When thinking back to any class I have taken in my entire life, I don't remember learning anything about the Gold Rush. Whatever I did learn about the Gold Rush but forgot most likely dealt with basics such as what the Gold Rush was and when it occurred. Learning about the impact that the Gold Rush had on the West Coast, the Pacific Northwest, Colorado, and in the Black Hills just makes me sick. So far in this class, this was probably the most interesting thing that I have learned. The impact that the Gold Rush had on natives throughout the country is completely surprising.
The Gold Rush that occurred in Pikes Peak, Colorado which effected the relationships between the United States and Native Americans is another blemish on United States history that will never be forgotten. The massacre that occurred at Sand Creek by Shippington and other U.S. soldiers led to the bad blood between the U.S. and Native Americans. I was surprised that it took this long before Native Americans got the point that the U.S. could not be trusted, but I was glad that they finally came to that conclusion. Whenever I heard that this was the breaking point, I felt happy. I kept wondering when that point was going to come.
6 comments:
I too had never learned very little about Gold Rushes, and nothing about how they affected Native Populations. I remember the basics, such as how white men moved in and they were really violent, drunk, smelly, and enjoyed shopping at the company store, but that was about the extent of my knowledge. Prior to class this week, I hadn't even considered the Indian populations in the area and the effect the Rush had on them. The Indians in the West had a rough time in the 1800's. After many years of freedom and little oppression from whites, they lose everything in under a century.
I also remember learning about the Gold Rush, but never about the impact the Gold Rush had on Native Peoples. It seems that most American History Courses focus solely upon people who were of European descent.
Don't forget that one of the reasons the 5 "civilized" tribes were pushed out of the East was the supposed gold findings in Georgia.
The Gold Rush is just another example of the US trickery and deceit that occurred during "settlement." I think history classes need to be more critical of our history, the government caused many atrocities throughout history. I have a feeling if people knew what actually occurred we would have far different views concerning the founding of our great nation.
The deceit and trickery really only took place on a national, governmental level. The Gold Rushers themselves should not be blamed, they simply took advantage of the laws created by their government. If the gov. had done a better job regulating the Gold Rush, there wouldn't have been as much fallout.
The gold rush also fascinates me. I'm also interested to know more about how the Oregon Trail affected native peoples. We learned about Americans moving north into Oregon and Washington, but what about the trek across the country?
Post a Comment