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Object of History: The Gold Nugget

For Students 9th - 10th
Audio-pictorial overview of the story of the California gold rush.
Primary
Other

The Object of History: Behind the Scenes With Curators of the Nmah: Gold Nugget

For Students 9th - 10th
Take a look at and lend an ear for primary sources featuring the California Gold Rush. Men and women from around the world landed in the United States and flocked to the west coast in search of nuggets of gold.
Primary
Museum of the City of San Francisco

Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: The Gold Discovery

For Students 9th - 10th
This site contains information on the dramatic impact of the California Gold Rush. From "The History of California," published in 1897.
Website
University of California

University of California: Robert B. Honeyman Jr. Collection

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection at the University of California-Berkeley can now be accessed online through the Online Archive of California. It provides a vast collection of historically significant primary source images of early California and the...
Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: 'Real Women' Who Defied Stereotype

For Students 9th - 10th
This CalGoldRush.com site discusses the role of the women during the gold rush in California. They served in a variety of roles and many made more than miners. This page tells their stories.
Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: Justice Wasn't Pretty but It Was Quick

For Students 9th - 10th
This CalGoldRush.com site contains information on justice and law in California during the gold rush. Many felons lost their lives at the end of a rope.
Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: Some Found Riches, Many Found Themselves

For Students 9th - 10th
This site discusses how many miners never made it rich, but had an adventure of a lifetime during the California gold rush.
Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: Culture Took Hold Despite Tough Crowds

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource contains information on the development of culture in California during the gold rush. Culture developed in spite of the harsh conditions and tough people.
Handout
Museum of the City of San Francisco

Virtual Museum of San Francisco: African American Rights Gold Rush Era

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides information concerning African American rights in the California gold country before the Civil War.
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Searching for Gold: A Collaborative Inquiry Project

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Contains plans for six lessons that ask students to research the Gold Rush before teaching each other about it. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to sites used in the lessons as well as...
Primary
Oakland Museum of California

California's Untold Stories: Silver and Gold

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides a virtual tour of the mining of silver and gold in California through excellent photos and facts.
eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Making a Living in Gold and Cattle

For Students 11th - 12th
In this section, students will learn about the major discoveries and developments in western gold, silver, and copper mining in the mid-nineteenth century. They will be able to explain why the cattle industry was paramount to the...
Website
Other

Gold Rush Chronicles: The Pony Express

For Students 9th - 10th
At this comprehensive site, students learn about the first cross-country mail courier service in the United States, the Pony Express.
Website
Oakland Museum of California

Gold Rush: Silver and Gold: Chinese Man

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource presents information about the Chinese miners who came to California during the gold rush period of American history and faced discrimination and hostility.
Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: Rivals in the Newspaper Field

For Students 9th - 10th
This article from the Sacramento Bee discusses the rise of journalism during the California gold rush. Many journalists left their jobs and headed west to cover this great event.
Website
Ducksters

Ducksters: History: California Gold Rush for Kids

For Students 1st - 9th
Kids learn about the California Gold Rush from the Old West on this site. Thousands of people move to the west to search for gold and strike it rich.
Handout
Other

The Gold Rush: Fever

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides information about the Gold Rush, and fever that took place during westward expansion.
Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: Boring Diet Gave Miners Appetite for Dining

For Students 9th - 10th
This site discusses the eating habits of many of the miners during the California gold rush.
Website
Digital History

Digital History: The Gold Rush

For Students 9th - 10th
See how the discovery of gold changed California and introduced lawlessness, violence, and vigilantism.
Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: Sacramento Was Gateway to Gold

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the growth and importance of Sacramento as a mining town in the California Gold Rush. From a larger site from the Sacramento Bee.
Primary
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: Religion Reclaimed Souls

For Students 9th - 10th
This article, entitled "Religion Reclaimed Souls as Mining Expanded," contains information on the developement of religion in California during the gold rush.
Handout
Other

Sierra Foothill Magazine: Gold Rush Women

For Students 9th - 10th
This article discusses the varied roles of women during the Gold Rush.
Handout
Other

The Gold Rush: San Francisco

For Students 9th - 10th
This page discusses how the gold rush led to the massive growth of San Francisco.
Primary
Museum of the City of San Francisco

Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: A Gold Rush Poem

For Students 9th - 10th
A poem written in England but certainly expressing the hopes and dreams of those seeking gold in California. Included in the San Francisco Business Directory of 1864-65.

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