Section 4-Polling Question

1. A
2. B

If you were living in the gold rush era, would you have traveled across the country for the chance at great riches?

A. Yes

B. No

Chapter 13 Manifest Destiny (1818-1853)

Lesson 4 California and Utah

Essential Question

What factors affected the settlement of California and Utah in the West?

Gold!

• 1848- John Sutter discovered gold in California
• People from all over the world arrived in 1849 and were called…
• Forty-niners
• Farmers, lawyers, doctors, priests and others were “digging gold”
• Americans made up 80% of the 49ers
• Others came from Mexico, South America, Europe, and Australia
• About 300 men arrived from China, the first large group of Asian immigrants to settle America

The Californios

• The Californios are now citizens of the US (Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo)
• The treaty also gave them rights to their lands
• The Land Law of 1851, however, established a group of reviewers who examined the Californios’ land rights
• When a new settler came in the Californio had to prove they owned the land
• Some were able to prove land ownership, others were not and lost their land

Growth of Cities

• As people rushed to a new area looking for gold, they built new communities, called boomtowns, almost overnight
• At one site there were 2 houses and a year later there was…
• A town of 1000 people with “hotels, stores, groceries, bakeries, and … gambling houses”
• Cities grew rapidly
• San Francisco grew from a tiny village to a city of about 20,000 people

The 49ers

• Most 49ers had no experience in mining
• When they heard gold was discovered at site, they rushed to it
• They spent hours looking for gold dust and nuggets
• The California Gold Rush more than doubled the world’s supply of gold
• But few 49ers achieved lasting wealth
• Most found little or no gold
• Many of those who did find gold lost it gambling or on wild spending

Those That Made Money

• Were the boomtown merchants
• They could charge whatever they want for food and other essential items
• There were no other nearby stores that sold these products
• An immigrant named Levi Strauss sold the miners sturdy pants made of denim
• His “Levi’s” made him rich

Gold Rush Society

• Mining communities contained men of all backgrounds, but few women
• Many men spent their free time drinking, gambling, and fighting
• The mining towns had no police or prisons
• Citizens formed vigilante groups to protect themselves
• The vigilante groups took the law into their own hands
• They acted as police, judge, jury, and sometimes executioner

Economic and Political Progress

• Many people who came to California looking for gold stayed
• They farmed or ran a business
• Rapid growth brought a need for better government
• 1850- California applied for statehood and wrote a constitution
• The state decided on slavery… and they chose-
• No slavery
• Southern states opposed California’s admission
• California would not enter the Union until a year later when a compromise was reached

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D

Why did many Americans in the 1840s want to make California a state?

A. to convert the Native � Americans to Christianity

B. to abolish the Spanish � missions

C. to build ports on the � Pacific coast

D. to sell Native Americans into slavery

The First Mormons

• Mormons- members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
• The Mormons came about during the religious awakenings of the 1830s and 1840s
• The founder of the Mormon Church was Joseph Smith (Living in New York)
• Smith claimed he received visions to build a new Christian church and began preaching in 1830
• Smith published the Book of Mormon which told of the coming of God and the need to build a kingdom on Earth to receive him

The Mormons

• Smith wanted to build a model society
• He believed property should be held in common
• Also supported polygamy (More than one wife)
• Smith formed a society in New York, but people disagreed with his ideas and forced the Mormons to leave
• The Mormons moved to Illinois, but persecution continued

The Mormons Leave Illinois

• 1844- A mob of residents killed Joseph Smith
• Brigham Young took over as head of the Mormons
• Young decided the Mormons should move again to escape persecution and have religious freedom
• The Mormons moved west to the Great Salt Lake in present day Utah

A Haven in the Desert

• 1846- About 12,000 Mormons moved to Utah
• This was the largest single migration in American history
• Traveled on what became known as the Mormon Trail (Became an valuable route to the western US)
• 1847- The Mormon’s reached the Great Salt Lake
• The land was dry and wild
• The Mormons call the land Deseret and set up farming communities

Mormons’ In Deseret

• At first life was difficult for the settlers
• Hard work and determination helped Deseret succeed
• They built their towns carefully and irrigation canals to water their farms (Salt Lake City)
• Property was taxed, and use of water, timber, and other natural resources were regulated
• Industries were developed so they could be self-sufficient
• Mormon merchants sold supplies to the 49ers who passed through Utah on their way to California

Section 4

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D

Mormons used irrigation to water crops at

A. Deseret

B. New York City

C. San Francisco

D. Boomtowns in California

Utah Territory

• 1850- Congress established the Utah Territory
• President Millard Fillmore made Brigham Young the governor or Utah
• By 1860- There were many Mormon communities throughout Utah
• Utah was NOT easily incorporated into the US
• The Mormons often had conflicts with federal officials
• In 1857 and 1858- War almost broke out between the Mormons and the US Army
• Utah did not become a state until 1896

Essential Question

What factors affected the settlement of California and Utah in the West?

​

-Rapid growth in population and in economic activity to serve the growing population

-Growth led to need for more effective government, resulting in the writing of a state constitution and statehood in 1850

False

Forty-niners

True

False

Few

True

False

Did not permit

False

Joseph Smith

True

True

Chapter 13 Section 4 Quiz

The world's supply of gold was more than doubled by

1. Levi Strauss.
2. boomtowns.
3. the California Gold Rush.
4. John Sutter.

California's request for statehood caused a crisis in Congress because of

1. gold.
2. Mormons.
3. vigilantes.
4. slavery.

Who founded the Mormon church?

1. Levi Strauss
2. Brigham Young
3. John Sutter
4. Joseph Smith

Who became head of the Mormon church after the founder died in 1844?

1. Brigham Young
2. Joseph Smith
3. Levi Strauss
4. John Sutter

Which of the following made the largest single migration in history?

1. forty-niners
2. Mormons
3. Gold Rush miners
4. Gold Rush merchants

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