LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Social Studies — Grade 8

Goal 3: The learner will identify key events and evaluate the impact of reform and expansion in North Carolina during the first half of the 19th century.

Objective 3.06. Describe and evaluate the geographic, economic, and social implications of the North Carolina Gold Rush.

Additional related resources

We’re in the process of aligning our content for students to the Standard Course of Study. As we do, you’ll find it here.

The workings of a gold mine
In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 6.5
Article from Harper's Weekly magazine, 1857, tells the story of workers in a North Carolina Gold Mine.
Format: article/primary source
Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.
The Reed Gold Mine
In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 6.2
A brief history of Cabarrus County farmer John Reed and his gold mine, from the first discovery of gold in 1799 to the establishment of a valuable and productive mine.
Format: book
The North Carolina Gold Rush
In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 6.1
Gold was discovered in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, in 1799, and within a few years, the North Carolina Gold Rush was on. Men arrived in the Piedmont to work in the mines, many of them from Cornwall in England.
Format: article
By Rebecca Lewis.
Minting gold into coins
In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 6.4
Brief histories of the Bechtler Mint, a private mint in Charlotte, and the Charlotte branch of the U.S. mint, both of which operated in the middle of the nineteenth century.
Format: article
From the North Carolina Gold-Mine Company
In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 6.3
An 1806 report on North Carolina's gold mining region, including notes on geology and a description of the early work of mining. Includes historical commentary.
Format: book/primary source
Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.

General resources

Aligned lesson plans