The California Gold Rush

It is well known that industrialization in America started in the east. However, the gold rush was the reason why California industrialized much faster than the east. With the technological improvements, that the gold rush demands it helped California industrialize much faster. James Marshall first discovered gold on January 24 1848 on the south fork of the American river. A not so well know part of California history is that James Marshall was not the first person to discover gold in California. Francisco Lopez was the first documented gold rush in California. It is less know because right after Lopez had discovered gold the war between Mexico and US had begun. Moreover, like everyone knows Mexico lost and lost California and other territory to the US. After James Marshall had found gold and after everyone had started to hear the news, few people started rushing to the minefields. The gold rush fever had not started yet because many people were hesitant. It wasn’t until president, President Polk at that time, confirmed that there really was gold found in California after the announcement by Polk was heard. Massive amount of people from all over the world rushed to California. States were not the first to hear about the news. Actually, people in Hawaii were the first to find out. As trading ships were leaving the San Francisco port on their trips across the pacific. Was when the Hawaii found out about the news? When the states

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

War with Mexico: A war from 1846-1848 between America and Mexico. America won in the end and got the land between California and Texas.

When gold was exposed in 1848, people moved to California to get to the "golden mountains."At the elevation of the gold rush the atmosphere in the mining country was of intense frenzy and selfishness.The shock of the gold rush, however, hurt much father than the soil of the Sierra Mountains.Many forty-niners did became wealthy from the mining of gold, but many didn't get zoo lucky. Most people became wealthy through other power other than mining.

In the article “Getting to California” it states that, “By 1849, people from all over the world- Asia, Australia, Europe, Hawaii, North America, and South Africa- were scrambling to California. Many came not only to seek their fortunes, but also to find a better way of life. Of the almost 90,000 people who hastened to the gold fields in 1849, about 23,000 were U.S. citizens.” (saffer,14) It is amazing how all of these people traveled to California, they were so motivated.

Why was the California Gold Rush important? First some background information about this past event was that the California gold rush had began on the 24th of January in 1848, when a man named James W. Marshall had discovered a gold nugget in the American River. This was during the construction of a sawmill for John Sutter, who was a Sacramento agriculturalist. The news of James Marshall discovering this gold nugget had brought thousands of immigrants to California and even brought people from elsewhere in the United States and even from other countries. “When the gold rush began, California had a population of fourteen thousand; by the end of 1849, there were an estimated one hundred thousand in the former Mexican province.”

Before the gold rush California was populated mostly by Native Americans and Spanish colonists. The most western parts of the US had so far been left uncivilized by the English colonists except for some explorers. Before the Mexican – American War of 1846 – 1848 it wasn’t even American territory. At the time California and New Mexico belonged to Mexico. The war started due to the President’s Polk desire to expand U.S territory in the west by having New Mexico and California as a part of the US. The war was easily won by the United States and in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which was signed on February 2 1848, Mexico lost about a third of its territory. Polk desire of expanding U.S territory had succeeded. With the new territory of California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico it was the largest territory claimed by the U.S after the Louisiana purchase in 1803.

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 impacted the nation in another important area other than the economy: the issue of slavery. The immigrants to California were of very diverse nationalities and races. There were

Gold is a very precious metal that with in any community is pressed very highly. To a surprise to several, after the United States won California from Mexico. A land owner had found several pieces of gold along the river bed of the San Francisco. Circumstances lead to this land owner not wanting to reveal this information to the world. Nevertheless, the information was spread so began the Gold Rush in California. This magnificent event gave light to great change but was it the right move for progress and growth for the new founded country the United States. Growth in my eyes is defined as the increase of wealth among all the population that is living in a general area. Wealth should be defined as in a way where a family can live with good

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.

There have been many discoveries that have shaped our nation as a whole. Discoveries have allowed our country to thrive and become one of the most powerful nations in the world. When we look back at our nation's rich history, it is clear to see that there was one discovery in particular that had a vast impact on the United States; the discovery was gold in California. It was in this vastly unoccupied territory that the American dream was forever changed and California emerged as a powerful state busting at the seams. The California Gold Rush shaped California into the state that it is today. California is defined by its promise of entrepreneurial success and its acceptance and encouragement of obtaining the American Dream.

With all these travelers from the east and different country made California a “melting pot” of different people and culture. When news that California that had gold began to spread outside of the United State it first hit Mexico and Hawaii lead to the first wave of immigrants with the purpose of mining. Then, news the quickly across the world from South America to Europe and from Australian to Asian, the impact was so big that the text said, “Irish immigration to the United States, already at 100,000 a year in 1847, more than double to 220,000 by 1851” (Gillon, 297). With all these people mining towns would quickly pop up across California, and these towns with every race you could think such as Black, French, Irish, Chinese, Mexican, and etc. The towns were constantly busy with people moving to and from mine and rivers. With a day or a week of work could make you a nice amount of profit, you could entertain yourself for a while before you had to go back to mining with bars, gambling parlors, and whore house. Prostitutes made good money because in text said that, “ One prostitute in California Boasted of making more than $50000in a year.” (Gillon, 297). I could imagine myself being there if I made it there.

     The California Gold Rush of 1849 is one of the most interesting and exiting events of the United States. From the wild stories of men striking it big, to the heart wrenching tales of people losing everything, these are what make it so alluring. There are many aspects of the California Gold Rush; effects on California; individual stories of struggle; and effects on the United States as a young country looking for stability.