Process
The Process: American Migrate Group
Americans migrated from all over the
<!--[endif]-->
You will be
James Beckwourth :
A true mountain man, James Beckwourth (1798-1867?) blazed a trail through the
You will be Bret Harte :
Gold miners were a colorful lot, and they provided writer Bret Harte (originally Francis Brette Harte, 1836-1902) with plenty to write about. Harte created the "local-color" style of American fiction writing, which captures a particular region's way of speaking, manners, folklore, and landscape. Harte was an enormously successful writer. His most popular story was "The Luck of the Roaring Camp," a story set in the gold fields. Later in his life, Harte became a diplomat to
You will be Sam Brannan :Sam Brannan was a
You will be 
Luzena Wilson:
The
You will be
Hiram and Sara Pierce:
In the winter of 1849 Hiram and Sara Pierce were living in Troy, New York with their seven children. Hiram was a blacksmith, but in poor health. For Sara Pierce, Hiram's absence would mean she would become de facto head of household and assume sole responsibility for the family's well being. Going to California was a choice that the Pierces had never imagined they would confront.
You will be
Lotta Crabtree :
Miners showered little Lotta Crabtree (1847-1924) with gold nuggets and coins as she danced at the mining camps. The Crabtrees moved to
Plan your trip
Asian Immigrants
Laborer- You have been a laborer for the past five years. You’re honest and a hard worker. You have a wife and four kids and you’re the only one working in the family. With people migrating from the east you are in danger of losing your job. You don’t get paid as much as the Caucasians. Plus, government decides to tax you more because you are a foreigner (Foreign Miners’ license).
Owner of a laundry business- You just opened a laundry business. You’re the only one working in your family. Business is going well, but you are faced with resentment from the Caucasian population and fees for operating a laundry business.
Cook- Your business has been successful so far. You restaurant was loved by all, but with the new arrivals came a resentment. You also want to bring your daughter to U.S. but new immigration laws won’t allow you to do so.
New Arrival- You’re on your way to the U.S. You left china because you could not fine work. You left a wife and two children behind. You don’t speak English. You need to find a job and a place to live.
A Young Child- you are a ten year old child. Both of your parents are working, and you have two younger siblings. It is your job to take care of them.
Native American Tribes
German Immigrants:
Farmer~ You are a German farmer, one of the few that is still staying and working your land while your fellow Germans move closer to cities to be closer to their fellow country men. While you speak some English it's still hard to communicate with your neighbors and local merchants.
Baker~ Newly arrived in American you still see yourself as a German even though you plan to spend the rest of your life in America. Luckily you've settled into your town quite nicely and there doesn't seem to be any other baker in competition with you. Sure the wives of the prominent men can bake for the church but for the most part everybody prefers to come to you for treats and breads.
Seamstress apprentice~ You and your sister have just arrived from the East Coast with your parents but it cost more to move out to California than expected. You need to help your family make money so decide to go and apprentice yourself at a local seamstress's shop in the heart of a wealthy district in San Francisco.
Politician's Child~ Your father is the new mayor of a small California town that is primarily composed of other German families. Not only do you have to be the perfect American politician's child but there are also expectations in your new community that are based in Old World traditions. You have to balance being a new American with a German.
Banker~ As a banker you are great at balancing ledgers, maintaining your townpeople's money, and earning the trust of new people but there's a problem. You just arrived by ship to California and people look at you with distrust and you have to work twice as hard now as before to establish your reputation as a trustworthy banker. Add to that the recent problem of all the bank robbers going around the West and you have your work cut out for you!
Spanish/Mexican immigrants: You are...
Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo- In 1542 he was sent to explore northern routes, along the west coast of North American for Spain. On Sept 28 of that year he sailed into San Diego Bay. He continued north along the California coasts charting the islands and coastline up to Oregon. He claimed California for Spain, which help expand the empire, and he helped dispel some myths. He was not able to find northern route to the Atlantic or some lost cities of extreme wealth.
Father Junipero Serra- A Franciscan, who in 1769 set off with the expedition commander Portola to establish missions and presidios in San Diego and Monterey. This mission system was placed along El Camino Real. The establishment of missions helped to establish Spanish rights to California and to convert Indians to Christianity. Serra was involved in establishing 9 missions himself, and his predecessor completed the rest making 21 missions total. The mission system covered from San Diego to Sonoma.
Franciscan monk- You live at a California mission with another monk and 6 to 8 soldiers, who share the residence. You are not totally self sufficient and work for the Spanish government. You are 30 miles from the next mission or religious outposts. Your in charge of converting the Native population to Catholicism and have them do unpaid labor to build the mission, take care of livestock, farm, and other industries.
Pio Pico- He was an entrepreneur and politician. He serve as the last governor of Alta California, when it was a territory under Mexican rule. He made Los Angeles the state capital. During the Mexican/American War, United States troops occupied Los Angeles and San Diego. In 1846, Pico fled to Baja California to escape being taken prisoner. He also went to argue to the Mexican Congress to send Mexican troops to help defend California. Soon after, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. He returned to California after the war and tried to enter local politics.
Californios- These were the sons/daughters of Spanish soldiers. They received huge land grants from Spain. With these grants made large ranches that raised cattle, sheep and horses. They sold hides of the animals and other products that they could make from the animals as a source of income. Ranch owners and their families became really wealthy and became the aristocracy of the state. Life for the Californios began to change after the Gold Rush.
Once each child has been put into a group and given a person to become they will get together with their groups and brainstorm ideas that they have about their respective groups.
After brainstorming what they already know, the students will research, using various tools such as the internet and library resources, to find more information about their groups such as how they traveled, where they settled, and how many people from each of the groups were located in California.
Each day the students will write as their character in their journals. They will begin by writing about traveling to California, followed by settling in the state, and finally what it's like to be a Californian and their new lives. Writing prompts will be provided to help get them started but ultimately they will have to add more detail on their own.
Prompts will be picked at random. In the begining while the students are traveling prompts will involve weather conditions, illnesses, food shortages, and any other normal travel occurance. Next will come the prompts again involving weather, illnesses, and any other occurences that happened in each profession. These prompts continue through until the end of the unit.