California Gold Rush Research Paper

“The first vessel to carry argonauts to San Francisco was the steamship California. In October 1848, before the gold rush started, the California had left New York and headed for San Francisco. By the time the vessel rounded Cape Horn and reached Panama City — on January 17,1849 — about 1,500 American gold-hunters were waiting to board. However the ship, which had berths for 210 people, was already transporting many South Americans.” (Saffer, 14) Most of the men that traveled to California didn’t make much profit at all. Many of the 49ers missed their opportunity for fame and fortune because they came at a later time during the gold rush when there was nothing left. A majority of the miners missed their chance to become rich during the California Gold Rush. Only a very small amount of miners became rich. Most miners had to return to their families with nothing with them. Some miners couldn’t even return home to their families. "Brannan became a millionaire selling mining goods, real estate, and his publications. Many men wound up plying the trades they had practiced back home, serving as carpenters, shopkeepers, doctors, lawyers, and blacksmiths.” These people became very wealthy and all they had to do was play the system. So many minors failed to become rich and only really just lost

The California Gold rush of the years 1848-1849 changed the America financial status and the American population. It all started when James Marshall found some shiny metal near the river and he took this to his boss John Sutter and after testing of this metal they found out that this was Gold, But Sutter advised Marshall not to tell anyone about this because this might ruin Sutter’s chance to build a successful agricultural empire in California. But there were rumors and whispers that there was gold in the hills, and this all came to an end when a merchant named Samuel Brannan took some of the gold from the river and showed it to the town of San Francisco, and this caused almost all the residents in San Francisco to move to the hills to find

When the gold rush died down, some people decided to stay in California, turning a remote area into prosperous territory and eventually a state which would have otherwise remained empty for several years. 100 years after Marshall's discovery, over 2 1/4 billion dollars in gold was taken from California. James Marshall never did become rich after discovering gold, and he eventually died near Sutter's

The United States of America is a country deeply rooted in history, shaped by many significant events over the past several hundred years. From the arrival of Columbus, to the Pilgrims, the Revolution, the Civil War, both World Wars, and much more, these events have had a great impact on the future of America. However, one of the most often overlooked yet incredibly significant events in American history was the California Gold Rush of 1849. The discovery of gold in the western territories prompted hundreds of thousands of Americans to venture west. These mass migrations not only had many significant positive and negative impacts, but also created a prosperous future for the desolate and unforgiving western half of the country. The California

California had a mostly positive impact with the Gold Rush because of how it affected the economy, the environment, and history. With the amount of people moving to the state, the beef industry grew before it was replaced by the wheat industy after two years of doughts nearly killed the bussiness (pg.111; p.2). But, the wheat and flour industry kept on growing for a long time. California’s history would of changed, for better or worse, if there wasn’t any gold. Oregon could have been the thiry-one state and had the first transcontinental railroad built there (pg. 113; p.5).

“At the time of the discovery, the population of California totaled around 15,000, excluding native Indians. By the end of 1849, after the international gold rush had been under way for nearly six months, the total population had passed 90,000. By 1852, it had reached well over 220,000.” Between the time periods of 1848-1852, “as many as 25,000 Mexicans migrated to the mining regions of California.” During this same span, over 2,000 African Americans had made their way into California, and by 1855 “as many as 50,000 Chinese sought wealth in California.” In addition, Chilean and French comprised two more large groups of immigrants, with estimates of 20,000 French by 1851 and somewhere between 5,000 and 8,000 Chilean by 1850. Moreover, it was not only the privileged, wealthy individuals who were the ones moving in search of gold; on the contrary, it was people from all avenues and walks of life. Individuals with nothing to lose and those with everything to lose boarded wagon trains, ships, and boats and headed for San Francisco. The California Gold Rush turned hardworking, sensible individuals into crazed, strike it rich enthusiasts. “People of all classes had departed for the diggings, including school teachers, mechanics, physicians, lawyers, tailors, clergymen, laborers, merchants, teamsters, cooks, gamblers, the first and second alcaldes, the sheriff,

One of the most significant events that occurred in the first half of the 19th century in California, was the Gold Rush. This event dramatically shaped our country today. The first piece of gold was discovered in the Sacramento Valley in 1848. Because of this phenomenon many people from all over the world came and explored California. Individuals raced to the state by sea and land to gather whatever gold they could find. The Gold Rush gave many people a second chance in surviving in the world. Due to the Gold Rush in California, the state was dramatically effected economically, environmentally and socially.

