Daniel Obiago
Hi. This is the 2nd quiz on the California Gold Rush in my American Studies series. This quiz covers some of the key events that took place in the following months after gold was first found on January 24, 1848; in the South Fork of the American River, at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, near Coloma, California.
At the time of the discovery of gold in California in 1948; California was still part of Mexico, but under US military occupation.
The population of the entire California territory at that time consisted as follows: 6,500 people of Spanish-Mexican descent (Californios); 700 foreigners (primarily Americans); and about 150,000 Native Americans who still lived on their native tribal lands. The numbers of Native Americans were now less than half their population that had been living in California when the Spanish settlers arrived in 1769.
A few days after the discovery of gold, the Mexican-American War ended; as the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed between Mexico and America; with the United States annexing over half of Mexico’s territories – including California. But this was only the beginning of a new beginning for California and its peoples.
Do enjoy this quiz and please leave your score, up-vote and comments, afterwards. Thanks.
To read my earlier Quiz on the Californian Gold Rush – click on the link below:
The California Gold Rush: How It All Began! – American Studies – Quiz: Part 8
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Question of
Which German/Swiss farmer owned the 55,000 acres of land around the Sacramento and American Rivers; on which the first goldfields were discovered?
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James W. Marshall
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John A. Sutter
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Richard Mason
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Samuel Brannan
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Question of
Which Mormon merchant hurriedly bought up all the mining supplies he could find; and filled up his store at Sutter’s Fort with them; just before the news of the gold discovery broke?
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James W. Marshall
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John A. Sutter
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Richard Mason
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Samuel Brannan
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Question of
In mid-March 1848, after a San Francisco newspaper reported that gold had been found at Sutter’s Mill; what was the initial reaction of the town’s people?
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Anticipatory Excitement
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Anxious Nonchalance
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Immediate Disbelief
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Instant Belief
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Question of
Who set off the gold rush frenzy in San Francisco by walking around town, waving a bottle filled with gold from Sutter’s Creek over his head; while shouting: “Gold, gold, gold in the American River!”?
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James W. Marshall
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John A. Sutter
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Richard Mason
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Samuel Brannan
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Question of
By mid-June 1948, what percentage of the male population of San Francisco had left the town in a frenzied rush for the gold-fields of Sutter’s Creek?
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Over 80%
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About 50%
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About 30%
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Less than 20%
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Question of
In California’s gold-fields in 1948; how many dollars was the average daily gold found by a prospector; compared to the daily wage of an East Coast labourer?
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1.5-to-2 times more
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3-to-5 times more
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6-to-9 times more
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10-to-15 times more
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Question of
By August 1948 (seven months after gold was first found); roughly how many miners were now working & living on the goldfields in Sutter’s Creek?
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1,000
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2,000
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3,000
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4,000
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Question of
In the first year of the Gold Rush; where in the US (outside California) did the first large group of several thousand Americans to arrive in the gold-fields, come from?
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Florida
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Montana
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Oregon
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Texas
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Question of
Around mid-1948; which ethnic group was the first group of several thousand foreign (non-US) prospectors to arrive in California’s gold-fields?
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Australians
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Chinese (from China and Korea)
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Europeans (from Britain, Germany, Italy and France)
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Latin Americans (from Mexico, Peru, Chile)
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Question of
In the first year of the Gold Rush; where outside the US did the second large group of foreign prospectors to arrive in the gold-fields, come from?
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Australia
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Hawaii (the Sandwich Islands)
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India
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Europe (from Britain, Germany, Italy and France)
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Four out of ten on this quiz.
Very informative quiz on the history of the gold rush
Very informative ! Thanks for sharing.