How can I start a 5 page paper on Anglo American women during the Gold Rush era? I have to weave together race, class, and gender.I am so lost, i...

First of all, I would start by thinking about what you
might say for each of the three things you have to weave together.  Work on those
details, and then try to come up with an overall theme for the paper once you have the
details.

For race, you might want to compare the experience
of Anglo American women with women from various minority groups.  The most likely groups
might include Hispanics, African Americans, and Native Americans.  You are presumably
going to find that Anglo women were privileged relative to the women of
color.

For class, you might look at the different
experiences of white women based on their class.  You will likely find that the lower
class of women were fairly well exploited, often as prostitutes.  You might find that
some of these women were able to work their way up to get into positions of greater
wealth and power.  You may want to see if you can compare the experiences of lower class
white women with those of upper class Hispanic women.

As to
gender, you clearly have to compare the experience of women and men.  You might want to
look at the difference between men and women of the same race and class.  For example,
did lower class white men and white women get exploited to the same degree?  What sorts
of opportunities did they each have to get ahead?

I would
anticipate that your overall thesis will end up having something to do with the ways in
which white women were or were not privileged relative to other
groups.

Good luck!