Реферат на тему Alaska Gold Rush

Содержание:

Introduction 3
1. American gold rushes of the early 19th century 4
2. Klondike Gold Rush 6
3. Gold in Seward Peninsula in Alaska 9
4.Economic growth during the Gold-Rush Era 11
Conclusion 16
Bibliography 17

Введение:

 The gold rush was a boon to business interests, which ensured important infrastructure developments like the railroad and the construction of westward paths, but ultimately, it also meant that big business reaped most of the profits associated with mining the gold. While the miners are often remembered for panning gold out of mountain streams, it required advanced mining technology for most to make a fortune. Nevertheless, the Klondike Gold Rush and other gold rushes were emblematic of the American Dream and the notion that Americans could obtain untold fortunes regardless of their previous social status.
As historian H.W. Brands put it, «The old American Dream … was the dream of the Puritans, of Benjamin Franklin’s ‘Poor Richard’… of men and women content to accumulate their modest fortunes a little at a time, year by year by year. The new dream was the dream of instant wealth, won in a twinkling by audacity and good luck….» While the gold rush may not have made every miner rich, the events still continue to influence the country’s collective mentality.
The Klondike Gold Rush provided a reason for thousands of men to seek their fate in Alaska, and most found it there, even if it wasn’t always what they expected.
When the gold craze hit the nation, few Americans were familiar with the geography of the Far North. Many assumed that the Klondike was located in Alaska, instead of in the Yukon, in Canadian territory.
Klondike guidebooks some of which were hastily produced in a matter of days further obscured the issue. The Chicago Record’s Book for Gold Seekers, for example, used the terms «Klondike» and «Alaska Gold Fields» interchangeably.
This work is devoted to a description of «Alaska Gold rush» and its influence on Americans Business.
The purpose of this work is to reveal the principles of the Klondike gold rush, the history of the discovery of gold deposits in Alaska.
To achieve the given aim some tasks were put forward:
— to study the history of gold rush in Alaska;
— to characterize the Economic of USA during the gold rush in Alaska.
The object of this work is the history of gold rush in Alasca.
The subject is the influence of gold rush in Alaska on the Economic of USA.
Considering these advances, dispersed in time and place, gives a perspective on the Klondike and all other mineral developments that defines their relationships and continuity.
The production of gold and other minerals in Klondike was significant enough to trigger stampeders, sustain communities, and open trade and transportation throughout the territory.

Заключение:

The gold rush is one of the defining moments in Alaskan history. Throughout the 1860s to the early 1900s, the gold rush attracted multitudes to the cold Alaskan mountains.
In 1880 prospectors found gold in what is now Juneau, the capital city named after one of the founding prospectors. This event led to a rush of gold and mineral explorations in the north.
Discoveries of gold in the Yukon area further attracted prospectors, and discoveries of gold in the Klondike River led to the now famous Klondike gold rush of 1896. Droves of prospectors from Seattle and San Francisco came in waves, braving the cold in their search for gold. People in pursuit of adventure and gold traveled great distances to get rich in the mines of Alaska. Whole cities grew out of the camps, and they formed their own rules and laws.
However, the road to the deposits was extremely difficult. There were three main routes: the shortest, most popular, and at the same time the most dangerous was by sea, and then through The Chelckout Chilcoot pass; the second-up the Yukon river; the third — on the Canadian rivers and the city of Edmonton. At least 20,000 people crossed the Checkout pass when the gold rush peaked in 1897-1899. The winter in those parts is very cold, and few have passed the numerous passages in the mountain gorges without suffering.
Dawson city became the capital for gold miners. The village grew into a full-fledged city, where there was a special economy and management system. For example, due to the acute shortage of provisions, a cow could cost as much as 16 thousand dollars, and salt at the price was equal to gold. But the precious metal here has become the cheapest commodity in the world!
To Alaska came former prospectors from California, where they also found a lot of gold in its time.
The Klondike fever has left its mark on history and culture. According to the most modest data, it was attended by about 200 thousand people, but only a negligible part managed to amass capital. The main phase of gold mining ended in 1899, and for another ten years there were outbreaks in Alaska. Many industries now abound in Alaska, but the Alaskan gold rush was the spark that first started everything.
Jack London in his essay «Klondike Economics» wrote that, in fact, many prospectors earned much less than they gave for the road and arrangement. The main phase of the gold rush ended in 1899, but mining on a much smaller scale continues to this day. Today, the once large city of Dawson has a population of barely more than a thousand people, but its vibrant history attracts thousands of tourists every year.

Фрагмент текста работы:

1. American gold rushes of the early 19th century
The expression «gold rush» has long outlived its original meaning and has become a household word, expressing the idea that in some place there is a sudden opportunity for rapid enrichment, attracting a lot of people driven by the thirst for profit. At the same time, such a place may not refer to gold and have no geographical coordinates, but be, for example, a new direction in production.
But there were times when the «gold rush» was understood precisely as the pursuit of gold placers, and its participants, indeed, behaved like people seized with a painful passion.
The «gold rush» in United States took place in several stages, and its centers became different regions. The first wave was in North Carolina.
From that moment the North Carolina was gripped by a «gold rush»: here began to flock hunters for the precious metal from all over the country.
Georgia took over the baton from the North Carolina, where in 1828 a farmer Benjamin, hunting near the town of Knucklesville, stepped on a stone of an egg size. A find on closer examination turned out to be a nugget.
Just a year later, about 15,000 prospectors came here from North Carolina and other States. One of their largest settlements was even called Auraria, from the Latin aurum – «gold». The County to which the gold hunters had come belonged to the Cherokee Indians, who had been driven from their native land to Oklahoma.
Their road to the new place of residence was called the «trail of tears», because in the process of forced migration, the Cherokees lost about a quarter of the tribe. Auraria itself quickly became a Ghost town, as the prospectors abandoned it as soon as the gold ran out-this happened around 1840.
The fever in California lasted 12 years: during this time, the population increased in 27, there was the entire necessary infrastructure (schools, hospitals, churches, an extensive system of good roads), significantly developed the agricultural sector, a system of laws was created, and San Francisco became a large prosperous city, and in 1850 California officially became part of the United States [13].