California Gold Diggers, a Scene from Actual Life at the Mines - Essay Example

History of California Source criticism, which is a key stage in any historical research, has a vital role in the process of mastering a topic and this assignment provides a great scope for some experience in source criticism, the location, identification, evaluation, and assessment of primary sources. Such an analysis of the particular source material can be greatly useful in the understanding of historical events and people. One of the most relevant sources in comprehending the history of California has been Calisphere, by the University of California which provides stunning insights into the historical events and people of California. In this paper, a detailed source criticism of a specific topic in the history of California is carried out and the source to be used in this historical source criticism is an important image under the title ‘California Gold Diggers, A Scene from Actual Life at the Mines’ which offers an essential picture of the realities concerning the Gold Rush Era (1848-1865) in the history of California. Created and contributed by John Andrew (1815-1875), the British engraver, ‘California Gold Diggers, A Scene from Actual Life at the Mines’ is a realistic image portraying the crude realities of the actual life at the mines during the Gold Rush Era. Preserved in the Bancroft Library, this image helps the students and teachers of California history in realizing some essential realities of the actual life at the mines during the Gold Rush Era and the historians of California agree with the historical value of the piece. Along with the essential details regarding the Gold rushes, the image also deals with other subjects such as camping, clothing and dress, equipment, miners, and mining. Thus, the image offers an important camp scene actual life at the mines during the Gold Rush Era, with four miners and dog outside tent, mining equipment such as shovels, gold pan, cradle, etc. In the image, the creator portrays one miner at work with pick at edge of stream while also illustrating other miners and camps along stream in narrow valley in distance. Therefore, a historical analysis of ‘California Gold Diggers, A Scene from Actual Life at the Mines’ from the database Calisphere confirms that the source has great historical and educational value with regard to the history of California, especially the Gold Rush Era (1848-1865) in the history of California. In a historical analysis of the source ‘California Gold Diggers, A Scene from Actual Life at the Mines’, the vital role of the image created by the British engraver John Andrew becomes lucid and this source offers dazzling picture of the actual life at the mines during the Gold Rush Era. Apart from the essential details regarding the Gold rushes, the image offers illustration of the camping, clothing and dress, equipment, miners, and mining in the camp. In the source image, the architect portrays a camp scene of actual life at the mines during the Gold Rush Era, with four miners and dog outside tent, mining equipment such as shovels, gold pan, cradle, etc. The image portrays one of the miners at work with pick at edge of stream while also illustrating other miners and camps along stream in narrow valley in distance. This is the overall description of the image evident to a careful observer of the source image. ‘California Gold Diggers, A Scene from Actual Life at the Mines’ has an essential historical and educational value because it offers a real-like picture of the events and people of the Gold Rush Era. In a detailed analysis of the Gold Rush in the history of California, the relevance of the source image ‘California Gold Diggers, A Scene from Actual Life at the Mines’ becomes evident as it offers a convincing picture of the actual life at the mines during the Gold Rush Era. In fact, the Gold Rush Era during 1848-1865 has been an important event in the history of California and the few short years of the Gold Rush changed California’s population and environment dramatically. “Ethnic diversity grew as people from all over the world poured into the state, ignoring numerous dangers and the ever-present risk of earthquakes to follow their dreams of striking gold. This sudden influx, and the gold mining industry in general, had a significant impact on the environment and contributed to the rapid growth of cities throughout the state.” (1848-1865: The Gold Rush Era, 2009). Therefore, the Gold Rush Era was an influential period in the history of California which changed California’s population and environment considerably. However, the legal infrastructure of the state was not able to meet the changing demands of the new situation and there was utter turmoil in California which affected the lives of the miners and diggers in the state. “The state’s legal infrastructure lagged behind this growth, however, and the lawless atmosphere of the gold mining communities led to a growing problem of murder and mayhem. Law-abiding citizens began to see the need to strengthen existing legal and judicial institutions to ensure a more peaceful approach to everyday life.” (1848-1865: The Gold Rush Era, 2009). Thus, the situation of the gold mining communities during the Gold Rush Era was very miserable and they suffered several issues, which is an important reality of the history of California. ‘California Gold Diggers, A Scene from Actual Life at the Mines’ is an important illustration of the actual life at the mines during the Gold Rush Era, as it offers a convincing picture of how the Gold Rush changed California’s population and environment dramatically. In short, a detailed source criticism of ‘California Gold Diggers, A Scene from Actual Life at the Mines’ offers a compelling picture of the actual life at the mines during the Gold Rush Era and it offers insights into some of the important events and communities in the history of California. The architect of the image deals with important subjects such as the Gold rushes, camping, clothing and dress, equipment, miners, and mining and depicts an important camp scene of actual life at the mines during the Gold Rush Era, with four miners and dog outside tent, mining equipment such as shovels, gold pan, cradle, etc. The image of a miner at work with pick at edge of stream, while also illustrating other miners and camps along stream in narrow valley in distance, indicates how the gold mining communities lived their lives during the Gold Rush Era. To conclude, a historical analysis of ‘California Gold Diggers, A Scene from Actual Life at the Mines’ from the database Calisphere confirms that the source has great historical and educational value with regard to the history of California, especially the Gold Rush Era (1848-1865) in the history of California. Bibliography “1848-1865: The Gold Rush Era”. 2009. Calisphere, The University of California. http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/themed_collections/topics1.html Read More