CONTENT WARNING
Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation.
Context
In 1848, Spain ceded a vast western territory to the United States as part of the Treaty of Hidalgo that ended the Mexican-American War. This included California, home to about 6,500 Californios of Mexican descent, 700 Americans, and 150,000 Indigenous people. Just days before, gold had been discovered at Sutter’s Mill, owned by a Swiss immigrant. When word spread of the discovery, thousands began descending on the territory to seek their fortune. Immigrants first came from the western coasts of central and South America, Asia, and the Pacific Rim before word of the gold discovery reached the east coast of the United States almost a year later.
This migration had a profound effect on the demographics, economy, and environment of what would become the nation’s thirty-first state. In 1849 almost 100,000 people from around the world immigrated to California, which petitioned to become a state in 1850. By 1852, California had more than 250,000 residents. The impact on the Indigenous population was devastating. More than 120,000 Indigenous people died in this period; they were either murdered over land claims, starved, or died from disease.
Gold’s impact on the economy was immediate. Within a decade, miners pulled today’s equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars of gold from the ground. Industries emerged to support mining, which enabled towns like San Francisco to become cities. Shipping boomed as provisions from the east coast poured into the ports of California, which enabled the shipbuilding industry to thrive. Discussions about building a transcontinental railroad began, although disagreements over where the route should go stymied its completion until after the Civil War.
Equally immediate was the impact on the environment. At first, miners extracted gold with surface mining techniques. By the mid-1850s, however, most who had gone to California looking for gold worked for mining companies that used hydraulic power and other invasive methods to extract gold from the ground. Miners and supporting industries clear-cut forests for timber and devastated landscapes by shearing off pieces of hills and mountains and diverting water sources. Later, hydraulic and ground mining led to sediment pouring into potable rivers and streams, ruining agricultural fields. Mercury, a product used in the mining process, contaminated both the water and the land.
Virginians joined the gold rush to California. This document reflects the planning process involved in migrating to the west coast. These Virginians founded a company to mine for gold in California and petitioned the General Assembly to loan them weapons to protect them while traveling and their land once they arrived. The group left Richmond in April 1849 and sailed around South America, arriving in San Francisco about five months later.
Citation: Madison Mining and Trading Company, Petition, Feb. 6, 1849, Madison County, Legislative Petitions Digital Collection, Library of Virginia.
This migration had a profound effect on the demographics, economy, and environment of what would become the nation’s thirty-first state. In 1849 almost 100,000 people from around the world immigrated to California, which petitioned to become a state in 1850. By 1852, California had more than 250,000 residents. The impact on the Indigenous population was devastating. More than 120,000 Indigenous people died in this period; they were either murdered over land claims, starved, or died from disease.
Gold’s impact on the economy was immediate. Within a decade, miners pulled today’s equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars of gold from the ground. Industries emerged to support mining, which enabled towns like San Francisco to become cities. Shipping boomed as provisions from the east coast poured into the ports of California, which enabled the shipbuilding industry to thrive. Discussions about building a transcontinental railroad began, although disagreements over where the route should go stymied its completion until after the Civil War.
Equally immediate was the impact on the environment. At first, miners extracted gold with surface mining techniques. By the mid-1850s, however, most who had gone to California looking for gold worked for mining companies that used hydraulic power and other invasive methods to extract gold from the ground. Miners and supporting industries clear-cut forests for timber and devastated landscapes by shearing off pieces of hills and mountains and diverting water sources. Later, hydraulic and ground mining led to sediment pouring into potable rivers and streams, ruining agricultural fields. Mercury, a product used in the mining process, contaminated both the water and the land.
Virginians joined the gold rush to California. This document reflects the planning process involved in migrating to the west coast. These Virginians founded a company to mine for gold in California and petitioned the General Assembly to loan them weapons to protect them while traveling and their land once they arrived. The group left Richmond in April 1849 and sailed around South America, arriving in San Francisco about five months later.
Citation: Madison Mining and Trading Company, Petition, Feb. 6, 1849, Madison County, Legislative Petitions Digital Collection, Library of Virginia.
Standards
VS.6, USI.8, VUS7, VUS.10
Suggested Questions
Pre-activity
Analyze: Read the document. What are they asking for, and why? Why do you think they would ask the legislature of their home state to provide personal arms and artillery for their journey? What do you think they mean by they may face disturbances in places where “little law” was present? What do you make of their determination to borrow the arms? How do you think they plannned to return them, or pay for them?
Post Activities
Taking Sides: Imagine you were a legislator. How would you respond to this request, and why? They claim they were only borrowing the arms—how would you ensure payment or return of the equipment? How likely do you think the General Assembly would have been to approve this request, and why?
In Their Shoes: Imagine you were planning to join the Madison Mining and Trading Company to seek your fortune as a gold hunter. What provisions do you think you would need to take? Would you prefer to take an overland or sea route to California, and why? What would you plan to do once you arrived in California?
Analyze: Read the document. What are they asking for, and why? Why do you think they would ask the legislature of their home state to provide personal arms and artillery for their journey? What do you think they mean by they may face disturbances in places where “little law” was present? What do you make of their determination to borrow the arms? How do you think they plannned to return them, or pay for them?
Post Activities
Taking Sides: Imagine you were a legislator. How would you respond to this request, and why? They claim they were only borrowing the arms—how would you ensure payment or return of the equipment? How likely do you think the General Assembly would have been to approve this request, and why?
In Their Shoes: Imagine you were planning to join the Madison Mining and Trading Company to seek your fortune as a gold hunter. What provisions do you think you would need to take? Would you prefer to take an overland or sea route to California, and why? What would you plan to do once you arrived in California?