History of the United States I / Unit 11 USH1 1553 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Gold at Sutter's Mill
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The idea
James Marshall discovered gold on January twenty-fourth, eighteen forty-eight, in the millrace of a sawmill he had built with John Sutter on the American River.
In practice
A discovery made nine days before Mexico signed the land away.
Where people slip
Neither government knew. The most valuable thing in the cession was found before the cession was complete and after the fighting had stopped.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
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