Oakland Museum of California
Gold Rush: Stories of the Lure and Legacy
Experience the Gold Rush through this multimedia presentation. See the art that reflects the environment, characters, and the role of women in the gold rush. Listen to an overview of the gold rush and its impact.
Sacramento Bee
Gold Rush: On Your Mark, Get Set, Gold
This CalGoldRush.com site is an article that discusses where people came from, as well as the number of people involved in the California gold rush. The article focuses on the massive migration to California.
Other
Object of History: Chinese Miners (Chinese Immigration During the Gold Rush)
An image is provided of "Gan Saam Meets El Dorado," which depicts the Chinese miners in California during the 1850s in search of gold.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: Gold Rush Chronology 1846 1849
A nice timeline of events that occurred from 1846 to 1849 in the California Gold Rush. Hyperlinks to additional information. From the Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco.
Harp Week
Harp Week: Mining Life in California
Illustrated article from Harper's Weekly, October 3, 1857, page 632, focusing on Chinese workers and their life in California mining camps.
Other
Gold Rush Chronicles: The Pony Express
At this comprehensive site, students learn about the first cross-country mail courier service in the United States, the Pony Express.
University of California
History Project: Debate Over the California Constitutional Convention, 1878 1879
Lesson on immigration, conflict and nativism in which students examine primary source documents to evaluate public policy and attitudes towards Chinese immigrants in California, 1878-1879.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: America in Class: The Chinese Question From a Chinese Standpoint, 1873
Lesson on how the Chinese in California confronted anti-Chinese sentiment and discrimination in the late 1800s. Comprehensive instructional activity with primary source materials.
Books in the Classroom
Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site: In Plain Sight
Carol Hurst uses one of her own books, "In Plain Sight," as a basis for this lesson plan on the California gold rush. In addition to discussion questions about the book, Hurst provides ten activities designed to help students explore...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1865 1898: The Gold Rush
The 1848 discovery of gold in the territory of California prompted 300,000 hopeful prospectors to flood into the region, altering it forever.
American Geosciences Institute
American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Gold Panning
Have students simulate the Gold Rush by panning for gold in the classroom.
Sacramento Bee
Gold Rush: Prospectors Still Prowl the Hills for Gold
This CalGoldRush.com site discusses how the California gold rush still inspires many individuals who continue searching for gold hoping to someday strike it rich.
Other
Object of History: The Gold Nugget
Audio-pictorial overview of the story of the California gold rush.
Other
The Object of History: Behind the Scenes With Curators of the Nmah: Gold Nugget
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.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: The Gold Discovery
This site contains information on the dramatic impact of the California Gold Rush. From "The History of California," published in 1897.
Sacramento Bee
Sacramento Bee: Gold Rush Cost in Environmental Damage
This site discusses how the California gold rush left lasting damage of the California environment. Read how the state's environment has been forever changed.
Other
The Gold Rush: Gold Country
A great look at the people who made money providing services for the miners in the California Gold Rush.
Sacramento Bee
Gold Rush: Justice Wasn't Pretty but It Was Quick
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.
Oakland Museum of California
Gold Rush: California on the Eve Californios
This resource presents information about the Spanish influence in California before the Gold Rush.
Sacramento Bee
Gold Rush: Culture Took Hold Despite Tough Crowds
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.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of San Francisco: African American Rights Gold Rush Era
Provides information concerning African American rights in the California gold country before the Civil War.
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Gold Mining in the Uwharries
In the early decades of the 1800s, the southern Piedmont's gold mines attracted prospectors, investors, and miners. Tar Heel gold had first been found in 1799 on John Reed's farm in Cabarrus County, several miles west of the Uwharrie...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Searching for Gold: A Collaborative Inquiry Project
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...
OpenStax
Open Stax: Making a Living in Gold and Cattle
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...