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A Former Slave Recalls Slave Quarters and Moments of Leisure
Masters and slaves viewed slave quarters very differently. While masters sought to create an ordered world where their control was complete, slaves attempted to create homes, grow food and raise families. Former slaves describe growing flowers, [...]
"Five Generations on Smith's Planation, Beaufort, South Carolina"
This African-American family was photographed in 1862 after Union forces captured the Sea Island coastal area of South Carolina. One of four photographs taken by Timothy O’Sullivan of the J. J. Smith plantation, this picture was subsequently [...]
"Head of Auburn Ravine"
Immigrants from China were among the thousands who streamed into California after the discovery of gold there in 1848. In 1852 alone, 20,000 migrants came from China seeking “Gold Mountain.” Many Chinese immigrants found some success at [...]
"Spanish Flat, 1852"
Many African Americans, both free born and enslaved, were part of the wave of migrants who headed toward California during the Gold Rush. While racial tensions existed, many black miners worked side by side with both immigrant and native-born white [...]
An Indian Child Apprentice Poses for a Photographer
This photograph of a Native American child apprentice was taken near Red Bluff, Tehama County, California. The boy, about ten years old, would be “bound” to a master until he was 25, as California law apprenticed boys under 14 until [...]
Miners Search for Gold in Two Phases of the Gold Rush
In the early days of the Gold Rush, miners practiced “placer mining” along rivers and streams. Miners washed gravel and other sediments in pans and sluice boxes; though tedious, this type of mining did not require expensive equipment and [...]