PEOPLE

Samuel Brannan

. Mormon businessman, settler in San Francisco

. Used penny press to publicize gold in California, sold goods to miners from general stores to become California's first millionaire

. Refused tribute to Brigham Young, excommunicated from Mormon Church

Mark Twain

. Major American writer, author of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

. Arrived in California, 1863; spread legend of Gold Rush through his works, despite its missing peak

John Sutter

. Early California settler, owned tract of land where gold was first discovered

. Had hoped to form ideal agrarian community; discovery of gold made that impossible

Levi Strauss

. German Jewish immigrant to America, made fortune as tailor supplying Gold Rush miners

. Invented denim blue jeans with riveted pockets to serve as durable pants for prospectors

Leland Stanford

. California businessman and politician

. Sold supplies to miners from Sacramento store, then used profits to move into railroad business

. Served as president of Central Pacific Railroad, then governor of California and US senator

. With his wife, established Stanford University, 1891

EVENTS

1847 Mormon Settlers Arrive in Yerba Buena

. 246 Mormon pilgrims, led by S. Brannan, settled in San Francisco, then
a small Mexican village called Yerba Buena

. First Americans to settle permanently in San Francisco

1848 Gold at Sutter's Mill

. Gold discovered in American River, in Sierra foothills east of Sacramento

1848 California Becomes US Territory

. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed at end of Mexican-American War, annexed California to United States

1848 Brannan Spreads Gold Fever

. Merchant Sam Brannan displayed vial of gold dust in San Francisco, shouting "Gold, Gold! Gold from the American River!"

. Virtually every man in San Francisco left immediately for goldfields

. Brannan became California's first millionaire selling overpriced supplies to miners

1848 First Chinese Arrive in San Francisco

. At first, Chinese miners worked side by side with Americans but eventually faced enormous discrimination

1849 Forty-Niners Arrive

. 90,000 migrants traveled to California in first year after news of gold strike

. 97% were male; most came from eastern United States but Chinese, South Americans, Europeans also represented

. $10 million in gold extracted in 1849 alone

1850 California Admitted to Union

. As part of Compromise of 1850, California admitted as free state

1850 Foreign Miners Tax

. Foreign nationals charged $20 a month for right to work as miners

. When they didn't pay, Anglo-Americans ran them off land

. 15,000 Mexicans fled in 1850

GROUPS

Californios

. Mexican residents of California

CONCEPTS

Hydraulic Mining

. Used high-pressure spray from water hoses to erode ore-bearing hillsides

. Environmentally disastrous; caused torrents of mud called "slickens" to pour downhill

Market Revolution

. Improvements in transportation and communication allowed small isolated communities to be drawn into broader national market economy

. Increased national wealth, led to growth of modern capitalism