mormons and gold rush

• what values did the mormons share?

  -against slavery

  -polygamy (multiple wives)

  -tried to convert natives to mormonism, they were violent to non-mormons
• were mormons liked throughout the US?

  no - they were persecuted for their beliefs and many feared the expansion of Mormon faith as they felt threatened by their power
• where did the Mormons move to and what challenges did they face?

  1847 - arrived in Salt Lake Valley.

  • little water sources and rain so dug irrigation ditches
  • no forestry so houses were built from earth bricks
• when was the first gold rush?

  1848-49: California. tens of thousands of people went in hope of finding gold but few did and the living and working conditions were poor
• how was the US effected by the California gold rush?

  • mining harmed the environment (mercury pollution)
  • kick-started Californias development as population grew
  • accelerated economic growth of the US and world trade
• When and what was the fort laramie treaty?

  1851 - tribes agreed to remain in their territory and allow settlers across the plains and the building of forts. government promised them permanent rights over their land and $50,000 in goods for 50 years. neither kept their promise
• when was the second gold rush?

  1858 - Pikes Peak, Colorado
• what act ended the Missouri Compromise and how?

  1854 - Kansas-Nebraska Act, allowed settlers to vote on whether a territory became a free or slave state - threw out the balanced ratio
• who became president in 1860?

  Abraham Lincoln
• what effect did Lincoln’s rise to president have on the union?

  many southerners felt they had no loyalty to him (a man who wanted to stop the spread of slavery) and his election triggered secession - the removal of 7 southern states which soon turned to 11 by 1861
• what was life like for african Americans who wanted to fight for the union?

  after the emancipation proclamation, they were allowed to join and thousands enlisted. they still faced prejudice in the north - fought in segregated armies, thought to be less skilled/brave and given menial jobs, paid less and were given poorer supplies and rations
• what happened after the civil war was won by the union (north)?

  over 4 million slaves we’re free and south economy destroyed - reconstruction began to help these freed slaves and rebuild the economy
• what was set up to help freed slaves?

  Freedmen's Bureau 1865 - provided food and shelter but due to limited funding it closed in 1872
• who became president in 1865 following lincoln’s murder?

  andrew johnson - he returned property to its original owners causing many african americans to rent land from white people (sharecropping) and black codes came about to limit freedom and force tax upon african americans if they weren’t farming
• what was the homesteaders act?

  1862 - gave settlers 160 acres of free land on the plains if they farmed it for 5 years, encouraged settlement and tried to remove land speculators as the land was tougher and drier
• how did people on the plains farm the tough land?

  -better machinery was invented

  -new crops for these specific conditions were planted

  -new techniques were used (dried farming)