Question

“In the year 1848, I was living in…Ohio, when the news came that gold had been discovered in California. The excitement was high; and nearly everyone was going to dig it out by the ton. People of all trades sat nearly every night and planned and signed agreements to go the following spring…”

Provide evidence from this document supporting why settlers moved west.

Answer 1

The evidence from this document supporting why settlers moved west is that gold was discovered in California in 1848, and the news of this discovery caused great excitement among people in Ohio. The author of the document states that nearly everyone was planning to go to California to dig out gold by the ton. This suggests that the discovery of gold was a significant factor that motivated settlers to move west.