One Studios. Chip Hitchcock Twenty-year-old Alfred Doten, who had journeyed by sea from his home in Plymouth, Massachusetts, wrote back to his father while still in the harbor. Greg French Reading, Hiram Pierce: This morning, I am well and hearty and full of hope. Reading, Sara Pierce: How I wish you were here. And so when Chinese become too much of a presence, the resentment immediately arises. But with each passing month, he fell more deeply under the spell of California. The pedestrians and laborers, with their peculiar costumes and fixings, present a singular and unique appearance. Becky Plaza Madeline Hsu, Historian: Chinese are very good at getting organized. Larry Baumgardner Those with money enough to book passage went by sea. All rights reserved. Holliday, Historian: Next to the Civil War in the 19th century, no other event, had a greater impact, more long-lasting reverberations, than the Gold Rush. I became luxurious and hired a cook and waiters. Residents swept up the ashes and began to rebuild. Travis Schlaffman, Interns He's not a big landowner. The plan was to stake a claim there, and try out a costly new technique known as river mining. Eventually, he made a name for himself as a newspaperman in Nevada -- but the big strike always eluded him. Narrator: That first summer, there were fewer than 5,000 people in the goldfields. Narrator: By the middle of 1849, four thousand gold seekers were arriving in San Francisco each month. Vacaville Museum But with the shift in racial balance, came unthinkable acts of racism. Every one seemed impelled by the frenzy of fever, so intent upon their work they scarcely had time to breathe. Akeime Mitterlehner And could a transient place like California, a place where the primary motive was to get rich and get out, ever truly become like the rest of America? Demands for some sort of civil authority had been mounting for months. In time, the success stories would drift back across the Pacific. These are not things which normally would take place in New England. one newspaper reported, "while the field is left half-planted, the house half-built and everything neglected but the manufacture of shovels and pick axes.". America by Air, LLC Many discouraged forty-niners headed home. Isabel Allende, Writer: Whites were not used to the idea that people of color were their equals. Narrator: On November 13, 1849, as a steady rain fell in the Sierra Nevada, California held its first general election. Reading, Hiram Pierce: Monday, February 25, 1850. People were living, uh, on the edge. All there is would not tempt me to endure half the anxiety of the past year. Jason C. Lobb Others would keep chasing the dream across the American West -- from California to the Rocky Mountains to Nevada's legendary Comstock Lode. Mystic Seaport Narrator: In the two decades after the discovery of gold, 120,000 Indians -- four-fifths of California's native population -- would be wiped out -- most by starvation or disease, others at the murderous hands of whites. Patrick Ruth Leigh Hart How can I endure it? Nick Gustafson Narrator: By the early 1850s, the hunt for gold was spreading farther into California's interior, and miners were encroaching on lands that had been inhabited for centuries by Native Americans -- among them the Yokut and Maidu and Modoc, the Miwok, Nisenan and Pit. Narrator: Just a year before, San Francisco had been a sleepy village of some 800 people. It was gold that was lying essentially free in the gravel of streambeds. Larry Baumgardner Malcolm Rohrbough, Historian: They thought they were participating in a historic event of the greatest importance. See ya soon! But more than a year had passed, and so far nothing had gone according to plan. Men are coming and going. I rather fear for the future. With Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman. Susan Lee Johnson, Historian: That increase in violence, some of it probably was perpetrated by Mexicans, but it got to a point where virtually any sort of violence or theft that took place was kind of automatically blamed on Mexicans in the diggings. Reading, Hiram Pierce: Ten months since I left home and have not made a dollar. Gold from the American River!". They said, "Well, it's an Indian. Holliday, Historian: The governor got up and he made a speech and he said, "Our state is a marvel to ourselves and a miracle to the world. Like so many others, we went out for wool and came back shorn. Dug eight dollars. This was an undertaking of great peril. The Gold Rush At the end of 1853, San Francisco was a city on the fast track. We were able to come to a midpoint and close the transaction. J.S. In the years to come, wooden structures would give way to brick and stone, residents would raise a fire department, and the city would take on an air of permanence. But interracial violence is going to continue on through the 1850s. If I don't succeed in such-and-such a time, I will be back. Reading, Hiram Pierce: My dear and faraway wife, this gold is by no means diffused over the whole country. Richard Haratani It's someone else's fault. And to have the Gold Rush happen that very same year, was almost as if there was a sign from God, a divine sign of approval of this process of expansion of the United States across the continent. And as a young man, he pursued a number of different strategies to try to kind of recoup family fortune. Frank Kilbourne Donate or volunteer today! Reading, Luzena Wilson: With my own hands I chopped stakes, drove them into the ground, and set up my table. George Eastman House Its members had thrown their charter into the fire and disbanded. Very much like the story of Jason and the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece. James Rawls, Historian: It was an axiom at the time that the real chance for success in the Gold Rush was not in mining the gold -- any fool might want to try that -- but rather the wise man knew it was mining the miners. Susan Lee Johnson, Historian: Perez Rosales was of an elite, but his family had fallen on hard times. Albert Camarillo, Historian: Antonio Franco Coronel -- he's a man of modest means before the Gold Rush. Reading, Vicente Perez Rosales: We hired a famous French cook named Monsieur Michel, who -- in addition to room and board -- earned a total of $8,400 a year, a good deal more than a minister of state earns in Chile; and setting up over the door a large sign that read Citizens' Restaurant, we opened for business. Richard White, Historian: The United States is moving away from a society in which most people were independent producers, and it's moving towards a wage labor society. After California, people don't mock that kind of idea anymore. Would you? Teresa Hixson It would take a good four months before the so-called "mule-train express" reached its destination. Perez Rosales was one of about 3,000 Chileans who received passports in 1848 to travel to California in search of gold. It wasn't a society in which making money was held first and foremost. Reading, Vicente Perez Rosales: California was an unknown country full of dangers, and nevertheless, the risk of robbery, violence, sickness, death itself, were secondary considerations before the promise of gold. Narrator: Now, in Nevada City, she figured to make a killing. The Gold Rush reached its peak in 1852. Rudy Aguilar Your fingers are crushed and your fingernails fall off. Narrator: In the months since Vicente Perez Rosales had been driven from the gold fields, he and his brothers had made money any way they could. Some days economic sphere — it also changed the face and shape of America breakneck! And how long, exactly, was this absence to last rocked the infant and... Side by side, they got very angry remote spot in the minds of show. Village of just 800 people -- a combination provisioning post and dance hall strategies try... Klondike gold Rush was the first gold Rush series dating back from.... 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