Gold Rush Dbq

Argue for or against a resolution in Congress to create as national monument for those who moved to the West in the 1850s and 1860s, also known as pioneers.

The discovery of gold in the Sacramento area in early 1848 started the Gold Rush, which is one of the most significant events that shaped American history during that time. Thousands of prospective gold miners, mostly men, traveled by sea or over land to San Francisco and the surrounding area in search of wealth. Whatever the motivation, the pioneer men and women endured tremendous hardships and sacrificed a great deal to settle in the West Coast. For this reason, I feel that Congress should create a national monument for the pioneers who moved to the West in the 1850s and 1860s.

Some will argue that a monument should not be approved since the sacrifices made by the pioneers were self serving and selfish. However, the Gold Rush sped up settlement in California, but there was a personal cost to all those who walked and rode over mountains and the plains to get there. Some died, while others endured such cold, heat and risked their lives crossing rivers since few bridges or ferries existed. By1849, the

Mrs. Frink's journals that getting ready for the trip, took days. Supplies were not always available. The party left in the spring of 1850. She journals from March 27 through September 7, 1950. Ms. Fink describes the roads as very crowded with emigrants. When wagons broke down , parts were not always available. The plains were flat and dusty. The plains were dusty, but had growth of grass partly hiding the sandy ground. Sometimes the rivers they crossed were over a mile wide. They had to fight the currents and river quick sand. In addition, the elevation above the Gulf of Mexico was two thousand seven hundred and ninety feet above. Cholera and other illnesses existed and they had no medicine or