Process Paper Allison B, Arianna D, and Addie H
As a group, we unanimously decided to research the California Gold rush of 1849 because we were intrigued by the influx of people in California that occurred as a result of the rumors of prosperity. We ultimately decided to focus on specifically the economic and social effects of the gold rush.
To research we first wanted to find general information on the California Gold Rush and agreed that starting at the Bedford Public Library would give us success. First we focused on broad and context sources, so we could better focus our argument. We found books such as the Encyclopedia of American Immigration and California’s Gold Rush. To start, we also looked on eLibrary and Infotrac to accomplish the goal of gaining a general understanding of the Gold Rush. Once we had gained a basic understanding of the Gold Rush we started looking more towards primary sources and scholarly journals to get a good idea of the conditions of the goldfields. A common problem we faced is we conducted a broad internet search for “Gold Rush”, sometimes we would get sources from the Klondike Gold Rush. This lead to confusion, so we made sure to search “California Gold Rush of 1849.” We also had some trouble finding primary sources and scholarly journals that are free of charge for access. At this point, we had a general idea of our focus but struggled to synthesize an arguable topic. Once we had decided our argument was going to be about the economic and social effects of the gold rush, we began going over our sources and finding better sources about economy of California and the social structure of the goldfields. We watched The West documentary, we requested books from far away libraries, and overall we began to make sure our sources were specific to our focus. This proved to be quite the headache, but very useful. Another problem we faced as a group was duplicating sources. We created a group Facebook message with the purpose of communicating which sources we used, so others would not use them as well. We also met with Mr. Sunderland to develop our argument. Plus, we met at the Bedford Public Library many times to look for more specific books and to organize our notes.
We chose to work in a group of three because we share honorable work ethics and cooperate well. We organized our website with the format Mr.Sunderland assigned, and we split our “topic” landing page into two subpages; economic and social.
The California Gold Rush of 1849 set a foundation for California's future success. Through increased entrepreneurship, the Gold Rush made California a commercial hub. After thousands of people went west, many businesses were opened which caused a boom in the economy. Socially, it made America a melting pot by drawing many cultures from around the globe. In addition, with all of the cultures coming to California, being a minority proved not so hard, and it was easier to be accepted.
As a group, we unanimously decided to research the California Gold rush of 1849 because we were intrigued by the influx of people in California that occurred as a result of the rumors of prosperity. We ultimately decided to focus on specifically the economic and social effects of the gold rush.
To research we first wanted to find general information on the California Gold Rush and agreed that starting at the Bedford Public Library would give us success. First we focused on broad and context sources, so we could better focus our argument. We found books such as the Encyclopedia of American Immigration and California’s Gold Rush. To start, we also looked on eLibrary and Infotrac to accomplish the goal of gaining a general understanding of the Gold Rush. Once we had gained a basic understanding of the Gold Rush we started looking more towards primary sources and scholarly journals to get a good idea of the conditions of the goldfields. A common problem we faced is we conducted a broad internet search for “Gold Rush”, sometimes we would get sources from the Klondike Gold Rush. This lead to confusion, so we made sure to search “California Gold Rush of 1849.” We also had some trouble finding primary sources and scholarly journals that are free of charge for access. At this point, we had a general idea of our focus but struggled to synthesize an arguable topic. Once we had decided our argument was going to be about the economic and social effects of the gold rush, we began going over our sources and finding better sources about economy of California and the social structure of the goldfields. We watched The West documentary, we requested books from far away libraries, and overall we began to make sure our sources were specific to our focus. This proved to be quite the headache, but very useful. Another problem we faced as a group was duplicating sources. We created a group Facebook message with the purpose of communicating which sources we used, so others would not use them as well. We also met with Mr. Sunderland to develop our argument. Plus, we met at the Bedford Public Library many times to look for more specific books and to organize our notes.
We chose to work in a group of three because we share honorable work ethics and cooperate well. We organized our website with the format Mr.Sunderland assigned, and we split our “topic” landing page into two subpages; economic and social.
The California Gold Rush of 1849 set a foundation for California's future success. Through increased entrepreneurship, the Gold Rush made California a commercial hub. After thousands of people went west, many businesses were opened which caused a boom in the economy. Socially, it made America a melting pot by drawing many cultures from around the globe. In addition, with all of the cultures coming to California, being a minority proved not so hard, and it was easier to be accepted.