Transcript The Mining Boom

The Mining Boom
Objective: Explain how mining affected the US
during the late 1800s
Do Now: What do you think tare the chances of
getting rich during the Gold Rush?
Western Mining
- Miners raced across the continent, hoping to strike
it rich.
- Gold rush Pikes Peak, Colorado 1858
- Comstock Lode- one of the world’s richest silver
veins located in Nevada
- In 20 years mined $500 million worth of precious metals.
- Patio Process- method introduced by Hispanics
which used mercury to extract silver
from ore.
Seward’s Folly
• US Secretary of State William H. Seward
negotiated purchase of Alaska in 1867
–Less than 2 cents an acre!
– he was ridiculed, but he remained
confident “possess treasure…. Equal to
those of any other region of the
continent.”
Discovery of gold leads to Klondike
Gold Rush
• Pg.418-419
Life in Mining Communities
•
Mining camps sprang up over night.
– Mostly men
•
The Settlers
– All different nationalities
– From rich to poor
– Competition led to discrimination, especially
Chinese
•
Instability
– Tension between ethnic groups led to fighting
•
Deadwood, SD
– Vigilante committees due to absence of law
enforcement
–Over time, miners formed unions to
fight wage cuts and dangerous working
conditions.
– As camps grew into towns, it began to
stabilize.
• Owners of saloons and stores more likely
to get rich!
• Families start coming.
• Hydraulic mining
–Water shot at high pressure ripped
away ravel and dirt to expose
minerals beneath
• Hard-rock mining
–Sinking deep shafts to obtain ore
locked in veins of rocks