Blank Foreign Miner's License

California’s legislature passed the Foreign Miner’s License Tax in April 1850 (chapter 97). The law required people not “native to or natural born citizens of the United States” to pay a monthly $20 fee for the right to mine in California. The legislature repealed the law in 1851, but the following year reinstated a monthly $4 tax on foreign-born miners. The tax forced many foreigners out of the gold mines entirely. Identification Information: LP2:1755, California State Legislature.