Ashley J.

Marcial

English Assignment

Mrs. Nancy Torres

 The Gold Rush in The U.S

The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by
James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill, in Coloma, California.[1] News of the discovery brought some
300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad.[2] Of the 300,000,
approximately half arrived by sea and half walked overland.

The gold-seekers, called "Forty-niners" (as a reference to 1849), often faced substantial
hardships on the trip. While most of the newly arrived were Americans, the Gold Rush attracted
tens of thousands from Latin America, Europe, Australia, and China. At first, the prospectors
retrieved the gold from streams and riverbeds using simple techniques, such as panning. More
sophisticated methods of gold recovery developed which were later adopted around the world.
At its peak, technological advances reached a point where significant financing was required,
increasing the proportion of gold companies to individual miners. Gold worth billions of today's
dollars was recovered, which led to great wealth for a few. However, many returned home with
little more than they had started with.

The effects of the Gold Rush were substantial. San Francisco grew from a small settlement to a
boomtown, and roads, churches, schools and other towns were built throughout California. A
state constitution was written and California became a state in 1850 as part of the Compromise
of 1850.

New methods of transportation developed as steamships came into regular service and
railroads were built. Agriculture and ranching expanded throughout the state to meet the
needs of the settlers. At the beginning of the Gold Rush, there was no law regarding property
rights in the goldfields and a system of "staking claims" was developed. The Gold Rush also had
negative effects: Native Americans were attacked and pushed off traditional lands and gold
mining caused environmental harm.
California, San Francisco
Jack London

John Griffith London (1876-1916) was born in San Francisco of an

unmarried mother of wealthy background, Flora Wellman. His father may
have been William Chaney, a journalist, lawyer, and major figure in the
development of American astrology. Because Flora was ill, Jack was
raised through infancy by an ex-slave, Virginia Prentiss, who would
remain a major maternal figure while the boy grew up. Late in 1876,
Flora married John London, a partially disabled Civil War veteran. The
family moved around the Bay area before settling in Oakland, where Jack completed grade
school. Though the family was working class, it was not so impoverished as London's later
accounts claimed. As an adolescent, the boy adopted the name of Jack. He worked at various
hard labor jobs, pirated for oysters on San Francisco Bay, served on a fish patrol to capture
poachers, sailed the Pacific on a sealing ship, joined Kelly's Army of unemployed working men,
hoboed around the country, and returned to attend high school at age 19. In the process, he
became acquainted with socialism and was known as the Boy Socialist of Oakland for his street
corner oratory.  He would run unsuccessfully several times on the socialist ticket as mayor.
Always a prolific reader, he consciously chose to become a writer to escape from the horrific
prospects of  life as a factory worker. He studied other writers and began to submit stories,
jokes, and poems to various publications, mostly without success. Spending the winter of 1897
in the Yukon provided the metaphorical gold for his first stories, which he began publishing in
the Overland Monthly in 1899. From that point he was a highly disciplined writer, who would
produce over fifty volumes of stories, novels, and political essays. Although The Call of the Wild
(1903) brought him lasting fame, many of his short stories deserve to be called classics, as does
his critique of capitalism and poverty in The People of the Abyss (1903), and his stark discussion
of alcoholism in John Barleycorn (1913). London's long voyage (1907-09) across the Pacific in a
small boat provided material for books and stories about Polynesian and Melanesian cultures.
He was instrumental in breaking the taboo over leprosy and popularizing Hawaii as a tourist
spot. London was among the most publicized figures of his day, and he used this pulpit to
endorse his support of socialism, women's suffrage, and eventually, prohibition. He was among
the first writers to work with the movie industry, and saw a number of his novels made into
films. His novel The Sea-Wolf became the basis for the first full-length American movie.  He was
also one of the first celebrities to use his endorsement for commercial products in advertising,
including dress suits and grape juice. Because he was an autodidact, London's ideas lacked
consistency and precision. For example, he clearly accepted the Social Darwinism and scientific
racism prevalent during his time, yet he seem troubled that the "inevitable white man," as he
called him, would destroy the rich cultures of various native groups he had encountered over
the years. Although he supported women's suffrage and created some of the most independent
and strong female characters in American fiction, he was patriarchal toward his two wives and
two daughters. His socialism was fervent, but countered by his strong drive toward
individualism and capitalist success. These contradictory themes in his life and writing make
him a difficult figure to reduce to simple terms
 Life Map Event

news.
Spending the winter of 1897 in
He brought to California
techniques observed in the Yukon provided the
metaphorical gold for his first
Japan, such as terracing
stories, which he began
and manure spreading,
publishing in the Overland
and was accomplished in
Monthly in 1899.
animal husbandry.

London's first marriage (1900) was

to Bess Maddern, with whom he
had two daughters, Joan and Bess.
He worked at various
hard labor jobs,
pirated for oysters on London was among
San Francisco Bay, the most publicized
served on a fish patrol figures of his day, and
to capture poachers, he used this pulpit to
sailed the Pacific on a endorse his support of
sealing ship, joined socialism, women's
Kelly's Army of Jack London suffrage, and
unemployed working eventually,
10 Important Life Events
men, hoboed around prohibition.
the country, and
returned to attend
high school at age 19. His Wolf House, for
example, was built of rock
and lumber from his
property.

He died of renal failure

on November 22, 1916 He became the
on the ranch. highest paid, most
popular novelist and He tried never to miss his early
short story writer of morning 1,000-word writing
He was a celebrity, a colorful his day. stint, and between 1900 and
and controversial personality 1916 he completed over fifty
who was often in the news. books.