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.

Sam Brannan helped start the gold rush by

• hiding gold nuggets under his hats

• running through San Francisco and shouting that there was gold in the American River

• selling gold flakes to American Indians

• stealing gold from American Indian tribes

How did the new gold-seekers who had moved to California earn the nickname "forty-niners?"

• They were all 49 years of age when they moved to California.

• They arrived to California in 1849.

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.

In 1849 the population of California increased by nearly ____ because of the gold rush.

• 20,000

• 45,000

• 61,000

• 100,000

What do you call a town that grows rapidly as a result of new business?

• The government

• Boomtown

• California

• Rainforest

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

When was gold first discovered at Sutter's Fort?

• August 2, 1813

• December 23, 121

• January 24, 1848

• April 7, 1865

Why did Sutter's workers stop working and abandon his colony?

• They all moved to different parts of the country.

• They went hunting for gold.

• They wanted to start their own farms.

What did prospectors mean when they yelled, "Eureka!"

• "I have to go to the restroom!"

• "It's time to go!'

• "I've found gold!"