California Gold Rush Research Paper

How did the discovery of gold change California? Think about population, economics, and

The scenery described by the author made you wish that you were there so that you could get some for yourself. Also the accounts of the different races living together in peace was astonishing, something that you wouldn’t see until the end of the next century. This was truly something you could not duplicate or make up on your own. During the time of the gold rush as expected as people began to come, the population would increase and towns would be built. Many of the major cities in California that still exists today started of being gold mine towns were the labor would settle after a hard day out in the fields searching for their illustrious treasure.

While men left their hometowns and families, women had to learn how to run businesses, take care of farms, and raise children by themselves. These people, known as ‘49er’s, traveled immense distances, some even going through Panama or around Cape Horn. By the end of 1848 almost 100,000 non-California natives were in the state, compared to a mere 800 the year before. Gold mine towns were everywhere in the region with saloons and shops along with businesses looking to strike gold and become rich. San Francisco’s economy boomed and became the center of the new frontier.

This was one of the largest migrations America has ever experienced. The word of gold in California didn’t just spread across America, it spread all over the world. People from Mexico, Germany, France, and China alco came over and became a part of history. The whole demographic of California changed off this single discovery. It became the most diverse state in America where the population was 52% white, 30% Latino, 10% Asian / Pacific Islander, and 7 % African American.

Over 300,000 people migrated to California during the California Gold Rush. One way that these migrants contributed to Westward Expansion was that they boosted the economy in California. Many small cities in California that had previously consisted of a few hundred citizens soon had tens of thousands of residents. Another way that the 49ers contributed to Westward Expansion was their impact on the Native Americans. As the mining industry in California grew, the Native’s sources for food were killed and contaminated by chemicals and silt.

The discovery of gold in the Sacramento Valley in 1848 sparked the California Gold Rush, one of the most significant events to shape America.1 From 1848-1855, thousands of immigrants came to California to mine for gold. San Francisco grew from a population of 1,000 to 20,000 in two years due to this.2 Many men left their jobs to try their luck at getting rich from mining gold. A total of $2 billion worth of gold was extracted from California by the end of 1852.1 On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall discovered a gold nugget in the American river at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains near Coloma, CA.1 Marshall found it while constructing a sawmill on a water powered sawmill owned by John Sutter. Sutter was a European immigrant that help found Nueva Helvetia (New Switzerland).

At first people did not believe the stories of large sums of gold in California, but slowly people from all over the world began immigrating to California, even Mexicans. By 1849, "the non-native population of the California [...] was [about] 100,000.”(The Gold Rush of 1849) Before, it was only about 1, 000. Two billion dollars worth of gold was found in California at this time. The gold Rush peaked in 1852.

It left behind many legacies, ideas, and opinions. If the California Gold Rush never happened, perhaps California wouldn 't be a state and most definitely wouldn 't be the diverse area it is today. In California there is diversity, economy, and hope which wouldn 't be here if it weren’t for new races migrating to California. On the flipside, without the Gold Rush California would have a more stable population of Native Americans in California, and it would have mountains and rivers that we don 't have today. The California Gold Rush did, however, change the United States and the American Dream

The California Gold Rush started in 1848 when a man named James Wilson Marshall found gold flakes in the American River near his job site in Colma, California. Marshall and his boss, John Sutter, tried to keep the gold a secret, but word traveled throughout the area. Townspeople began quitting their jobs in hopes the gold would make them rich. Then word spread to people all over America, and they began traveling to California to join the “quest for gold.” By the end of the first year of the Gold Rush, the population of non-native Californians grew by 80,000.

The Gold Rush, beginning in 1848 and ending in 1855, was a period in American history which opened the doors of opportunity to a new group of immigrants, the Chinese. The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill, California, in 1848 was the cause of mass Chinese immigration that would last for decades to come. When James Marshall discovered gold in 1848, there were fifty-four recorded Chinese in California, this number quickly rose to 116,000 by 1876. Title (Chinese Immigration During the Gold Rush: The American Encounter) The California Gold Rush allowed for immigrants, such as the Chinese, to encounter the various beliefs and suspicions of the American society.

Some hardships the 49ers faced were diseases that were sometimes produced by the lack of food and water. Others were caused by difficulty in crossing lands and seas. Some of the miners would even commit acts of violence, or commit suicide because of the struggle and stress of not finding gold. When the miners arrived to California they were subjects of diseases like Cholera,Dysentery and Pneumonia.

The San Francisco Gold Rush had a huge impact on the economy. In the early days of the gold rush, gold seekers made their living primarily by mining gold, but many business opportunities related to the gold rush soon emerged. Merchants began to establish stores and bars in San Francisco to supply the goods and services needed by the gold seekers, such as food, drink, utensils, cameras, and so on. In addition, as more people came to San Francisco, the real estate market began to boom. The growing population and business opportunities led to a rush of construction and rising land prices.

Americans were able to make thousands of dollars off of gold and immagrants and foreigners from all over the world came to California. Citizens became richer and all different cultures learned to

If the gold rush never happened California would most likely belong to Mexico. The California Gold Rush, a phenomenon that drew thousands of people trying to strike it rich with gold had both positive and negative effects in California. II. California would not be as big as it is now without the California Gold Rush.

The California Gold Rush was a rush of people in search of gold in California. The gold was discovered in the Sacramento Valley in early 1848 which sparked the gold rush. The rush was a huge influence in how America was shaped into what it is today. It shaped California into what it is today. Without this gold rush California would be like it is today but it would have taken way more years and it wouldn’t be such a diversely populated state.