The Gold Rush

What was "gold fever?"

• A disease caused by exposure to radioactive gold
• A sudden rise in gold prices caused by the discovery of gold
• A mental illness that caused people to mistake worthless metals for gold.
• The desire to get rich quick by acquiring California gold.

Which of the following people was most likely to be a "49er?"

• A 50-year-old man who was a college professor of geology.
• A 30-year-old female farmer from Oklahoma.
• A 40-year-old man who was born and raised in California gold country.
• A 20- year-old farmer from Missouri.

lace the following events in sequence:
A) Gold is discovered in California;
B) California becomes a state;
C) The Alaska gold rush begins

• A,B,C
• B,A,C
• C,B,A
• A,C,B

If you wanted to pan for gold, where would you go?

• A
• B
• C
• D

What can you infer about California from the information presented in the movie?

• Before 1849, its capital city was San Fransisco
• Before 1849, Relatively few people lived there
• Before 1849, it was impossible to reach by land or sea
• Before 1849, it had a reputation for being lawless and violent

Which of the following California towns most likely began as a gold rush town?

• Santa Rosa
• Red Dog
• Fullerton
• Pasadena

You were most likely to strike it rich in the California Gold Rush if you:

• Got to California very quickly after gold had been discovered
• Used devices like the long tom and the cradle
• Avoided mining camps
• Took the sea route to California instead of the land route

If you wanted to go from New York to California by ship, you would:

• Travel through Panama Canel
• Sail Northward to the Arctic Ocean, head west, and then go south past Alaska
• Sail through the Great Lakes, and then travel west along the Missouri River
• Sail south all the way around the tip South America, and then go north again

Which word best describes mining camps?

• Wealthy
• Placid
• Rowdy
• Large

Why did the gold rush end?

• California passed a  law against gold prospecting
• Most of the land in California was bought up by fortune-seekers
• All the easy-to-find gold was quickly taken
• The Civil War broke out, and prospectors had to go and fight