Discrimination during Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when James W. Marshall found gold in Coloma. At the time, he was working to build a water-powered sawmill when he found some gold flakes in the American River at the base of some mountains. This discovery caused many people to come to California to find gold. As more and more gold was discovered, more people became wealthy, but some died in the gold rush. The population of California increased, and the area's economy improved as well. Overall, the Gold Rush greatly impacted the area and many people.

During the California Gold Rush, people came from Latin America, Europe, Australia, China, etc. People all over the world wanted to mine gold and get rich. Many races went to California, but the Chinese and the Irish were the two races with the most people who came to mine for gold. The Chinese were attracted to the gold, and the Irish went to California because of a famine in their country, so they had to flee to other countries; some of them were also attracted to the gold. So, people worldwide came to California to mine gold, and most of them were Chinese or Irish.

The Chinese and Irish faced discrimination during the Gold Rush. First, they had to pay taxes. The government saw an opportunity to earn money and created a Foreign Miners Tax of 20 dollars per month. Second, they were forced off their land. Squatters are people who settle on land they do not own in hopes of claiming it. The Chinese and Irish people’s land was taken over by squatters. Third, they had a low salary. Even though they worked hard, they had a low pay. Fourth, they only had the right to mine. Since they had to pay taxes and they had come to California to mine, they only had the right to mine. Fifth, they must live in certain cities or areas. Since natives think that immigrants use up their resources and take their work, they force immigrants to live in certain places. So, the Chinese and Irish immigrants were discriminated against.

The Chinese immigrants faced the biggest discrimination. The white Americans thought they were a threat because they had an enormous population and competed with the American miners. The immigrants were also disliked because they were being employed to do something. If you were to compete with foreigners in your home, it would be uncomfortable. Following this claim, you would be more uneasy if many foreigners competed with you. The Americans felt uneasy when the Chinese immigrants or any other big immigrant group came to mine gold. So, the Chinese immigrants faced the most significant discrimination because they were seen as a threat.

If I had been living in the 1840s, I wouldn’t come to California for the Gold Rush. Firstly, I don’t want to work only to get little pay. I don’t want my hard work to go to waste. If I received little pay, I would have a hard time thriving.  Secondly, I don’t want only to have the right to mine, I want to have more rights. I want to be like everybody else, not just another miner without many rights. Last but not least, I don’t want to pay the unfair tax and use up all my money. Without any money, I cannot buy anything to eat, drink, or provide shelter. I wouldn’t have the necessary things that I need. So, I wouldn’t go to California for the Gold Rush, even if I had been living in that period.