The California Gold Rush was a period of time when thousands of people from all over the world came to California for gold, some were lucky, most were not. California was owned by Mexico 1600-1846. Mexico soon allowed the U.S. to have California as it’s own state, and that is when they found the gold. The California Gold Rush was a difficult time with the challenges people faced traveling to California, the way the Forty-Niners lived, and the way they used the gold.

Prior to the Gold Rush of 1849, California was a meagerly populated, an irrelevant area of the United States for the most part possessed by the general population of Mexico. In any case, that all changed when on January 24, 1848; woodworker and little time sawmill administrator James W. Marshall found a gold piece in the American River that would always show signs of change the historical backdrop of California and America1. Not exclusively did the Gold Rush prompt California 's permission into the Union in 1850, it additionally revived the possibility of the American Dream. Hundred 's of thousands of individuals filled the state by the draw of brisk and unending wealth. Because of the Gold Rush, California in the end turned into a

The Gold Rush was one of the most influential times in California History. During the four years from 1848-1852, 400,000 new people flooded into the state. People from many countries and social classes moved to California, and many of them settled in San Francisco. All this diversity in one place created a very interesting dynamic. California during the Gold Rush, was a place of colliding ideals. The 49ers came from a very structured kind of life to a place where one was free to make up her own rules.

California would not be the same as we see it today if it was not for the California Gold Rush of 1849. Around one hundred fifty thousand migrated to this territory over the course of three years, being one of the world’s largest migrations in history. The wealth gained by the “Forty-Niner’s” in this era provided the opportunity for the creation of the economic powerhouse we see California as today. The California Gold Rush is a very complex topic to understand. There is a common misconception of it simply being a time of profit or loss by miners digging for gold. When instead, the Gold Rush was a time when “Gold Fever” was a common sickness of people around the world, people of all ages and color striving to meet their dreams of success and fortune. This migration of miners is best understood when California’s history before the Gold Rush, the chaos over land ownership and lack of authority, and its short term and long term impacts are extensively analyzed (4).

The California Gold Rush almost did not happen. In his 1848 report to the adjutant-general at Washington, DC, Col. Richard Barnes Mason wrote a worker was checking the strong flow of water in a stream near a saw mill he was building. James Marshall noticed a few glittering particles in the mud that had accumulated. He collected and examined a few of them and, satisfied with their value, brought them to Captain John Sutter, owner of the land where the saw mill was to be built. They agreed to keep their discovery secret for a while but word soon spread and quickly hundreds and then thousands of miners flooded to the mines seeking instant wealth. Only three months after the discovery, it was estimated about four thousand workers were employed mining gold in the region (personal communication, August 17, 1848).

do was ask the men at the mill to keep the secret for another six

The California Gold Rush was an event that lasted from January 24th, 1848 to 1855. The event was driven mainly by the large quantities of gold reserves that were discovered in the soon to be US state of California. This event caused many Americans to move from the eastern states and middle states to California with the hopes of finding gold. In this paper, I will analyze the economy at the time the gold rush started and attempt to answer the question of why individuals found it necessary or advantageous to move out to California in pursuit of gold. I will also consider personal accounts and editorials written to gain a more personal narrative of the conditions people were experiencing as well as their mindsets in deciding whether to move to California for the gold or not.

The discovery of the California Gold Rush took place by chance. Mainly the amount of the world’s gold is deep underground and embedded in hard rock. Unlike anywhere else in the world at that time the gold in California was simple to dig up, free for the taking and required little tools to acquire any gold. Only things required: a pick or shovel and a pan to shift out the gold from the rock, sand and debris. The Gold Rush affected not only California, but the outcome of the nation. Creating the expansion of our nation into Western America and California. Hundreds of thousand Americans and foreigners moved toward the Sierra Nevada’s, with the hopes of sticking it rich. Which impacted the social life and the economy, while effected the rest of the country. Producing a number of diverse people seeking to make a fortune, influenced California and the American life.