California Gold Diggers

This lithograph of miners on the shore of the Sacramento River captures the crowded, thrilling early days of the California Gold Rush. People from diverse racial, national, and class backgrounds all participate in one way or another. In the background, a fight breaks out while a soldier tries to intervene. In the foreground several Native Americans and one African American mine for gold. One Indian points to a place in the ground for a white miner to start digging. It is unclear whether the Indian and black laborers are free or unfree. However, many miners are using baskets most likely woven by Native Americans.

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