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Handout
Other

The Gold Rush: Gold Country

For Students 9th - 10th
A great look at the people who made money providing services for the miners in the California Gold Rush.
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Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: His Path Back to Japan Was Paved With Gold

For Students 9th - 10th
This CalGoldRush.com site discusses the life of Manjiro Nakahama, a Japanese immigrant who made enough money during the gold rush in California that he was able to return home to Japan.
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Graphic
Other

Object of History: Chinese Miners (Chinese Immigration During the Gold Rush)

For Students 9th - 10th
An image is provided of "Gan Saam Meets El Dorado," which depicts the Chinese miners in California during the 1850s in search of gold.
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Interactive
Huntington Library

Huntington Library: Land of Golden Dreams: Li's Journey: China to California

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Li is a 14-year-old boy from Guangdong, China, who travels to California during the Gold Rush. Read about his journey on a sailing ship from Southern China to San Francisco. Along the way experience, the sights and sounds of sea travel...
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Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Us History: 1865 1898: The Gold Rush

For Students 9th - 10th
The 1848 discovery of gold in the territory of California prompted 300,000 hopeful prospectors to flood into the region, altering it forever.
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Lesson Plan
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Gold Panning

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Have young scholars simulate the Gold Rush by panning for gold in the classroom.
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Website
Oakland Museum of California

California's Untold Stories: Natives and Immigrants

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides a tour through the history of natives and immigrants to the California Gold Rush area, including African American, California Indian, Chinese, and Latino.
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Website
Oakland Museum of California

Gold Rush: Law, Order and Justice for Some Discrimination

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource presents information about the culturally diverse mining towns in California during the time of the gold rush and the treatment of minorities.
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Website
Oakland Museum of California

Gold Rush: Prospecting Coyote Hole

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource presents information on African American miners during the California Gold Rush.
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Primary
Oakland Museum of California

California's Untold Stories: Art of the Gold Rush

For Students 9th - 10th
The Oakland Museum presents an exhibit of art that show the miners, mining towns, new cities, and people of the Gold Rush. Be sure to read the overview of the exhibit to get the historical background.
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Handout
Other

The Gold Rush: Collision of Cultures

For Students 9th - 10th
This page discusses the many different cultures that came to California during the gold rush.
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Interactive
Other

Object of History: The Gold Nugget

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

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